Catfish Out of Water

This is a surprisingly classic burrito for me. I'm quite often throwing everything plus the kitchen sink into a burrito. But squash, rice, avocados, and enchilada sauce? That is pretty tame for me! It might be Calabaza Squash Infused Rice w/ Homegrown Anaheim Peppers, Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts, and Enchilada Sauce w/ Thai Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes. But I am nothing if not just a little bit excessive!

If I'm going to do something simple, though, I'm going to make it the most delicious simple meal that I can! I feel like in this day and age, we like to think of cooking as being complicated and inaccessible. Especially in this world of Pinterest and Instagram where everything is perfectly posed. Beautifully lit. And the food itself is shot as if it's a supermodel. Most of this is faked and photoshopped. I have a huge issue with the business of food styling and the use of mashed potatoes as filler in photoshoots for foods that do not actually contain mashed potatoes! (Don't get me started, I have an entire article on Food Styling & Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes).

But this burrito actually is something that I made. It's something that I ate for lunch today. And it absolutely is something that you yourself can make at home! All that you need is to toss a few fun ingredients into a rice cooker. Maybe make some fun accoutrement with avocado dip, which you can absolutely simply and substitute plain avocados, guacamole, or sour cream for. And lightly toast a tortilla shell.

Gallery

Variations of Calabaza Squash Burrito

I don't always make rice with calabaza squash, but beans and rice are certainly staples in my burrito-making arsenal! There are plenty of ways to season these with fresh fruits and vegetables. I make a plethora of different types and pair them with everything from tofu to eggs and even grilled salmon. Although all of them are absolutely delicious paired with avocado dip and a little bit of hot sauce. Or even some homemade enchilada sauce with peppers and tomatoes from my garden.

Burrito w/ Calabaza Squash Rice & Avocado Dip

This calabaza squash burrito combines roasted calabaza squash brown rice with Anaheim peppers, red onions, and garlic with avocado dip. I'm a big fan of avocado dip. It's almost like a cross between hummus and guacamole, but works with a wide range of flavor profiles and lasts infinitely longer than avocados in... anything that I've ever seen! But I'm obsessed with it on my burritos and it pairs perfectly with homemade rice with squash.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

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

Ingredients

  

Squash Rice

• 1/2 c. calabaza squash roasted & puréed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 2 Anaheim peppers diced
• dash cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 2 ½ c. water (or vegetable broth)

Enchilada Sauce

• 12 Thai chilis
• 20 cherry tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tsp. cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 3 c. water (divided, 2 c. + 1 c.)

Avocado Dip

• 6 avocados
• 6 cloves garlic
• 6 limes juiced
• 1 ½ c. Greek yogurt
• 2 c. walnuts
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Burrito

• 1/3 c. squash rice
• 1 tortilla shell
• splash water
• dollop avocado dip (optional, omit or substitute sour cream)
• dollop enchilada sauce (optional, or hot sauce of choice)

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• Cook Brown Rice w/ Calabaza Squash & Anaheim Peppers. 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.
• For the hot sauce on this, I used Enchilada Sauce w/ Thai Chilis & Cherry Tomatoes. These recipes take less than an hour and require an air fryer and a large pot on the stove. You can easily substitute your own salsa or hot sauce of choice. But I am quite fond of making it from scratch!
• I topped this with Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!

Cook Tortilla

• Preheat the pan 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 toppings and 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.
• Top with avocado dip and hot sauce of choice. I like to use Greek yogurt because it's oftentimes healthier than sour cream and this new avocado dip that I'm obsessed with is fantastic. Omit or substitute with a vegan alternative for an entirely animal-product free recipe.
• Serve immediately. You can reheat burritos by lightly wetting them and reheating, but they are never quite the same as they are fresh!

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 thea burrito without cracking, there are solutions for this as well!