something you might consider doing is preparing these by prebaking these in an oven about 1/3 to half the duration you normally might. The overall consistency and taste will be far superior and they hold up to freezing better and reheat better.

I hadn’t thought about that but you might be onto something there. Though this would also require me to do a much better job at folding. Most of these are going to leak a bit when cooked. Parbaking them as is will create some mess.

Meal prep. Except it’s snack prep. I eat way too many Walmart mini microwave burritos. The 4 oz ones that come in a $4 pack of eight. Basically 11.9¢ per ounce

It’s hard to make an exact clone at home because making tiny burritos is difficult due to the urge to over fill. These are larger so one instead of two for a snack. These aren’t as cheap. 100 ounces of ingredients for $17.38 not including the seasoning. So let’s say 19¢ per ounce but are more flavorful (homemade taco seasoning), better texture because they aren’t 50% tortilla and a whole lot healthier.

So it’s all trade offs. But the results are worth it.

These go into the chest freezer and then get bagged.

Love this idea. I’m going to steal it.

I bet you could get the cost down by shredding your own cheese from a block.

How small is that microwave?!

Same price maybe, but check the size/price. I bet they price it the same, but you probably get less volume of cheese. It’s a waste of money to get preshredded unless you have medical bills from shredding your knuckles.

Reread my earlier comment. Everything is priced by ounce. Weight, not volume. I can provide screenshots or links if you’d like.

Love this idea. I’m going to steal it.

I bet you could get the cost down by shredding your own cheese from a block.

Meal prep. Except it’s snack prep. I eat way too many Walmart mini microwave burritos. The 4 oz ones that come in a $4 pack of eight. Basically 11.9¢ per ounce

It’s hard to make an exact clone at home because making tiny burritos is difficult due to the urge to over fill. These are larger so one instead of two for a snack. These aren’t as cheap. 100 ounces of ingredients for $17.38 not including the seasoning. So let’s say 19¢ per ounce but are more flavorful (homemade taco seasoning), better texture because they aren’t 50% tortilla and a whole lot healthier.

So it’s all trade offs. But the results are worth it.

These go into the chest freezer and then get bagged.

Some rice could also bring the cost down a bit

Meal prep. Except it’s snack prep. I eat way too many Walmart mini microwave burritos. The 4 oz ones that come in a $4 pack of eight. Basically 11.9¢ per ounce

It’s hard to make an exact clone at home because making tiny burritos is difficult due to the urge to over fill. These are larger so one instead of two for a snack. These aren’t as cheap. 100 ounces of ingredients for $17.38 not including the seasoning. So let’s say 19¢ per ounce but are more flavorful (homemade taco seasoning), better texture because they aren’t 50% tortilla and a whole lot healthier.

So it’s all trade offs. But the results are worth it.

These go into the chest freezer and then get bagged.

It’s surprising to me it’s more expensive to make at home with the same ingredients. Are you making the beans from dry, and shredding the cheese?

As covered elsewhere in the comments here, the cheese is the same price for me whether I buy a block or the bag. This is all using commercial ingredients. You could definitely save money if you started with dry beans. But that’s two hours of labor and even if you filled out a few online surveys for a dollar you could better spend that time to offset that cost.

Now if you were going to make a big pot of beans anyway there would be an economy of scale.

Ah that makes sense. Do you like the taste better?

I’ve done rice before. I’ve found my personal preference requires seasoning the rice so much that it really adds money and time that offsets the benefits of beans. Maybe if I grew up in a more rice focused culture I’d feel different about it.

But it is definitely an option and it can be dramatically less cost than beans, especially canned beans. And rice takes dramatically less time than starting with dry beans if cost is the driving factor.

A mix of rice and beans can provide perfect protein. Though that’s getting more into meal territory than shack.

Meal prep. Except it’s snack prep. I eat way too many Walmart mini microwave burritos. The 4 oz ones that come in a $4 pack of eight. Basically 11.9¢ per ounce

It’s hard to make an exact clone at home because making tiny burritos is difficult due to the urge to over fill. These are larger so one instead of two for a snack. These aren’t as cheap. 100 ounces of ingredients for $17.38 not including the seasoning. So let’s say 19¢ per ounce but are more flavorful (homemade taco seasoning), better texture because they aren’t 50% tortilla and a whole lot healthier.

So it’s all trade offs. But the results are worth it.

These go into the chest freezer and then get bagged.

For what it is worth and from experience, a can of El Pato in the rice cooker goes a long way to make rice accompany this ensemble well.

The urge to overfill may be overcome by using a scale. No need to be precise, but it does help keep you consistent.