Next time you’re planning burgers, try tucking a lively seasoned burger patty onto a toasted tortilla that’s been dressed with refried beans, lettuce and shredded cheese. Topped with a fried egg and you’ve got yourself a delicious New Mexico Style Tortilla Burger.
And don’t miss my recipe for Taco Burgers, another Southwestern burger that will win your heart.
What Is A Tortilla Burger?
A tortilla burger is a regional Southwestern-style hamburger served on a corn tortilla rather than a traditional hamburger bun. It’s typically layered with refried beans, cheese, lettuce and can be topped with a fried egg inspired by New Mexico tradition. The burger patty is seasoned with Southwestern spices and can be drizzled with red or green chile sauces. Unlike traditional burgers, condiments like ketchup and mustard are replaced with savory elements like beans and chile sauce.
What To Expect From This Recipe
Two of America’s favorite foods, tacos and burgers unite for a delicious Southwestern hamburger. A Tortilla Burger to be exact.
- Ground beef is seasoned with bottled Taco Sauce.
- Big, bold Southwestern flavor in every bite.
- Naturally gluten free if using a corn tortilla. (no hamburger bun required).
- Rather than ketchup and mustard, refried beans are used as the condiment and lettuce and tomato join in to complete the taco burger experience.
- Easy to customize with red or green chile sauces ("Christmas style")
- A fun twist for cookouts, weeknight dinners, or casual entertaining
And in true New Mexico fashion, just like this recipe for Stacked Enchiladas, you can add a fried egg. And a drizzle of New Mexico Red Chile Sauce or Green Chile Sauce adds traditional bold flavor.
This recipe comes from one of my favorite New Mexico cookbooks, Simply Simpatico and the recipe was recommended to my by one of my New Mexico native Chef Instructors in Culinary School.
Let’s take a look.
Jump to:
- What Is A Tortilla Burger?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Substitutions
- Step by Step Instructions
- How To Build Tortilla Burgers
- Tips For The Best Tortilla Burger
- Best Toppings And Garnishes For Tortilla Burgers
- Variations
- What To Serve It With
- Make Ahead, Storage and Reheating Tips
- FAQ’s
- Explore More Southwestern Burger Recipes
- New Mexico Tortilla Burger Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Using mostly store purchased ingredients, this is more of an easy assemble recipe than a detailed cooking recipe.
Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, mostly pantry items.
- Lean Ground Beef: I usually recommend an 80-20% ground beef blend for burgers. However, since we’re adding ingredients to the ground beef, purchase a leaner blend, like 93-7%
- Bottled Taco Sauce: I purchase medium heat Sky Valley brand from Whole Foods. Choose your favorite brand. It’s a smooth, tangy tomato based sauce designed for drizzling over tacos.
- Refried Beans: Use canned, or make these tortilla burgers after you’ve made a batch of Homemade Refried Beans.
- Tortilla Shells: For authentic Southwestern flair, use corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are more of a Tex-Mex thing.
- Eggs: To make this a New Mexico style tortilla burger, we’ll top them with fried eggs.
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.
Substitutions
- Ground Beef – If you simply don’t eat beef, use ground turkey to make these burgers.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine ground beef and ⅓ cup of the Taco Sauce and salt and pepper. Use your hands to gently mix the ingredients.
- Step 2: Shape the beef mixture into 6 equal large meatballs. Then gently use the palm of your hands to press them into burger patties. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Step 3: Heat the tortillas and keep warm. I like to toast them on the open flame of my gas stovetop grates. They toast very quickly, so watch them closely, turning once. You can also use a comal to warm tortillas. Use a tortilla warmer, or cover with foil to keep warm.
- Step 4: In a skillet, over medium high heat, cook the patties 6 minutes, turning once or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Keep warm by covering with foil.
- Step 5: In a shallow fry pan, over medium heat, heat the refried beans. Cover with foil or a lid to keep warm.
- Step 6: In a non-stick skillet sprayed with non-stick spray, fry eggs until yolks are of desired firmness. Keep warm.
How To Build Tortilla Burgers
- Step 7: Spread some of the refried beans on a warm tortilla shell. You can use either corn tortillas or street taco sized flour tortillas.
- Step 8: Place a cooked beef patty on the refried beans and drizzle with more taco sauce. Top with a fried egg, then sprinkle on shredded cheese and chopped lettuce. Serve immediately.
Pro Tip: If you’re like me and have a stash of Homemade New Mexico Red Chile Sauce, substitute it for the bottled Taco Sauce. It brings a richer, deeper more authentic flavor to this tortilla burger.
Or, slide a tortilla burger patty into warmed toasted tortilla that’s been smeared with re-fried beans. Add shredded cheese and chopped lettuce, drizzle with a little bit ofNew Mexico Red Chile Sauce and eat it knife and fork, New Mexico Style topped with a fried egg.
On Warming Tortillas: You simply can’t take a corn tortilla out of the package and use it. They have to be warmed to be pliable before using.
- I like to toast mine on an open flame on my stove top gas range. They toast in seconds, so you have to watch them close, turning them once. You can also toast them on a comal. Or on a sheet pan in the oven.
- You can also warm the corn tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and cooking them in the microwave for for 2 minutes at 50% power.
- I have also toasted flour tortillas stove top, but a microwave works very well also.
- I have purchased these Tortilla Warmer Pouches, which work well to warm and keep either flour or corn tortillas warm. They work like a charm. (I’ve provided an Amazon Link for the tortilla warmers. I am an Amazon Affiliate and receive a small commission at no additional charge to you, if you purchase them through this link.
Tips For The Best Tortilla Burger
- Handle the burger patties very gently. Adding the taco sauce is adding liquid to ground beef. Which makes the patties a little more delicate and less firm than you’re used to.
- Slightly crisp the tortilla edges for structure. (Stovetop method)
- Use thick refried beans so they don't run and don’t skip using beans. It’s an important piece to this burger’s personality.
- Serve immediately to keep tortilla texture intact.
- Use corn tortillas rather than flour tortillas, for a more authentic burger.
Best Toppings And Garnishes For Tortilla Burgers
Keep it simple and keep it Southwestern. No need to get fancy.
- Chopped Lettuce
- Grated Cheese
- A drizzle of Red Chile Sauce
- A spoonful of roasted chopped Hatch Green Chile Peppers.
- And a fried egg if you like.
Variations
- Deluxe – Dress up these tortilla burgers with a dollop of Guacamole.
- Spicy – Instead of salt and peppering eggs while frying, try sprinkling with a pinch of New Mexico Red Chile Powder.
- Kid friendly – Using a mild Taco Sauce will keep these on the less spicy side, making them very kid friendly.
What To Serve It With
- Serve this Tortilla Burger with Green Chile Mac and Cheese. Perfect!
- Chips and Salsa or chips and Guacamole are a very traditional choice.
- Try my recipe for Mexican Green Rice. Delicious!
Make Ahead, Storage and Reheating Tips
- Make Ahead: Please do, these burger patties can be assembled up to a day in advance and benefit from a rest period. Just cover them tightly until ready to use.
- Leftovers: We’re empty nesters, so I needed to store leftover burger patties. Keep them in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or in the freezer for 3 months. If freezing, I like to wrap each burger patty in plastic wrap, then place them in a zip-lock style freezer bag.
- Reheating: To reheat, microwave each burger patties in 30 second increments. The 50% power feature is your best friend. Using it will gently reheat as to not compromise the texture of the beef, and avoid any microwave food explosions that can happen at 100% power.
FAQ’s
It's traditional to New Mexico cuisine and adds a soft, slightly chewy texture with corn flavor. You most certainly can use a hamburger bun if you’d like.
The use of New Mexico Red Chile Powder and Sauces (red, green, or both) and simple, bold Southwestern ingredients.
You can, however, keep in mind the burger patties aren’t as firm as regular burgers that cook easily on an outdoor grill. The meat is looser because you’re adding sauce to the patties and there will be a risk of them falling through the grates. My recommendation would be to cook them inside in a skillet. A flattop grill may be a better choice when cooking out of doors.
Explore More Southwestern Burger Recipes
This tortilla burger is more than just a burger on a tortilla, it’s a beautifully spiced burger patty dressed up with all of your favorite taco trimmings. I hope you give it a try.
Are you a burger fan like us? Try these popular recipes:
More Burger Recipes
We make a lot of Hamburger Recipes in our house, and here are some more fun and unique recipes to try:
And if you’re looking for more Southwestern recipes, don’t miss my category for Mexican Southwestern Recipes. You’ll find lots of great recipes including the most popular New Mexico recipe on my site for Carne Adovada. You’ll find out why it’s New Mexico’s most celebrated dish.
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New Mexico Tortilla Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 packaged Corn Tortillas, or Flour Tortillas warmed or toasted.
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef 93 – 7% works well here
- 8 ounce Jar of Taco Sauce mild or medium heat level
- ½ teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder Chimayo preferred
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 16 ounce Canned Refried Beans
- 6 Eggs
- 1 Cup Iceberg Lettuce fine chopped. Or Romaine.
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine ground beef and ⅓ cup of the Taco Sauce, chile powder and salt and pepper. Use your hands to gently mix the ingredients.
- Shape the beef mixture into 6 equal large meatballs. Then gently use the palm of your hands to press them into burger patties. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Heat the tortillas and keep warm. I like to toast them on the open flame of my gas stovetop grates. They toast very quickly, so watch them closely, turning once. You can also use a comal to warm tortillas. Use a tortilla warmer, or cover with foil to keep warm.
- In a skillet, over medium high heat, cook the patties 6 minutes, turning once or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Keep warm by covering with foil.
- In a shallow fry pan, over medium heat, heat the refried beans. Cover with foil or a lid to keep warm.
- In a non-stick skillet sprayed with non-stick spray, fry eggs until yolks are of desired firmness. Keep warm.
- To build the tortilla burgers, place warmed or toasted tortillas on a plate. Spread each with some of the refried beans. Place a beef patty on the refried beans and drizzle with more taco sauce.
- Top with a fried egg, then sprinkle on some shredded cheese and chopped lettuce. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Handle the burger patties very gently. Adding the taco sauce is adding liquid to ground beef. Which makes the patties a little more delicate and less firm than you’re used to.
- Don’t skip the refrigerator “rest time”.
- Slightly crisp the tortilla edges for structure. (Stovetop method)
- Use thick refried beans so they don't run and don’t skip using beans. It’s an important piece to this burger’s personality.
- Serve immediately to keep tortilla texture intact.
- Use corn tortillas rather than flour tortillas, for a more authentic burger.
Nutrition
New Mexico Tortilla Burger … It’s Whats for Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Looks delicious and a great idea. Must try it.
So easy to make.