Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Burritos are a tough sell when they don't have a tasty flour tortilla wrapped around the beans, cheese or whatever ingredients might have been part of the maker's recipe and when considering the alternatives are usually wraps like corn tortillas, sometimes it's a better decision to just go with some enchiladas or tamales as those foods always have corn tortillas and can be made without the influence of wheat flour.

This means that for a company to create a burrito that doesn't otherwise taste like a poor substitute for the real thing, a good amount of creativity must go into the recipe for a gluten-free burrito because it's really easy to tell when the ingredients just don't approximate a wheat flour tortilla well enough. 

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Individuals who might not consider themselves true burrito connoisseurs and fans of the popular Mexican food might not care too much whether a gluten-free burrito tasted just like the "real thing," but as the wheat flour tortilla does often provide a rather specific type of taste, it's important that whatever recipe is used that it can stand well on its own or in comparison to a wheat flour version. 

 For Amy's Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito, it would seem as though looks can be deceiving because this variety of frozen burrito is definitely not the most attractive when it comes out of the wrapper (it sort of looks like a sponge up close). Of course, after it comes out of the oven the taste is certainly more impressive than the appearance would lead anyone to believe.

Regarding the preparation of the burrito, it's recommended that (like most frozen burritos) the best experience to be had for the finished product is through about twenty minutes in the oven instead of two minutes in the microwave as it will be less likely to be mushy on the outside and frozen on the inside if it spends time in a regular oven. Be aware that if the temperature is wrong in the oven that one of these burritos will probably split apart, but this doesn't negatively impact the taste.

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Frozen burritos are definitely something that people tend to eat in mass quantities when they're just not interested in making a full dinner since it doesn't matter whether the time is taken to put the burrito in the oven or nuke it in the microwave as there's zero preparation and the cleanup is usually just a single plate. 

But since the majority of frozen burritos are filled with a great deal of gluten, this simple snack is often out of reach. Fortunately, gluten free food companies and manufacturers who delve into gluten free products have started to get with the program with new gluten free burritos.

The nutritional content of this particular burrito is fairly respectable although nobody expects a burrito to be that healthy. Some people might suggest the beans are healthy, but more often than not the beans are fried anyway, so the health content is hidden behind a mask of sodium, cholesterol and fat. 

For this particular burrito, eating more than one might get you in trouble with the sodium gods, so it's probably best to pair the burrito with some rice or perhaps a cooked vegetable. It's also a good snack in the afternoon when lunch wasn't enough or perhaps if there's a toaster oven you can employ at work.

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito Report Card

The Good Stuff:

The Amy's crew has done a pretty great job with their recipe and while the consistency of the burrito when it comes out of the freezer might be a little odd as far as visuals go, the end result after it's cooked in the oven (even if it explodes as mine did) is really good. 

The package says "burrito" and that's exactly what you get when you eat one of these things and the great thing about eating one is that it doesn't seem to matter that it's gluten free as it doesn't taste like anything is "missing" from the finished product. And really, the number one recommendation that a gluten-free food might earn is that it doesn't taste like it's missing something. And this particular burrito just happens to taste great as well.

Things to Improve:

There are no major flaws with this particular gluten-free food and it likely rates much higher than the similarly marketed Glutenfreeda Gluten-Free Burrito as it's less expensive and just tastes better. Amy's Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito is definitely recommended if you like burritos and want one that's easy to make and delicious to eat. Just don't feel weird that you're eating something that looks like a sponge.