Spicy Black Bean Burritos

Easy, delicious, and incredibly satisfying, these black bean burritos are the weeknight dinner you need in your life. Made with layers of spicy black beans, coconut rice, and creamy avocado slices, these vegan burritos are great for meal-prep and easy on your budget!

We're entering the season where I don't feel like doing much of anything. Even cooking. And I love to cook! But we've had a few hot days already, and the last thing I want to do is sweat it out over a hot stove on those days.

So I'm planning ahead. I've never been that big on meal prep, but I can get on board during the hot summer months, especially when it involves burritos.

You really can't go wrong with burritos. They're cheap, easy to make, and everybody loves burritos! And fortunately for those of us in search of some convenient meal prep recipes, they're great for making ahead.

I like to make the rice and bean mixture for these burritos in advance, and then just reheat and stuff them for dinner. But you can also completely assemble the burritos and freeze them if you prefer.

Jump to:

• Ingredients You'll Need
• How They're Made
• Leftovers & Storage
• More Black Bean Recipes
• Spicy Black Bean Burritos

Ingredients You'll Need

• Basmati rice. This isn't exactly traditional burrito rice, but it works really well. Look for it in the international foods section of your supermarket. You can substitute long grain white rice if you can't find it.
• Water.
• Coconut milk. Light coconut milk from a can works best. Other non-dairy milks will give mixed results.
• Salt & pepper.
• Lime juice. Make sure to use freshly squeezed lime juice to give your rice mixture the best possible flavor.
• Cilantro. You can leave this out if you don't like cilantro, or substitute scallions for a different flavor variation.
• Canola oil. Just about any high-heat oil can be substituted. Olive oil, avocado oil and vegetable oil are all fine choices.
• Onion.
• Garlic.
• Jalapeño pepper. You can skip this if you're not into heat.
• Spices. We're using ground cumin, ancho chile powder, and dried oregano.
• Black beans. The recipe calls for canned black beans, but you're welcome to cook them from scratch if that's your preference. You'll need about 4 cups.
• Water.
• Flour tortillas. You can use plain flour tortillas, whole wheat tortillas, or even gluten-free tortillas. Just make sure they're at least 10 inches in diameter.
• Avocado.
• Hot sauce or salsa.

Variation: Switch up the accompaniments if you'd like! There are a ton of fillings you could use in place of the avocado and salsa or hot sauce. Try shredded vegan cheese, vegans sour cream, or guacamole.

How They're Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!

The Rice

Confession: I'll sometimes cheat and leave the rice out of my burritos. That's just me being lazy! And it's fine to do, but rice in a burrito is awesome because it sucks up just a bit of the moisture from the beans, making your burrito more solid and easier to handle. (In other words, less sloppy!).

For these burritos you'll be cooking your rice with a mix of water and coconut milk. Once it's finished cooking, season the rice with some lime juice, cilantro, and salt.

The Filling

Start by sautéing some onion in a bit of oil. Once the onion softens up and begins to brown, add some garlic and Mexican spices. Toast the spices for a minute before adding everything else.

Once the mixture becomes very fragrant, add in your beans and some water. Let the beans simmer for a few minutes to soften up, and then mash up some of the beans with a fork or potato masher. I like to do this for about half of them, but do as you see fit.

Take your beans off the heat and stir in some fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper. Give your black bean burrito filling a taste-test and feel free to adjust any seasonings as needed.

Wrapping a Burrito

This can be tricky and it took me forever to get.

First arrange your fillings in a small strip down the center of the burrito. You'll need less than you think!

Fold the side of the tortilla closest to you over the fillings, then fold the outer sides in over the first fold. It needs to be tight! If it doesn't feel tight enough at this point, take a hand and shove the fillings back into that first fold that you made.

Now roll everything away from you, again keeping it tight! Make sure to serve your black bean burrito seam side down so that it doesn't unravel.

Don't fret if your first one comes out a mess. Take the fillings out and try again, or just eat your burrito with a fork.

Variation: Skip the tortilla and serve your filling over rice to make burrito bowls.

Leftovers & Storage

If you have leftover black bean burritos that are fully assembled, preferably wrap them in foil, then seal them in bags or airtight containers. They'll keep in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.

When ready to use, thaw (if frozen) and reheat the burritos by microwaving them for about 2 minutes (remove the foil first) or baking at 400° for about 8 minutes (leave them in the foil when baking).

Tip: Most burritos keep well when wrapped in foil, because the foil helps seal in moisture.

For a make-ahead option, you can either assemble the burritos and store them as noted above, or store your beans and rice in separate containers in the fridge. When ready to serve, reheat and stuff the fillings into tortillas with avocado, hot sauce, cilantro, and/or any other fillings you like.

More Black Bean Recipes

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