These Are The Absolute Worst Frozen Bean Burritos You Can Buy

Burritos are portable, proteinaceous, and protean. Or, to put it in a non-alliterative way, they're known for being easy to carry, packed with protein, and versatile. Fill them with black beans, pinto beans, meat, veggies, rice, a variety of sauces and toppings — there are so many ways to make a great burrito. But, of course, there are also plenty of ways to mess up a burrito, as straightforward as the basic concept is — even a simple bean burrito. 

When Chowhound ranked 10 frozen bean burritos available at your average grocery store, it found some real standouts. The top three burritos (Amy's Kitchen Black Bean Burritos; Trader Joe's Bean, Rice & Cheese Burritos; and Vista Hermosa's Bueno Bean & Oaxaca Cheese Burritos) all played with ingredients, tastes, and textures in a way that put them firmly above the rest. On the other end of the spectrum, the losers were primarily made up of bland refried beans and tended to explode when cooked.

The worst offender was the El Monterey Bean & Cheese Burrito. Not only was the bean filling basically flavorless, the ratio of beans to tortilla was off. A cross-section of the burrito shows a small pocket of beans underneath dense tortilla layers. The visual effect is reminiscent of a stuffed croissant, although sadly, the tortilla was dry and disappointing. Furthermore, whether you cooked it in the air fryer or microwave, you just couldn't win. The air fryer enhanced the burrito's dryness, while the microwave enhanced the blandness of the beans.

El Monterey is a subset of Ruiz Foods, which was founded in 1964 by father-son duo Louis and Fred Ruiz. Their original recipes came from Louis' mother, aka Grandma Rosie. In 2022, the company was projected to exceed $1 billion in annual sales; Fred Ruiz ascribed the company's success to Mexican immigrants increasing awareness of and the demand for Mexican food early on (via The Fresno Bee).

But while El Monterey may boast being "America's #1 Frozen Mexican Food" on its packaging, there's clearly room for improvement, at least when it comes to the brand's Bean & Cheese Burrito. The El Monterey website recommends topping the burrito with salsa, guac, hot sauce, or sour cream. (Chowhound also ranked popular brands of store-bought salsa to help you bring the best to the table.) However, another proven way to take frozen burritos to the next level is to turn them into an easy-yet-flavorful casserole. Finally, if dryness is an issue, you can keep moisture in by covering or wrapping the burritos in wet paper towels before microwaving them. Thawing them in the refrigerator rather than heating directly from frozen can also help. 

In addition to the Bean & Cheese Burritos, El Monterey offers Beef & Bean, Bean & Green Chili, Beef & Bean Red Chili, Spicy Jalapeño Bean & Cheese, and Red Hot Beef Burritos, plus a variety of chimichanga flavors. Perhaps the addition of chili and peppers in some of these options turns up the flavor enough that they would be a more palatable option than the brand's Bean & Cheese burritos.