If there’s one thing we love here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, it’s a good frozen burrito. Of course, we do love way more than just one thing, but we have a passion for frozen burritos that never ends. That doesn’t mean we’ve never met a burrito we didn’t like, of course. We’ve tried plenty of stinkers in our time reviewing frozen burritos. But even then, we appreciate the opportunity to try a new option in our favorite category of frozen food.
So today we’re excited to be checking out the Artisan Bistro Grilled Steak Burrito. We’d previously tried the Egg, Pork Sausage & Cheese Breakfast Burrito and the Grilled Chicken Burrito, both of which we’d probably rate as “competent.” But for some reason, we have a lot of faith in this steak burrito. We have a feeling this one’s going to lead the pack in terms of flavor.
But we can’t say for sure until we try it, right? So let’s dig in!
First up, we’ve got to cook this thing. The packaging includes instructions for both the microwave and the oven. While we used to get really fancy and oven-cook all of our burritos, we’ve fallen out of that habit. So we’re using the microwave for this one today. (If you want to read the full cooking instructions for both methods, check out the package scans at the bottom of this review.)
One thing we appreciate about Artisan Bistro is their use of meat. While too many other frozen burritos skimp out on this portion, Artisan Bistro tends to be pretty generous. That’s certainly the case here, with thick chunks of steak scattered throughout. And it’s a pretty decent tasting steak too, though it’s admittedly a little bit tougher than we’d like a burrito filling to be.
There’s also a hint of lime juice, which adds this lovely zesty and refreshing aftertaste to the whole thing. It creates sort of a plot twist like halfway through every bite, where the steak hits first and then the lime flavor comes in later.
The rest of the filling is pretty much the stuff you’d expect, with some rice, black beans, and tomatillos. There’s also some monterey jack cheese here, but not nearly as much as the package would lead you to believe. In fact, this is the one thing we were disappointed by — a little more cheese would have really tied this together.
Now let’s be clear about something: This burrito is no refuge for dieters. This thing packs a walloping 450 calories (410 from fat) into its tasty package, as well as 600 mg of sodium. If that doesn’t sound bad to you, just consider how small this burrito is. While we don’t think we’d scarf down two in a sitting, we can definitely see eating one and a half, or pairing this with a side of chips or something. That’s going to kick those numbers up even higher.
The Artisan Bistro Grilled Steak Burrito is a halfway decent frozen burrito. No, it’s not the flavor monster we were hoping for, but its steak portion is fair and the lime juice really drives it home.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this frozen burrito, check out our package scans below.
