These fast-food-inspired vegetarian bean burritos are made with mashed pinto beans and a handful of flavorful ingredients. This burrito recipe is vegetarian as-is, freeze well, and are ready in under 30 minutes!
These vegetarian bean burritos are a healthy homemade alternative to fast-food burritos. They feature a base of "refried" pinto beans combined with a homemade chipotle sauce and a few other flavorful additions.
After driving across the country twice, and countless many other long road trips in the car, I've had my share of fast-food bean burritos (I'm looking at you, Taco Bell).
Although they can be a good option in a pinch, there's nothing like a homemade burrito, which is why I also have recipes for tofu burritos and vegetarian chorizo burritos!
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Why this recipe works
- Quick & easy: The bean burritos are ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes.
- Flavorful: Seasoned pinto beans combine with a gently spicy chipotle dressing and a herby cilantro salad to make these more than just your average bean burrito.
- Freezer-friendly: These burritos freeze well for a grab-and-go meal.
- Satisfying: Pinto beans and flour tortillas combine to make a complete vegetarian protein. Adding in spinach, pumpkin seeds, and corn makes the burritos even more satisfying.
- Great as a "blank slate": Easy to customize and can be made vegan using vegan mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise.
Ingredients
- Pinto beans: Two 15-ounce cans of pinto beans yields about 3 cups of beans. The pinto beans can be replaced with black beans (like these Instant Pot black beans), kidney beans, or even chickpeas.
- Vegetable broth and seasonings like onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika flavor the beans.
- Sweet corn adds a pop of sweetness. Fresh, frozen, or canned sweet corn works.
- Cilantro salad: This is made up of cilantro, fresh chopped spinach, and scallions. This adds bright herbiness and makes these bean burritos a little different from your classic fast-food burrito.
- Chipotle sauce is made using plain Greek yogurt (mayonnaise also works) and chipotle chili peppers from a can of chili peppers in adobo sauce. The sauce is lightly spicy.
- Other add-ins: I love adding quick pickled red onions. If you don't have time to make them, I highly recommend adding a squeeze of lime juice to each burrito for acidity.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare the vegetarian pinto bean filling by adding the beans, seasonings, and vegetable broth to a high-powered blender or food processor. A low-powered blender may require more liquid to fully smooth the beans.
Step 2: Pulse the bean until broken down into a chunky paste. Add additional broth and scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
Step 3: After preparing the cilantro salad and chipotle sauce, assemble the bean burritos by adding a layer of cilantro salad to a flour tortilla. Top with ½ cup beans and 1-2 tablespoons chipotle sauce. Divide the remaining ingredients across each burrito, then roll up tightly.
Variations and nutrition
These vegetarian burritos are perfect for meal prep because they contain a balance of protein, carbs, veggies, and healthy fats.
- Protein: Pinto beans are high in fiber and plant-based protein. Control the sodium content by cooking pinto beans from dry, or choose canned pinto beans labeled "low sodium". For extra protein, try adding vegan tempeh taco meat or tofu chorizo. Regular baked tofu would also be great here.
- Carbohydrates: Carbs give your body the energy it needs to power you through the day. Try a whole wheat tortilla for complex carbohydrates and extra fiber, or stick with a traditional white flour tortilla. Try adding rice or quinoa for extra carbs.
- Veggies: Spinach, sweet corn, and green onion are the main veggies in this recipe. Try adding sliced radishes, fresh bell pepper, or sauteed zucchini for an extra serving of veggies.
- Healthy fats: Pumpkin seeds are a good source of Zinc and hearty healthy fats. For the chipotle sauce, use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream or mayo for a lower-calorie, higher-protein dressing.
Storage tips
How to freeze burritos: These vegetarian burritos are great to make ahead for last-minute grab-and-go meals. Assemble the burrito when the beans are at room temperature so that they don't get soggy in the freezer.
Once assembled, wrap the burrito in foil or place it in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, remove the foil and reheat in the microwave on a plate for 2-3 minutes, flipping over halfway through.
Leftovers: For best quality, keep refrigerated in a closed container for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave in just 1-2 minutes.
More weeknight meal ideas
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
Recipe
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Vegetarian Bean Burritos
Equipment
Ingredients
Beans
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans drained and rinsed (~3 cups)
- ½ cup vegetable broth more as needed
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn
Add-ins/Toppings
- 4 12" flour tortillas
- 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
- ½ cup green onions sliced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese optional
- pickled onions optional, see note #1
- hot sauce or salsa optional
Chipotle Sauce
- 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt or an equal amount vegan mayo
- 3 cloves garlic minced; or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from half large lemon
- 1 chipotle chili pepper from a small can of canned chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles
Instructions
- In a high powered blender or food processor, combine pinto beans, vegetable broth, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and salt. Blend until mostly smooth. If you have a weaker blender, you may need to pulse the beans instead of blend them. The beans can also be mashed by hand.
- Place a medium pot over medium heat. Add the beans and frozen corn. Heat until warmed through, stirring as needed.
- To make the chipotle sauce: Add yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, chipotle chili pepper, and adobo sauce to clean blender. Blend until smooth. You can also mix it by hand in a small bowl.
- To make the cilantro salad: Stir together the chopped spinach, cilantro, and green onions.
- To make one burrito: Add a small bunch of cilantro salad to the center of the tortilla. Top with ½ cup pureed beans. Divide remaining toppings evenly between 4 tortillas. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons chipotle sauce. Roll up into a burrito.
- To freeze burritos: Roll assembled burrito tightly into foil or place in a freezer-save bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, remove foil and place burrito on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on microwave strength. Flip halfway through.
Video
Notes
- Pickled onions add tang and brightness. If you don't have pickled onions or don't plan to make them, I recommend adding a squeeze of lime juice to the cilantro salad to replace the brightness that pickled onions add.
- Vegan option: Make these burritos vegan by using your favorite vegan shredded cheddar and using vegan mayo in place of Greek yogurt.
- Other add-ins: These burritos are a blank slate. You can add rice, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, etc.
- Check out my YouTube video for this recipe.
Lauren Robertson says
This recipe is not only easy, it's delicious. I highly recommend making these. I subbed sour cream and yogurt for vegan sour cream and left out the cheese for a Vegan option. Perfection
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks so much for the review!
Tui Khoe Con Ban says
Thank you for your recipe! Will try this out soon. it looks yummy.