August 17, 2021

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Last updated on June 16th, 2022 at 04:23 pm

I love breakfast burritos, shrimp burritos, basically anything in a burrito. But the bane of my existence for the longest time was trying to figure out how to fold a burrito so it didn’t immediately come undone during my first bite.

Food everywhere, with an empty tortilla.

Or you bite in and slowly push everything out a hole in the back of the burrito. Same problem.

A stack of folded burritos, ready to eat

Still tastes good, but now you have to go get a fork. Which takes away from the burrito experience. Burritos are a hands-on experience and are meant to be eaten that way.

Maybe you’re already a pro at wrapping burritos and don’t understand how it would be difficult. But it was for me.

So I’ve buckled down and figured out how to fold a burrito. Properly. If you’ve ever had your own issues with wrapping a burrito up tightly, then read on and get to rolling. This technique will work for burritos, wraps, and chimichangas.

Tips for Burrito Folding Success

Before you even get started, let’s review some general tips for success.

Large tortillas – A larger tortilla is easier to fill and roll up (up to a certain point I guess…). Smaller ones will take a lot less filling and just may not have enough area to fold up properly.
Warm tortillas – Slightly warming the tortilla – either quickly on a stovetop or in a tortilla warmer in the microwave – will make it more pliable for filling and folding. Just be careful if you are heating it up on the stovetop that you don’t accidentally leave it on too long so that it becomes crispy. It that happens, then it will just crack as you roll it.
Don’t overfill! – This is by far my biggest issue when I was learning how to fold a burrito. I just want more of that tasty filling. But overfilling makes it harder (or impossible) to actually close the burrito up. Try to hold back a little. But I don’t blame you if you stuff it full.
Heat up the seam – To really make sure the end of the burrito doesn’t just unfold, you can set the burrito seam-side down on a frying pan for a few minutes. It’ll kind of lock the tortilla in place. This step isn’t really necessary, but it can help if you really want it to stay closed then it’ll help.

Now that you’ve got the starting tips, let’s get into the actual step-by-step instructions for how to fold a burrito.

How to Fold a Burrito Step By Step

Step 1: Lay the tortilla out on a large, flat surface

A large tortilla set out ready to fill and fold a burrito

Start off with a plain tortilla, laid out and ready for the filling.

Make sure to give yourself some space to work. I suggest a large, flat area so there is room all around it to easily fold and roll the burrito up. It is not as easy to work around plate edges, so I don’t recommend trying to do it on a plate.

Step 2: Add the filling, spread out just below the center line of the tortilla

Burrito filling added on top of the tortilla

Add the filling on top of the tortilla a little below the centerline of the tortilla.

Include all toppings, sauces, etc that you want inside. Though saving some sauce for topping can be a great option. I love drizzling my chipotle crema both inside and on top of the burrito.

Remember that you should not overfill the tortilla. Try to look at the overall area. I recommend taking up no more than 1/3 of the overall area of the tortilla so that there is space to fold.

Step 3: Fold in the Sides

First fold of a burrito, folding in each side to start covering the filling

Fold the sides of the tortilla in towards the center. Begin the fold where your fillings stop on the sides. Try to make it as parallel as possible, and try to keep the same length in the top and bottom arcs. (note – my photo shows an imperfect example of this, they are a bit off).

To help it stay in place, you can give it a bit of a crease where you folded it. If you are working quickly, then a crease in the sides isn’t required.

Step 4: Fold up the Bottom

Fold the bottom of the burrito up to start rolling it up

With the sides folded in, take the bottom of the tortilla and fold it up to partially cover the filling.

It should cover up to about half of your filling.

Step 5: Roll the Filling up

Fold the burrito by rolling it up from the bottom

Now that the sides and bottom are folded in, it is time to start rolling.

From the bottom of the tortilla, take the part that was just folded up and start rolling it up towards the top of the tortilla. This will cover up the remaining filling.

Try to make it a tight and snug roll. You don’t want a bunch of air pockets in there with your filling. Nobody wants to take a bite of empty tortilla. Plus, a tight roll will help with keeping your burrito together.

Step 6: Keep Rolling

After all of the rolling, it is ready to eat

Tightly roll the burrito up the rest of the way so that the tortilla fully wraps around.

Once again, make sure that it is tight so that there are no stray air pockets in with your filling. That would cause some disappointing bites.

And once you’ve rolled it all the way up, you’re done! You now have a fully formed burrito and know how to fold a burrito. So go, be free, and fold burritos to your heart’s content without worrying about dropping all your filling out.

Try your new folding technique on my most popular burrito recipes: