These cheese sauce smothered shrimp burritos are filled with tender shrimp, sauteed calabacitas squash (Mexican zucchini) bell pepper, green chiles and onion. The cheese sauce is just right spicy and makes everything creamy, rich and decadent.
There’s almost nothing we love more than cheese smothered Mexican food. If you’re on board with that, don’t miss my Chicken Enchiladas with Tomato Cream Sauce or this Overnight Make Ahead Breakfast Burrito Casserole.
A smothered burrito is a burrito that’s been filled with and covered with a sauce. Green chile sauce is a good example. It can also be filled and covered with a cheese sauce, like this Baked Shrimp Burrito Recipe.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- This shrimp burrito recipe is made with fresh, real ingredients. Wild caught shrimp, fresh vegetables and no “cream of” canned soups.
- The cheese sauce is easy to make.
- This is a baked casserole style burrito recipe. It makes six large burritos.
- An easy recipe with a “fancy feel”, these shrimp burritos are as good as anything you’d get at your favorite Mexican Restaurant.
- In case there are leftovers, these burritos will freeze well.
Shrimp are sautéed with fresh vegetables and wrapped inside fluffy white tortillas. Drizzled with a thickened cheese sauce of Monterey Jack Cheese and sour cream, they’re irresistibly cheesy and creamy.
Let’s get started.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For The Shrimp Burrito Filling
- Mexican Oregano
- Neutral Oil, such as Canola Oil
- A garlic clove
- 1 pound shrimp: Find wild caught shrimp if you can. It will have a truer shrimp flavor and better texture than farm raised shrimp.
- Vegetables: Green Chile Peppers, Onions, Red Bell Pepper and Calabacitas Squash (or zucchini).
Mexican Oregano is preferred for this recipe. It’s peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don’t have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.
For The Cheese Sauce
- Milk, For a richer flavor and creamier sauce, use whole milk please, but if all you have is 2% it most certainly will work.
- Sour Cream
- Cheese: Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, or Muenster. These are all good melting cheeses.
- Flour: All purpose white flour.
- New Mexico Chile Powder: Chimayo preferred, or cayenne pepper will work, or even a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce.
- Flour tortillas
- Cilantro and tomatoes for garnish.
Pro Tip: Purchase good quality cheese and grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese in bags includes additives to keep it from clumping, which will also compromise the melting factor. Grating cheese from a block of cheese will result in a creamier and more consistent melting experience. Plus, it’s less expensive.
Step By Step Instructions … It’s Easy!
Make The Shrimp Burrito Filling
- Step 1: Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Saute the chopped onion and red bell pepper until just getting tender, about 1 minute.
- Step 2: Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. You don’t want to cook them through.
- Step 3: Add chile peppers, zucchini, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another two minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, this will take about 30 seconds.
- Step 4: Make the Sauce: In a small bowl, combine flour and water and whisk to blend.
- Step 5: Add flour mixture to vegetable shrimp mixture and cook one minute. Add milk and stir until well blended. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and the chile powder and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
- Step 6: Lay out flour tortillas and fill each equally with most of the shrimp mixture. Roll tightly and place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Step 7: Top burritos with remaining vegetable cream sauce mixture and the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Common Questions About Shrimp Burritos
Yes you can. But I recommend using raw shrimp. You can purchase cooked frozen shrimp from the seafood aisle. Let the shrimp thaw in the refrigerator. Plan ahead and let them thaw overnight. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel before using in this recipe. Add the shrimp once the sauce is cooked and just before filling the shrimp burrito.
You could but then you’d be making shrimp enchiladas. You will need to fry the corn tortillas in oil before filling them with the shrimp/cheese mixture.
Tips For Success
- Pat the shrimp dry before cooking them in this recipe. If you don’t, the moisture from the shrimp will create a thinner cheese sauce. Plus removing excess water from the shrimp will result in the best possible texture.
- Purchase easy peal shrimp. These shrimp are deveined and the shell is split. This makes for easy shell and tail removal. Or better yet, purchase shell off, tail off shrimp.
Consider Serving These With
- Crockpot Frijoles Rancheros
- Toasted Mexican Green Rice
- Mashed Potatoes with Poblano Peppers
- Cream Cheese Churros Cheesecake Bars
Recipe For Shrimp Burritos Con Queso
Garnishes For Shrimp Burritos: Sliced jalapeno peppers, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, chopped avocado would work well here. And even some sliced radish would be an authentic topping for Mexican burritos.
Chef Tip: I like to purchase Cherub brand tomatoes. Cherubs are a variety of grape tomatoes which have a stronger outer skin and meatier, less watery flesh. They are easier to slice for salads, hold up better during cooking or roasting and are reliable year round with their mild, sweet flavor.
I hope you give this Shrimp Burrito Recipe a try. They’re a very special treat when you’re in the mood for a cheesy Mexican Food meal.
Related Recipes
And if you’re looking for more burrito recipes, take a look at my recipe for Enchilada Burritos, Easy Beef and Bean Burritos,
Don’t miss my Mexican/Southwest food category, you’ll find a ton of exciting ideas. Including the most popular Mexican food recipe on my site for Hatch Green Chili.
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If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. And write a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback.
Baked Smothered Shrimp Burritos Con Queso
Ingredients
- For The Shrimp Burrito Filling
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil canola or vegetable oil
- 1 Cup red bell pepper chopped
- 1 Cup sweet onion chopped
- 1 pound medium raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 Cup green chile peppers roasted, peeled, chopped
- 2 Cups Calabacitas (zucchini) seeds removed and chopped, unpeeled
- 1 clove garlic peeled and diced
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano dried. Or marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- For The Con Queso Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon New Mexico Chimayo Chile powder or ancho, or cayenne
- 3 Tablespoon flour
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 Cup whole milk
- 2 Cup Monterey Jack cheese grated and divided
- 1/4 Cup sour cream full fat
- 6 flour tortillas 8 inch
- For Garnish
- 1/2 cup tomatoes chopped
- cilantro
Instructions
- For The Burrito Filling
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large fry pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for 1 minute.
- Add chile peppers, zucchini, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another two minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, this will take about 30 seconds.
- For The Con Queso Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine flour and water and whisk to blend. Add to vegetable shrimp mixture and cook one minute.
- Add milk and stir until well blended. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and the chile powder and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
- Lay out flour tortillas and fill each equally with most of the shrimp mixture. Roll tightly and place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Top burritos with remaining vegetable cream sauce mixture and the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
- Garnish with chopped tomatoes and cilantro and serve.
Mexican Shrimp Burrito Recipe …It’s what’s for Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I substituted a lot of these ingredients as I cannot go to the grocery store since I have covid! However, this recipe was a great inspiration for a vegetarian burrito made with tofu instead of shrimp, celery instead of red pepper, red onion instead of sweet onion, fresh corn instead of zucchini, canned chilies instead of fresh roasted. It turned out fantastic and your recipes encourages me to just keep cooking!
Lea Ann, I would eat at your table any day! Love your recipes. This one is another great one.
Velva
Tried it as written, it was nothing short of amazing. Made it again with a spicier beef/bean/cheese mix inside with all of that cheesey shrimp on top….. incredible. My husband is thanking you from his semi- food baby coma 🙂
Good Morning, Happy Monday.
Thank you so much for your kind note, your message felt like a warm hug to start the week.
I’m so glad you like this recipe. I’ve not made it in awhile, and now I must take your idea of the beef and make some burritos.
Make it a delicious day, and again, thanks for taking the time to let me know.
I’m so glad! And most of all, thanks for taking the time to write a note with the star review. Thank you!
I made these tonight. They were amazing! So flavorful…. Absolutely delicious. Terry suggested I not lose this recipe. Thank you for sharing. Our dinner was super.
I can see these burritos becoming a favorite! I’ll be trying then next week. Thank you!
These burritos look amazing, Lea Ann! I am such a sucker for seafood and Mexican food, so it’s like you made this recipe just for me 🙂
I…. cannot handle this…. OMG, these sound so utterly delicious I can’t even believe. Must pin now!!!
Love how you’ve transformed the typical burrito into anything BUT typical!
Thanks Melanie.
I love shrimp burritos and these are no exception! Looks scrumptious!
Thanks Amy Kim. And thanks for stopping in and the comment. Always love new visitors.
Dear lawd above, your shrimp burritos look out of this world! Talk about flavourful, indulgent, and decadent! I loooooooove shrimp and all white sauces. This would be the perfect meal!
love the “dear lawd”. And that’s exactly what I thought upon first bite. Thanks so much for stopping in and the comment. Heading over to your place to take a look.
Oh my! What a sumptuous looking plate that is! Looks delicious and love the ingredients. The cheesier the better!
Happy Easter, Lea Ann!
Thanks Barbara. Always good to hear from you.
What a unique idea!
Thanks Julie! So nice of you to stop in and comment.
These look absolutely delectable. Like they would just melt in my mouth. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be very good about sharing them with my husband …
This truly is a “melt in your mouth” experience. Thanks for stopping in and the comment.
I know, I saw that shrimp burrito of yours…. and pinned it.
Great minds think alike 🙂 I made shrimp burritos too! These sound absolutely amazing!! I will be making them very very soon!!
Stuffed, cheese sauce, drizzled and smothered……has all my favourite words!!! These look fantastic Lea Ann!
Mine too Nazneen. 🙂