How to Make Your Own Burrito Bar

Arrange all the fixings so guests can help themselves.

When it comes to food, entertaining a large group can be difficult. Few people want to sit down for a four-course meal, but sometimes snacks and appetizers aren't enough. A burrito bar is the perfect compromise. Guests can eat as much or as little as they like, and they can decide what to include and what to leave out. Burrito bars are relatively simple to set up and easy on the wallet, to boot. Does this Spark an idea?

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Meat
Beans
Rice
Toppings
Tortillas

Instructions

- 1
  
  Prepare one or two meat fillings as a base for your burritos. Shredded pork or chicken, steak or chicken strips and ground beef work well with burritos. Consider a recipe that you can prepare in a slow cooker so you can get all the hard work out of the way early in the day, and the meat will stay warm for as long as your guests are eating.
- 2
  
  Heat a few cans of beans in a saucepan over medium heat. Black beans and refried beans are the classic offerings, so try a few cans of each to give your guests some options. Once the beans are warm, reduce the heat to low and keep them covered until it's time to serve. Season the beans with salt, black pepper and a pinch of cumin if they're on the bland side. The beans don't need to be bursting with flavor; it's the combination of different ingredients that makes burritos so delicious. Serve the black beans with a slotted spoon to drain the excess liquid.
- 3
  
  Add flavor to plain white rice. Before you start cooking the rice, saute chopped garlic, peppers and onions in a bit of olive oil in the pot. Swap out the water for vegetable or chicken stock, and your rice will be flavorful enough to stand up to the rest of the ingredients. When the rice is finished, fluff it with a fork and season it with chopped cilantro and lime juice.
- 4
  
  Fill bowls with all the toppings and arrange them on a table. Shredded cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, salsa (homemade or jarred), hot sauce, diced cilantro and diced scallions are all customary burrito accessories.
- 5
  
  Heat the tortillas right before you're ready to serve so they're soft and easily wrapped. Moisten a dish towel or a few sheets of paper towels and wrap them around large flour tortillas. Over-wrap the tortilla bundle in microwave-safe plastic wrap and microwave them for a minute or two. Store the warmed tortillas in a covered casserole dish.
- 6
  
  Set up your ingredients in an assembly line. Start with the warmed tortillas, followed by rice, beans, meat and all the fixings. Spread out the dishes so there's plenty of room for people to move down the line without getting cramped. Place multiple spoons in each dish to speed up the process.