These Corn Burritos in Red Sauce were made famous right here in my hometown of Ventura, California. A Corn Burrito is basically a bean-filled “taquito” topped with cheddar cheese and red sauce.
Now you will probably have the same reaction I had when I was first introduced to corn burritos. Why is it called a burrito when it’s a taquito?
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My mother-in-law overheard me and was quick to correct me and tell me they are not taquitos but corn burritos.
Ok, so what’s the difference? Well, the difference is Taquitos are filled with meat. Corn Burritos are filled with refried beans. Got it?
The Red Sauce plays a very important role in this recipe. I am told the original and the best is from Hi Ho Restaurant (opened in 1952).
Since I’ve only tried the corn burritos from Foster’s Freeze, that is the one I included on the recipe card below.
There are a few other authentic recipes for the red sauce floating around out there so I may end up posting them at some point. But I am sure you have all experienced the “Pinterest Fail” so I may have to experiment to get it just right. Rough.
Deep Frying Oils
When it comes to Deep Frying food you want to choose an oil that has a high smoke point and is neutral in flavor so it won’t affect the flavor of whatever you are frying. Vegetable Oil, Corn Oil, Canola Oil and Peanut Oil are some of the more popular and affordable options.
For those of you who would prefer to bake these burritos instead of deep-frying them, my good friend Richelle shared this little tip with me for making these corn burritos in the oven:
Soften a stack of corn tortillas by rubbing a little avocado oil on each one and then heating the stack in the microwave. This makes them soft enough to roll and when I bake them it’s like a mock fry.
– Richelle
I decided to adopt my mother-in-law’s technique for making corn burritos. I heat up the tortillas in a skillet with a little olive oil. This helps make the tortillas more pliable.
Once rolled, place them seam-side down on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 45 minutes. This will help them keep their shape when it comes time to cook them. Now they are ready to deep-fry, bake or air fry.
Reader Feedback
“Lol! I googled little corn burritos and first hit!!! You actually have the recipe that my grandma got from Mr. Fish and chips in Santa Paula. Exact same recipe we have been using ever since.”
– Tammy
Can I Freeze Them
YES! Once they are frozen, you can put them in a ziploc bag and freeze them until you are ready to use them. When we make corn burritos, we usually make several dozen at a time. When we are in the mood for corn burritos, we simply take what we need out of the freezer and cook them using our favorite method.
It’s all about the Red Sauce
Veterans of Corn Burritos tell me it’s all about the red sauce. Since I have only tried the Foster Freeze version, I will have to trust them on this. If you are not a fan of the red sauce from Foster Freeze, here are 3 other popular red sauces served in the Ventura County area:
Santa Paula Mr. Fish ‘N Chips Corn Burrito Sauce
1 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Water
1 Tsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes
Directions: In a small saucepan, add all ingredients and bring to a boil then simmer for a few minutes.
Tony’s Burrito Hut
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
1/3 Cup Water
4 Tbsp Tapatio
1/2 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes
1/4 Tsp Salt
Directions: In a small saucepan, add all ingredients and bring to a boil then simmer for a few minutes.
Original Hi Ho Red Sauce
1 Cup Ketchup
2 Tbsp Yellow Chili Juice
1 Tsp Dried Mustard
1/2 Tsp Red Chili Flakes
Salt & Pepper, To Taste
Directions: Cook until bubbly then on low until desired thickness. NOTE: Apparently the red sauce from Hi Ho is now available on Amazon.
Gather your Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this corn burritos recipe with red sauce (see recipe card for quantities): Corn Tortillas, Refried Beans, Taco Seasoning, Canola Oil, Cheddar Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Ground Oregano, Cayenne Pepper and Garlic Powder.
How to Make Corn Burritos with Red Sauce
Make the Corn Burritos
- In a medium bowl, mix together refried beans and taco seasoning.
- Spread about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the refried bean mixture down the side of each tortilla.
- Roll tortillas up tightly, keeping ends open.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Carefully lay 2-3 burritos in the skillet, seam side down, and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until golden brown. Carefully turn the burritos and cook the other side until golden. Remove from oil and lay on a paper towel-lined plate or baking pan.
- Repeat the frying process until all the burritos are cooked.
Make the Red Sauce
- In a mixing bowl, combine all of the red sauce ingredients and mix well
Corn Burritos with Red Sauce
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Ingredients
Corn Burritos
- 12 Corn Tortillas, 6 inch
- 16 oz Refried Beans
- 1 Tsp Taco Seasoning
- 1 Cup Canola Oil, for frying
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Foster Freeze Red Sauce
- 15 oz Tomato Sauce
- ⅛ Tsp Dried Oregano
- ¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Canola Oil
Instructions
Make the Burritos
- In a medium bowl, mix together refried beans and taco seasoning.
- Spread about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the refried bean mixture down the side of each tortilla.
- Roll tortillas up tightly, keeping ends open.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Carefully lay 2-3 burritos in the skillet, seam side down, and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until golden brown. Carefully turn the burritos and cook the other side until golden. Remove from oil and lay on a paper towel lined plate or baking pan.
- Repeat the frying process until all the burritos are cooked.
Make the Red Sauce
- In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well
Notes
My thanks to you all for such wonderful memories. Growing up in Santa Paula and Ventura I frequented many of these places for their fantastic corn burritos and taquitos. None better in the world. I worked at Bullets drive-in on the Avenue in the 70s and remember laying out and overlapping dozens of corn burritos at a time, smearing so much refried beans and all of the toothpicks!! So many toothpicks !! The overlap was the best way to do them in bulk and it is a memory that has stuck with me. I unfortunately can’t recall what sauce I used then. Living in Maine now, good Mexican food is nonexistent so I do have to make my own and some things are hard to come by unless by special order. Thank you so much for the recipes. Especially your red sauce. I have been using Old El Paso red enchilada sauce up until now. I will look up the corn burrito Facebook page and I also follow the Ventura Facebook page. Thanks for the memories.
My family used to go to Hi-Ho across from Pic n save and Wendy’s. Corn burritos and a banana milk shake were all I needed. Then as I got older I lived off Fosters CB because I attended VC and worked across the street. Going to make these for dinner tonight because I’m homesick and the I. E. Could never.
I don’t know of any of you from Ventura remember Don’s Drive In on Thompson. They had my favorite corn burritos. Cheese was similar to Velveeta and a great salsa.!
The picture looks like Mexican cheese — as I remember, they were always served with just shredded cheddar (I don’t think we had “Mexican cheese” back in the day). Also, a tip – I’ve made them and I use a piping bag to pipe the beans in a curved strip about 1/2 inch on one side and then roll up from that side. I can always get a nicer tight roll when I do that.
Thank you Chef for all the recipes!!
Hello from Ventura California! Born and raised here. It was fun to watch Hi-Ho turn into a Fosters Freeze and a special day when my grandmother stopped for corn burritos! Yes! Little fried burritos that look like those other ones but wrapped in corn not flour tortillas and named by Ventura citizens who lived here many years.
Sauce! Even making at home is not the same. I started making these little jewels when the price went up and over $1.00/each. Much more cost effective and I control the amount of beans and cheese. El pato is the go to sauce in either of the flavors. It is now $1.00/ea can as well.
Retiring soon and taking the recipe with me. Where ever we land the kids will have to visit for “Corn Burritos!”
Cheese goes on before the sauce, and it has to very finely shredded so it will melt upon contact with the hot corn burritos straight out of the fryer. For the sauce, I like El Pato in the yellow label. That picture of Hi-Ho, are you sure it was in Ventura? They were in Ojai, I don’t believe they were ever in Ventura.
HiHo Burger in Ojai was a different place. The place for corn burritos was HiHo in Ventura — it was on the corner of Borchard and Thompson. They had the best corn burritos. I may try making a batch of HiHo corn burrito sauce from this recipe and try it on Foster Freeze burritos (I’m too lazy to make my own burritos!).
A Hi-ho was in Ventura. It was on Thompson across from Wendy’s. I worked at the Foster’s Freeze next to Santino’s Pizza and near VC. This was the only location to make and serve corn burritos. The stores, at least back then, were franchised. Your comment about the cheese is preference. The way we served them was sauce first then cheese. And it still is.
In Fillmore late 70’s, they were topped with finely grated cheddar and the red sauce was on the side.
They were soooo good and cheap!
I’m so damn excited to try this recipe!!
My favorite CB’s came from the place that was on the northern end of the Avenue, before DeAnza middle school, on the left hand side (headed towards Ojai). I think there was a little local grocery store right near there. What was the name of that place? That’s the sauce recipe I want to use. Which one would be the closest sauce recipe to try?
I grew up in Oxnard and lived on the Avenue during the 90’s (what a wild ride THAT was LOL!!). I loved Johnny’s burritos too, but my go-to for burritos was always Tacos Jalisco across from Ventura High.
Thank you for the recipe and I can’t wait to try!
My husband is turning 60 soon and talks about growing up in Ventura and the CBs. I can’t wait to surprise him with this recipe. Do you have preference on what beans or tortillas to use?
No preferred brand. I usually buy Rosarita or Old El Pason refried beans. For the corn tortillas I buy whatever is available but I do like Mission brand.
Oo I go way back ,down the street from Ventura High ,was a small place that had a big chicken on the top of the building, I think it’s a photography store now , anyway it was called Broosted Chicken. They were the freakin bomb. Early 70’s best 2 for a quarter. Oh Ventura back in the daze. Ok now working on all of these recipes, having problems with the sauce. But we are not quitters . I will let you know when I get this right, thank you for this wonderful platform. The p
Broosted chicken was always my favorite! Wish I could find their sauce recipe!
The place with the big chicken was Taco House. A family owned shop that was there for years. Never had their broasted chicken, but I loved their Taco Burgers (basically a taco on a bun instead of a tortilla) and slush.
hi ho Burger was the best Johnny’s on the avenue is pretty damn good and I really missed the Palm restaurant on the avenue where I grew up