Catfish Out of Water

I made leftover burrito after leftover burrito after leftover burrito after Thanksgiving! No matter how good the meal was, the meals after the meal were equally as delicious. And now I have a new favorite lunch menu! One that I have tediously had to wait for until Christmas because I ran out of leftover ingredients to keep using. But now that the holiday season is once again upon us, a new Christmas leftover burrito is in store!

This version of my holiday leftover burrito series combines Brown Rice w/ Pumpkin & Tomatoes, Mashed Potatoes, and Guacamole. Just for fun, I also topped it off with sour cream and hot sauce. Although technically the sour cream is also leftover from when I made Irish Cream Cheesecake for Thanksgiving! So, we are sticking with the same general theme here.

If you've done the math of how long that sour cream must have been in my refrigerator, it is more than a month! And sour cream shouldn't ordinarily last this long. Obviously, never eat anything that has gone bad or started to mold! Although these "best by" and "sell by" dates are more suggestions than hard and fast rules. But mine has lasted this long because I have a spot in my fridge right next to the compressor that is almost as cold as my freezer. I place things that I don't necessarily want frozen, but want to keep longer than they would ordinarily last! So, here we have it: month old sour cream that, minus a few little icicles, is perfectly edible! Which is a win because usually sour cream crystalizes and separates when frozen and that's nowhere near the creamy consistency that you're going for.

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Variations of Christmas Leftover Burrito

This was the first of my Christmas leftover burritos. Although certainly not the least! It's kind of the motto of these types of burritos to throw in everything, plus the kitchen sink! And I'm never disappointed. There's a sweet and savory flavor about them with just a hint of spiciness.

Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils & Runny Egg

Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils, Mashed Potatoes, & Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils, Cranberries, & Runny Egg

Burrito w/ Pumpkin Rice & Mashed Potatoes

This Christmas leftover burrito throws in everything, plus the kitchen sink! Not really, but it is perfectly delicious. There's a sweet and savory flavor about it with a hint of festive holiday spice. Feel free to mix it up and add in whatever holiday leftovers that you have on hand. If this season has taught me anything, it's that absolutely everything tastes delicious in burrito form!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Latin American

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

• Skillet w/ Lid (Preferably Cast Iron)
• Stovetop

Ingredients

  

Pumpkin Rice

• 3 cloves roasted garlic (or 2 cloves unroasted garlic)
• 1/2 pie pumpkin peeled & cubed
• 2 medium tomatoes cubed
• 2 banana peppers diced
• 1/2 shallot minced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lime juiced
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika
• dash cayenne pepper
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 1 ½ c. vegetable broth
• 1 ½ c. water

Mashed Potatoes

• 1 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1/2 milk room temperature
• 4 butter softened
• hefty dash salt
• hefty dash pepper

Guacamole

• 3 avocados
• 3 limes juiced
• 3 cloves garlic
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 ½ large tomatoes quartered
• 1/4 red onion halved

Burrito

• 1/4 c. pumpkin rice
• 1/4 c. mashed potatoes
• splash water
• dollop guacamole (optional)
• dollop sour cream (optional)
• dollop hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• Cook Pumpkin & Tomato Rice. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
• Make Mashed Potatoes. This takes about a half hour and requires preferably Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, milk, butter, salt, and pepper. I like to mash mine with a potato masher. But a mixer will also do.
• In this recipe, I also added Guacamole. You can buy this in stores, but I much prefer to make it homemade! It's incredibly simple only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

Cook Tortilla

• Preheat the skillet on medium-high. If you aren't using cast iron, make sure to lightly oil the pan to prevent sticking.
• Wet both sides of the tortilla and add to the preheated pan. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown.
• Remove the tortilla from heat and turn the stove off. Add rice and mashed potatoes. Fold the burrito.
• Turn the stove back up to medium and add the tortilla to the skillet immediately, before it preheats. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown. Rotate until all sides are cooked.

  The first side will likely take longer to cook than the subsequent sides, which may toast in as little as 2 minutes. Adjust the temperature if it's cooking too quickly and burning or too slowly and cracking.
• Serve immediately. Top with sour cream and hot sauce of choice, if you like! I'm particularly fond of a Vermont maple syrup hot sauce with this burrito. Anything a little bit sweet and spicy pairs perfectly.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For a more in-depth article on burritos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Burritos. I highly suggest using cast iron and there is precise temperature that works best for cooking at that may vary slightly depending on your stovetop and type of skillet. If you're having trouble rolling the burrito without cracking, there are solutions for this as well!