Fajitas vs. Burrito: 6 Key Differences (Plus 2 Must-Try Recipes!)

They both incorporate proteins, vegetables, and tortillas but they are served differently, and their flavors are distinctive. You can adapt smoky fajitas and savory burritos to fit your nutritional needs, even making them vegetarian or low-carb. Discover the key differences between fajitas vs. burritos. Plus, learn how to make each of these foods from Mexico!

The 6 Key Differences Between Fajitas vs. Burrito

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Ingredients

Traditionally, fajitas incorporate protein along with sautéed bell peppers and onions. Typically, the bell peppers are multicolored and spiced with a fajita seasoning along with the meats. You can select from steak, chicken, or shrimp but you can also combine all three to make the ultimate fajitas. With burritos, you can incorporate meats along with rice, beans, and vegetables, including bell peppers and onions.

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Preparation

To prepare fajitas, you typically sauté the bell peppers and onions and cook your meat through. Then, you add the fajita seasoning and mix everything together. With a burrito, you first put your filling together and create a mixture that incorporates beans, rice, meats, and veggies. Then, you place it into the center of a large flour tortilla along with some shredded cheese before rolling it up and serving it.

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Serving Style

In a restaurant setting, fajitas are typically served sizzling on a hot plate. However, if you’re serving at home and you have kiddos, you don’t want to serve on a super-hot plate. Instead, you can set up several toppings for the whole family to enjoy their own customized version of fajitas. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced jalapeños, sliced avocado, or salsa. You can offer chopped cilantro and limes as well! But if you’d rather skip the array of toppings, you can also serve fajitas with rice and beans.

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Cooking Method

Fajita meats are grilled to give them their distinctive flavor and then mixed together with the sautéed bell peppers and onions. With burrito fillings, you can either prepare everything the same day or use cooked rice from the previous day, fresh or canned beans, and prepare your protein. There are no fast and hard rules for preparing burritos (just make sure that you have an ingredient like refried beans to keep all your fillings neatly together in the center of your burrito before you fold it).

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Nutritional Value

A burrito is going to be more calorie-dense than fajitas so you can expect it to, on average, be at about 950 calories. Fajitas alone are typically about 480 calories. With a burrito you can get up to 40 grams of protein and with fajitas, you get about 36 grams of protein. Since you’re incorporating rice and a flour tortilla, your burritos are going to be more carb-heavy at about 95 grams per burrito whereas fajitas are about 25 grams. Burritos have more fat at 40 grams and fajitas have 27 grams of fat.

Fajitas vs. Burrito: Flavor

With fajitas, you’re going to get a smoky flavor along with the crunch of bell peppers. Eaten alone or with a lettuce wrap, it’s going to be a much lighter dining experience. A burrito is going to incorporate more ingredients condensed into a wrap so it’s going to be an array of flavors and quite filling. Both of these meals can be accentuated with extra toppings, and you can expect both to be pleasantly savory.

Fajitas Recipe

You can choose a single protein when making fajitas, but you can also go all out and turn it into a celebration of flavors, including steak, chicken, and shrimp. Below is a recipe you can share with family and friends. You’ll need the following ingredients:

• Strip streak (1/2 pound)
• Chicken breast, boneless, skinless (1/2 pound)
• Shrimp, deveined (1 pound)
• Bell peppers, multi-colored (3)
• Yellow onion (1)
• Extra virgin olive oil (1 tablespoon)
• Water (3 tablespoons)
• Flour or corn tortillas (or lettuce if you’re carb-conscious)
• Fajita seasoning (3 tablespoons)

For the seasoning, you can always pick up a store-bought option but if you want to make it at home, you probably already have what you need:

• Chili powder (2 teaspoons)
• Paprika (1 teaspoon)
• Pepper (1 teaspoon)
• Garlic salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• Onion powder (1/2 teaspoon)
• Cayenne (1/2 teaspoon)
• Red pepper flakes, crushed (1/2 teaspoon)
• Cumin, ground (1/2 teaspoon)
• Salt (1/2 teaspoon)

You need a large sauté pan to prepare your onion and bell pepper mix. Add your olive oil then pour in your julienned peppers and onions. Once they’ve softened, set them aside. Next, use a skillet to prepare your steak and chicken using olive oil or butter. Once cooked through, pour the cooked meats into the sauté pan with the bell peppers and onions.

Next, cook your shrimp with a little bit of butter. Once they’re firm and pink, transfer them to the pan with your meats and veggies. This is when you add your fajita seasoning along with the three tablespoons of water. Stir it all together and let it simmer for about 10 minutes before serving with your tortillas (or lettuce wraps). Toppings are your choice and may include sour cream, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and avocado!

Burrito Recipe

You can make burritos with ground beef but if you’re looking to incorporate some chicken, the recipe below is perfect. Here are the ingredients you need:

• Chicken breasts (1 pound)
• Refried beans (1 ½ cups)
• Flour tortillas (8)
• Corn, canned (1 cup)
• Cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• Red bell pepper, chopped (1)
• Onion, chopped (1)
• Olive oil, (2 tablespoons)

For the chicken seasoning, you need the following spices:

• Dried oregano (1 teaspoon)
• Cumin (1 teaspoon)
• Chili powder (1 teaspoon)
• Smoked paprika (1 teaspoon)
• Pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
• Salt to taste

Start by cooking your seasoned chicken breasts in a skillet. Once the chicken has cooked through, add the red bell pepper and onion to the skillet and wait for the onion to become translucent. Next, add the refried beans along with ¼ cup of water to the skillet and stir for about two minutes.

Now you’re ready to put your burrito together. Warm your tortillas to make them pliable and then start adding your chicken filling down the center. Add a little corn and shredded cheese to each. Fold them up into a burrito and pop them into the oven to toast for 10 minutes. This makes the cheese all melty and delicious. Serve alone or indulge with sour cream, guac, and/or salsa!

Recipe Card

Slow Cooker Pulled-Pork Fajitas

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• Author: MomsWhoThink.com

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Ingredients

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• 1 pork boneless loin roast (2 1/2 pound), trimmed of fat
• 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning (from 3-ounce container)
• 1 cup thick and chunky salsa
• 1 bag (1 pound) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions, thawed
• 2 packages 8 inch flour tortillas for burritos (16 tortillas), warmed
• 2 cups shredded Mexican-style taco cheese (8 ounce)
• 1 cup sour cream, if desired

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Instructions

1. Place pork in 3 to 4-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Top with salsa.
2. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.
3. Remove cover from slow cooker. Shred pork using 2 forks.
4. Stir in thawed stir-fry vegetables. Increase heat setting to High.
5. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and vegetables are tender.
6. Using slotted spoon, place 1/2 cup meat mixture in each warm tortilla.
7. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with sour cream.