Your Frozen Burrito Doesn't Have To Explode — Try These Microwave Tricks Instead

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Frozen meal trends come and go, but the frozen burrito has remained a freezer staple since its inception in 1956. From new flavors like sweet potato and cactus to classics like bean and cheese, the options are endless. While the frozen burrito is a pretty perfect frozen meal, if you're a regular consumer of them, you're probably familiar with their annoying tendency to explode in the microwave, leaving you with less of a burrito and more of a burrito bowl. But this doesn't have to be the case every time you go to prepare yourself a quick lunch.

Frozen burritos — and frozen meals in general – are more likely to burst due to the presence of water. Burritos trap pockets of water in between their uneven layers when frozen. Then, when they're heated up in the microwave, those little pockets of water transition to steam and burst through the tortilla, leading to a messy burrito that's no longer fun to eat. The goal when microwaving a frozen burrito is to allow steam to flow and escape from the burrito more freely, instead of getting trapped and causing a mess, and there are three techniques you can try in order to avoid this: creating a vent in the burrito, wrapping it in wet paper towel, or trying a lower microwave setting.

If you've ever heated up frozen pasta meals, the directions likely had you peel the corner or make a cut through the top layer of plastic. This isn't just a random instruction; it's to prevent your frozen meal from exploding, since that vent will prevent pressure from building up, causing an explosion, and it will help cook your food more evenly, too. If you have time to thaw your frozen burrito in the fridge, simply make a slit on the top with a knife to help prevent any bursting. You can also take it out halfway through cooking and make a vent with a knife once it's soft enough to do so.

Another way to avoid steam buildup is wrapping the burrito in a wet paper towel. This helps the steam cook everything evenly, while also ensuring that the tortilla doesn't dry out. If you don't use traditional paper towels, you can also use a microwave splatter cover, like this one from Tovolo. It's built to prevent splattering and bursting, and it's useful for cooking other foods beyond frozen burritos, too.

Beyond steam buildup, your frozen burrito might be exploding because of your microwave's temperature. If your microwave's power settings are set too high, your burrito is probably cooking too fast. And while that might be convenient on days when you're in a hurry, you'll probably end up spending extra time cleaning up if you just let it explode. Try lowering your microwave's power settings a bit. This will let it cook slowly and steadily, leaving you with a clean burrito you can actually eat with your hands. Trust us: It's worth the extra time.