Ranking 9 Frozen Chicken Burritos from Worst to Best

What’s your go-to lunch routine? For some, sandwiches make for the perfect on-the-go lunch. Others choose to meal prep lunch options at the start of the week so that their midday meal is ready to go in mere seconds. And then some opt for perhaps the most convenient lunch option out there: the frozen chicken burrito. There’s no denying the convenience that frozen burritos offer, and those stuffed with chicken are pretty foolproof in terms of filling you up and tasting good while doing so.

Of all the frozen chicken burritos out there, I set out to find the best of the best. I’ve already done a ranking of frozen breakfast burritos, so I went into my frozen chicken burrito ranking with some steadfast confidence that I know how to spot a good frozen burrito, and perhaps more importantly, how to spot a bad one. Much like when sampling the breakfast burritos, I paid attention to how good these frozen chicken burritos tasted, how much filling was in each one (and if any had extremely pathetic amounts of filling), how well the tortillas held up after being heated up, and overall, which ones might be most worthy of becoming one’s go-to lunch.

If you happen to be an Aldi frequent shopper like me, then you know there is always a vast assortment of goods to be found in the frozen aisle. One such find is the Whole & Simple burritos with chicken, cilantro, and lime, a product that comes in a box of four burritos and would seemingly make for a quick and easy snack or lunch option. As much as I wanted to love this Aldi find, however, these burritos let me down big time.

The biggest issue with this Aldi burrito came down to the amount of filling, or rather lack thereof. You can easily see in the picture how little filling there was in a single burrito, which doesn’t make a great impression. As expected, a bite of this burrito was super unfulfilling, as it was about 75% tortilla and 25% filling that was supposed to consist of chicken, cheese, brown rice, black beans, corn, tomatillos, and red bell pepper. That’s quite a hefty ingredient list for a burrito that ultimately offered so little, and while there were small specks of bean here or corn there, the chicken itself was majorly lacking. So, alas, I didn’t have much choice but to rank this burrito last, because if a burrito is going to advertise chicken as the leading ingredient, it better have more chicken than this one. 

If there’s one store that I love more than Aldi, it’s Trader Joe’s. I’ve done countless Trader Joe’s product rankings, so I am very familiar with the store’s food offerings, be they frozen or otherwise. As such, I’m more than aware that TJ’s can miss the mark from time to time — it doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s a pretty big disappointment. And, I’m sorry to say, but Trader Joe’s chicken chile verde burritos are a major disappointment. 

When “mushy” is the word that pops into your head when you take a bite of a burrito, it’s pretty safe to say that it’s not a good burrito. I found myself with mush on the mind when trying out TJ’s frozen chicken burrito, which is to say that the filling was soft, gloopy, overly wet, and simply mushy due to an overload of salsa and some lackluster chicken. There was also little to no flavor to be found, which is a shame, because good salsa verde is bright, herby, and a little bit tangy … this burrito was none of those things. 

Unless you shop at Whole Foods often and regularly scour the frozen food aisles, then there’s a good chance that you haven’t stumbled across Feel Good Foods’ chicken burritos. I found two different Feel Good Foods frozen chicken burritos at my nearest Whole Foods, and the chicken chile verde burrito impressed me less. I did like it more than the Trader Joe’s take on such a burrito, but this one still didn’t leave a lasting enough impression to rank any higher.

For starters, this burrito was incredibly small, by far the smallest on this list (other than the other Feel Good Foods one, of course). So, we’re not off to a great start based on size alone, and then once I got into the nitty-gritty of this burrito (aka the filling), I wasn’t impressed on that front either. There was nothing objectively bad about the filling, but it was pretty sparse on the chicken and perhaps a little too heavy on the beans. I love a good bean burrito, but this was supposed to be a chicken chile verde burrito, and I wasn’t tasting much chicken or much chile verde. Also, this burrito is gluten-free, so the tortilla was a bit rubbery and not quite like a flour tortilla that is usually used in burritos.

The Green Chile Food Company chicken fajita burrito impressed me with the sheer amount of visible chicken in the filling. You can see from the picture that this burrito had a pretty decent amount of filling, and almost all of it was straight-up shredded chicken. So I do feel that this burrito deserves some credit for the chicken alone, since this is a chicken-specific burrito ranking, after all. There were a few other issues with this burrito that ultimately dragged it down, hence why it’s only ranking so high.

Perhaps the biggest issue came down to a soggy tortilla, and unfortunately, I’ve experienced a similar issue with this brand in the past. When trying the egg and bacon burrito from Green Chile Food Co. for the breakfast burrito ranking, the tortilla got super soggy once heated up, and the same thing happened with this chicken fajita one. I will say that the tortilla didn’t get quite as soggy with this burrito, but it was still a problem. Also, while I did appreciate how much chicken was in this burrito, there were supposed to be other filling inclusions like cheese, salsa verde, peppers, and corn, but I wasn’t really tasting any of those.

Red’s chicken, cilantro, and lime burrito is certainly not the first burrito on this list to aim for such a flavor profile, but I would argue it’s the one to do so most successfully. Having tried several of Red’s burritos in my breakfast burrito ranking, I feel pretty confident in saying Red’s makes consistently tasty and solid frozen burritos. As for this chicken, cilantro, and lime one, I felt like something was missing, something keeping it from being better than just okay. But like I said, if you’re looking for a burrito that hits on cilantro and lime flavors, then this is the one to go for.

Something that I particularly appreciated about this burrito is that the cilantro was apparent without tasting too overbearing. It paired nicely with the chicken, but there were supposed to be quite a few other ingredients at play here, like brown rice, black beans, white cheddar cheese, sweet corn, roasted bell peppers, and red onions, and it’s safe to say that those flavors got lost in the sauce. A common issue with many of the burritos on this list is that they attempted to pack in too many flavors or ingredients, and those flavors simply don’t translate into the finished product. So while I enjoyed certain aspects of this chicken burrito, it’s not the best in Red’s lineup.

I quite enjoyed Red’s chicken chorizo burrito when I first tried it in my frozen breakfast burrito ranking, and I’m happy to say that I liked it just as much when I tried it again this time around. Admittedly, eating this burrito didn’t exactly feel like munching on a chicken burrito, since chorizo is so texturally different from the typical grilled or pulled chicken that one might reasonably expect to find in a chicken burrito. 

Nonetheless, there were some undeniably tasty flavors to be found in this chorizo wrap. I especially like that there’s not a whole lot going on inside the tortilla — as in, this burrito isn’t trying to be a million different things or pack in a bunch of ingredients. The filling pretty much entirely consists of chorizo and eggs, and simple as it may be, it’s a winning combo. Pair that filling with a tortilla that holds up nicely when microwaved, and you’ve got a really solid burrito (that may be geared toward breakfast, but one that you could easily enjoy any time of day). 

While the other Feel Good Foods burrito on this list left me feeling lukewarm overall, the chicken, bean, and cheese burrito from the same brand left a much better impression. Also gluten-free, this burrito was on the smaller side and did have a slightly rubbery tortilla texture, like the other Feel Good Foods option on this list. However, I found the filling in this burrito to be so darn tasty that I could easily overlook any size or tortilla flaws (within reason). 

I’m not sure what exactly it was about the filling in this burrito that worked so much better than in the chicken chile verde version, but the textural combination of beans and chicken really worked here. The flavor was also on point, with the salsa roja sauce providing an undeniably fresh, acidic, and subtly spicy flavor boost. I wish that this brand’s burritos were bigger, but for anyone who follows a gluten-free diet, this chicken, bean, and cheese burrito in particular is a solid option. 

Another burrito that I’ve sampled before (and enjoyed), Red’s chicken maple sausage burrito is consistently a winner in my book. This is another food item that is mostly geared toward breakfast time, especially thanks to the inclusion of eggs and maple flavor, but again, there’s no right or wrong time to consume such a burrito. And, with sweet-savory flavors that simply taste good, one shouldn’t limit their chicken maple sausage burrito consumption to only a.m. hours. 

Though I wish that this burrito had a touch more filling, I don’t have any complaints about the flavor of the filling itself. The texture is almost gravy-like, with chunks of chicken sausage and eggs plentiful throughout. The tortilla holds its shape well once heated up and doesn’t become soggy at all, which is critical considering that this burrito has a gravy-like filling. Aside from the structure, this burrito’s flavors are top-tier. The subtle sweetness of the maple works beautifully against the savory sausage and eggs, and this burrito is one to check out for anyone who likes to dip their breakfast sausage in maple syrup.

Admittedly, I didn’t go into this ranking assuming that a burrito as simple as Red’s grilled chicken and cheddar would win the top slot. As it turns out, however, and as proven by other burritos on this list that tried to pack in too many ingredients in the filling, sometimes less is more. In the case of this burrito, the winning combination of grilled chicken, pinto beans, brown rice, and cheese is all it takes to make a successful lunchtime meal.

When I first heated up this burrito and saw how cheesy the filling was, I became a bit nervous that the melty cheese would overpower all of the other elements in the filling. Luckily, every component managed to shine nicely, though it is safe to say that the cheese was a focal point here. The combination of chicken and beans offered up a savory flavor profile that only got a boost from the cheese (not just cheddar, but also pepper jack). While the brown rice got lost in the sauce, I didn’t feel like I was missing much by not tasting it in every single bite. Simple yet solid, this grilled chicken and cheddar burrito is full of ingredients that just about anyone might enjoy, making it an easy choice for first place.

When sampling and ranking these nine frozen chicken burritos, the most important factor was how good they tasted. While personal flavor preference is a subjective thing, I tried to keep an open mind and consider ingredients or flavor profiles that just about anyone might like. For example, the burrito that came in first place was a pleasant balance of savory chicken and beans with the perfect hit of rich, cheesy goodness; I feel safe in assuming that most burrito lovers would enjoy these flavors packed into their tortilla. 

Another big factor came down to the structural integrity and overall makeup of the burrito, whether that was a lack of filling or an ultra-soggy tortilla. For example, the last place burrito (the Whole and Simple chicken, cilantro, and lime one) had barely any filling in it, and had very little redeemable flavor to back it up. Meanwhile, Red’s burritos have proven to have consistently sturdy tortillas and tasty fillings, so those tended to rank higher overall.

For the sake of fairness, I heated up all of the burritos in the microwave, even though most of them also came with instructions for oven or even air fryer heating. I ultimately went with the microwave method because it was the quickest option, and I’d argue that the average person is likely opting for that method when they’re warming a frozen burrito. I didn’t consider the nutritional breakdown when ranking the burritos because none of the burritos had a calorie count or protein amount that was drastically higher or lower than any of the others.