California Burrito - The Candid Cooks

Maybe your like

Skip to content Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Add us as a trusted Google source

This post may contain affiliate links. We only promote products we actually use and truly love!

An authentic California burrito recipe with carne asada, guacamole, and fries that you can easily make at home.

A California burrito stuffed with cheese, steak, guac, and fries

Who doesn’t love a good burrito? We’re big fans of this Mexican-American creation because there are so many different ways to make them – and eat them. And while it’s fun to customize your own burrito at chains like Chipotle and Qdoba, there’s something special about scarfing down a traditional recipe from a local restaurant here in California. It’s the best way to discover unique, crazy, and surprisingly delicious combinations, like the California Burrito.

But if you’re not in the Golden State, it might be hard to find an authentic California style burrito – so we created our own recipe! We’ll show you how to make the best California burrito with our original carne asada so you can bring the west coast into your own kitchen.

What This Recipe Entails

Making a California burrito does take a good amount of time and effort. This recipe is best for when you already have leftovers or are looking to make a fun decadent recipe and have the time to do so.

Marinate time: 4 to 6 hours
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

This recipe calls for our carne asada recipe, however you can use your favorite carne asada or a store bought one. And again, leftovers are great for this recipe! If you already have carne asada and french fries made, then this recipe is a breeze!

California burrito with french fries, steak, and guacamole

What’s In A California Burrito?

The California burrito, created in San Diego, is traditionally loaded with carne asada, french fries, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream. It’s the ultimate California comfort food that definitely hits the spot on a hot summer day. In our opinion, the trifecta of juicy steak, creamy avocado, and crispy fries really make this burrito – so you definitely don’t want to skip out on these ingredients!

Here’s what goes into our version of the California burrito:

Our original carne asada recipe
Shoestring french fries
“Fake guac,” aka mashed avocado with lime juice and sea salt
Shredded Mexican-blend cheese
Pico de gallo

I don’t love sour cream, so we opted to not include it in our California burrito recipe (but if you love sour cream, it can’t hurt to add some in!). Instead, we added fresh pico de gallo to brighten up the flavors in our California style burrito. And since guacamole is basically avocado with pico de gallo mixed in, we combined mashed avocado with a splash of lime juice and sea salt to make “fake guac.” This lets the creamy avocado really shine without being overpowered by too much tomato and onion.

How To Make A California Burrito

It’s easy to make this recipe at home, as long as you have some patience! We promise it’s totally worth it.

Here’s how to make a delicious California burrito:

Marinate flank or skirt steak for 4 to 6 hours in the refrigerator
Allow the steak to rest at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes, then season with dry rub and grill until medium
Cut the cooked steak into small pieces, then set aside
Cook French fries until crispy, then set aside
Prepare pico de gallo and mashed avocado with lime juice and sea salt, then set aside
Warm a burrito-sized flour tortilla in the microwave or on a large griddle until pliable
Fill the burrito with mashed avocado, carne asada, fries, shredded cheese, and pico de gallo
Fold the burrito (carefully!) and toast on a cast iron skillet until lightly browned on both sides
Slice in half and scarf it down 🙂

A giant California burrito with steak, guac, and French fries

This recipe tastes best with freshly grilled carne asada. But if you want to use leftovers or prepare the steak ahead of time, that works too! Just reheat the steak in a frying pan before adding it to the burrito. The key to a great California burrito is to have warm steak and crispy, just-cooked French fries – these ingredients will help the cheese melt more easily inside the burrito.

Recipe Tips

There are a few tools and techniques we recommend to make a delicious California burrito at home:

Air fryer – Our air fryer cooks fries way better than the oven ever did, making them perfectly crispy for this burrito recipe.
Cast iron grill pan – If you don’t have a grill, a cast iron grill pan like this one works like a charm for indoor grilling on the stove. It’s how we cook our carne asada!
Cast iron griddle – This pan is awesome for crisping or toasting sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas, you name it. We toasted our burrito on it with this cast iron grill press to get a deliciously crispy golden-brown exterior (can you tell we love cast iron?).
Folding burritos – Folding a burrito can be challenging, especially when it’s super stuffed like this one. A fresh, slightly warm tortilla will be more pliable and won’t rip as easily as a cold (or even room temperature) tortilla, so definitely give it a quick blast in the microwave first. Then it just takes some practice to get the perfect burrito fold. Use your pinkies to hold the tortilla in while you’re rolling!

A California burrito with steak, guac, fries, pico de gallo, and cheese

You’ll definitely want to slice this giant burrito in half and maybe serve it with a side of chips and salsa, if you’re hungry enough! One of our California burritos easily feeds two people. Alternatively, you can use two tortillas and make two smaller burritos with the original amount of filling our recipe calls for. This will make the burritos easier to fold, but be warned that your tortilla-to-filling ratio will be slightly off!

Try the recipe below and don’t forget to rate, comment, share, and tag us on Instagram with your take on our California style burrito!

The Candid Cooks digital meal planning kit download.

Liked this recipe? You may also enjoy:

Carne Asada with Rice & Beans
Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema
Chicken Burritos Ranchero

Tell us what you think!

We hope you enjoy this recipe! When you try it out, please leave a review and a star rating in the comments below. Happy cooking! – Nicole and Alex

California Burrito

Nicole & Alex Langdon An authentic California burrito recipe with carne asada, guacamole, and fries that you can easily make at home. 5 from 5 votes Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Save this recipe!

Enter your email and we’ll send it right to you.

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Marinate Time 6 hours Total Time 6 hours 35 minutes Course Dinner, Lunch, Main CourseCuisine American, Mexican Servings 1 burritoCalories 2036 kcal

Equipment

Air fryer optional
Cast iron grill pan optional
Cast iron griddle optional
Grill press optional

Ingredients US CustomaryMetric 1x2x3x

Carne Asada Marinade

▢ ½ pound skirt or flank steak
▢ ⅔ cup orange juice
▢ ½ cup lime juice
▢ ¼ cup lemon juice
▢ ¼ cup soy sauce low-sodium
▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil
▢ ¼ medium onion chopped
▢ ½ tablespoon minced garlic

Carne Asada Dry Rub

▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder
▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
▢ ½ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Burrito Assembly

▢ 1 medium avocado
▢ ½ teaspoon lime juice
▢ Pinch sea salt
▢ 1 burrito size flour tortilla 12-inch
▢ 5 ounces shoestring french fries cooked
▢ ⅓ cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
▢ ¼ batch pico de gallo

Instructions

Carne Asada

Slice steak into 2 pieces, if necessary, and place in a large resealable bag. Add marinade ingredients, seal the bag, and shake gently to mix. Marinate the steak for 4 to 6 hours in the fridge.
Remove steak from marinade and allow to rest at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
Combine dry rub seasonings in a small bowl and set aside.
Preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat and season both sides of the steak with the dry rub. Transfer steak to pan and grill until medium, flipping halfway through.
Transfer grilled steak to a cutting board and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into small pieces.

California Burrito

Combine avocado, lime juice, and sea salt in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Stir until mixed thoroughly and set aside.
Warm a burrito-sized tortilla in the microwave between two paper towels for about 20 seconds. Transfer to a plate or large work surface to assemble the burrito, then preheat a cast iron griddle over medium heat for toasting the burrito later.
Assemble the burrito. First, spread the mashed avocado over the tortilla, leaving some room around the edges. Then add the chopped steak and fries in a line down the center of the tortilla. Top with shredded cheese and pico de gallo.
Fold the burrito. Fold in opposite sides at each end of the filling until the edges are almost touching in the center, then hold the ends closed with both hands while using your thumbs to fold one of the remaining sides over the filling. Keep holding the ends closed and roll the burrito over itself to close.
Transfer the burrito to the preheated griddle and toast until lightly golden-brown, using a grill press if you have one, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
Transfer burrito to a cutting board and slice in half. Serve immediately with a side of chips and salsa.

One last step:Please consider leaving a review to let us know how it was!

Notes

Marinating the steak: We use a resealable bag to marinate the steak so we can lay it flat on one side, completely submerged in the marinade, and we usually flip the bag over halfway through. Grilling the steak: We like to grill on our Lodge cast iron grill pan, so the instructions are based on this method – but our carne asada can also be cooked on a regular grill. French fries: We cook our fries in our air fryer for a perfectly even crisp that tastes great in this burrito. Pico de gallo: We recommend using our original recipe for fresh, delicious pico de gallo. It’s fairly simple and easy to make, but you can substitute with your own pico or a store-bought alternative if desired. Advanced prep: You can make the carne asada ahead of time (or use leftovers) to simplify this recipe. Simply warm the carne asada in a frying pan before adding it to the burrito. Servings: This burrito is GIANT, so one will easily feed two people – trust us. Split it with a friend or save half of it in the fridge for the next day!

Nutrition

Calories: 2036kcalCarbohydrates: 135gProtein: 81gFat: 139gSaturated Fat: 34gPolyunsaturated Fat: 40gMonounsaturated Fat: 56gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 5465mgPotassium: 3220mgFiber: 26gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 2051IUVitamin C: 179mgCalcium: 474mgIron: 13mg Like this recipe?Please leave a review below! We read and respond to every single comment.

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

Sign up for our email list!

Follow us on social:

Instagram
Pinterest
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube

Nicole Langdon

90% of Nicole’s thoughts are about food. She’s had a passion for cooking (and eating) for as long as she can remember! Growing up, she started cooking with her mom at a young age, learned family recipes from her Italian grandmother, took every opportunity to make cookies (so many bake sales), and always loved going out to restaurants to try new foods.

Nicole currently works part-time as a marketing professional for OmieLife while also working nonstop on The Candid Cooks. As a former mechanical engineer, Nicole has consistently found herself at the intersection of creativity and logical reasoning. She credits not only her passion for photography, design, and writing, but also her problem-solving nature and desire to learn, as the foundation on which The Candid Cooks was built.

Nicole’s hobbies include anything that gets her moving - mainly hiking, skiing, ice skating, and dancing - as well as reading fantasy novels and scrapbooking. Her favorite food is a big plate of nachos, as long as they’re cheesy enough!

Facebook Instagram Linkedin Pinterest

Previous PreviousBBQ Bacon Cheeseburger SlidersNextContinue Black Bean Corn Salsa 5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)