How Many Calories in a Bean & Cheese Burrito?

Comfort food, indeed; burritos -- from mild to hot-and-spicy with Tex-Mex seasoning, fiber-rich beans and serotonin-producing melted cheese -- are a fast, easy way to a snack on the go. While a homemade bean-and-cheese burrito can be fresh, tasty and creative, it's hard to measure the calorie count. With prepared burritos, it's a lot simpler.

A bean burrito on a plate with lettuce and tomato. (Image: Ramon Grosso dolarea/Hemera/Getty Images)

Prepared Fast-Food Burritos

Patronize the right fast-food joint and you can have a hearty burrito in hand in moments. A typical fast-food bean-and-cheese burrito weighs in at 379 calories. Around 61 percent of the calories -- 231 -- come from carbs, largely from the complex carbs provided by the beans; a little over 3 percent of calories come from simple sugars. This burrito offers almost 14 grams of protein, providing 54 calories, or about 14 percent of total calories. A little over one-quarter of the calories come from total fat, but only 10 percent of the burrito's calories come from saturated fat; the rest come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Frozen Burritos

Some frozen burritos may have a lower calorie count. A typical store-bought frozen bean-and-cheese burrito contains 285 calories, of which around 175 calories, or almost 62 percent, come from carbs. A little over 9 grams of protein translate to about 36 calories, or about 13 percent of calories. Fat content is 8-plus grams -- 73 calories -- or 26 percent, with saturated fats representing 5.5 percent of total calories.