Stretch-It Kitchen

Bean and Cheese Burritos for About 50 Cents Each

One can of refried beans, six tortillas, and a handful of cheese turns into a tray of crispy burritos for a little over three dollars. Priced with live Kroger numbers.

Some nights the answer is not a recipe, it is a can opener. Bean and cheese burritos are the meal I fall back on when the fridge looks empty but the pantry is not, because the whole thing is built out of cans and a bag of tortillas you probably already have. They cost almost nothing, they crisp up in one skillet, and a kid will eat them without a single complaint.

What it actually costs

Here is the cart at our Kroger this week. A 16-ounce can of store-brand refried beans was $1.19, a 10-count pack of store-brand flour tortillas was $1.99, an 8-ounce bag of Mexican-blend shredded cheese was $2.49, and a 16-ounce jar of store-brand mild salsa was $2.19, plus the chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin already in the cabinet.

You do not use all of it. One can of beans, six of the ten tortillas, about two ounces of the cheese, and a couple spoonfuls of salsa is roughly $3.15 for six burritos, or about 52 cents apiece. And you walk away from that with four tortillas, most of the bag of cheese, and a nearly full jar of salsa for the next round. The brand tax is real here too: that same can of refried beans was $1.19 as the Kroger label and $4.49 as Old El Paso, which is the kind of swap nobody tastes once it is rolled up and toasted.

How to make it

1. Wake up the beans. Dump the can into a bowl and stir in the salsa, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin until it is smooth and spreadable. Cold from the can is fine, but thirty seconds in the microwave makes them easier to spread.
2. Build them thin. Spread about three tablespoons of beans down the center of each tortilla and scatter a pinch of cheese on top. Do not overfill, or they split and leak. Fold the sides in, then roll tight.
3. Crisp them seam-side down. Heat a thin film of oil in a skillet over medium-high. Lay the burritos seam-side down so they seal, and cook two to three minutes a side until they are golden and the cheese is melted. No flipping marathon, just two good sides.
4. Or smother them instead. If you want the diner version, skip the skillet, line them in a baking dish, pour the rest of the salsa or a can of enchilada sauce over the top with more cheese, and bake at 400 until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Serve them with whatever is around: a spoon of sour cream, hot sauce, shredded lettuce, the rest of that salsa. Leftovers wrap in foil and reheat in a dry skillet better than they have any right to.

The reason this one matters is that beans are quietly the best deal in the store. Beans and rice still feed a person for pocket change, and a burrito is just that math with a crispy edge and a little cheese to make it feel like a treat. When cheap protein keeps getting less cheap, the can of beans is the line that has barely moved.

What is your no-money, empty-fridge dinner, the one you could make in the dark?

Recipe is a standard bean and cheese burrito you can pan-crisp or smother. Costs use live Kroger store-brand shelf prices at Kroger On the Rhine, Cincinnati, pulled 2026-06-21. Your store and day will vary.

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