Vegan Burrito

The ultimate vegan burrito! A flavor-packed plant based lunch or dinner idea, it’s stuffed with Mexican rice, seasoned black beans and peppers, and avocado.

Welcome to…your new favorite healthy meal. Well, at least it’s ours! Something about all those tasty fillings snuggled cozily into a tortilla makes a burrito irresistible. Because Alex and I eat mostly plant based, we decided to try our hand at a vegan burrito. To say it was a raving success is an understatement! This burrito is packed with flavor from Spanish rice (aka Mexican rice), seasoned black beans, peppers and onions, and mashed avocado. Even better, step it up with a zingy vegan sauce. Ready to cook?

What’s in this vegan burrito: the base recipe

This vegan burrito is chock full of healthy veggies like black beans, bell peppers, onions, and avocado. Alex and I were careful not to go overboard on this one prep-wise. Sometimes meals like this one can take quite a while to prepare all the components. The base recipe has just enough going on flavor and texture-wise to be perfectly delicious. Then send it over the top with sauces or more fillings below. Here’s what’s in the base recipe:

• Spanish rice (otherwise known as Mexican rice): This beautiful red rice is full of flavor from salsa and adobo sauce. See below for a shortcut!
• Black beans, peppers and onions: This quick saute brings big flavor from cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. It would also work as a taco filling! (It’s actually the filling in our Vegan Enchiladas.)
• Mashed avocado: This is the key to bringing savory flavor and creamy texture to this burrito: a simple avocado! You’ll mash it and add salt. It also adds a lovely green color.

Variations: add a sauce!

Once you’ve got the base recipe, you can take this vegan burrito over the top with a sauce. For parties or when you have time, it’s fun to add even more flavor! (Piling on all those different components is part of what makes burritos from Mexican chains like Chipotle so tasty.) Here are all our vegan sauces fit for a burrito:

1. Spicy Chipotle Sauce This one is quick and has huge flavor! It’s made with tahini, adobo sauce, and Cholula.
2. Spicy Mayo The fastest! Make spicy mayo Mexican-style with Cholula. To make it easy to drizzle, thin it with splash of water.
3. Vegan Queso If you have time to soak cashews, the next 3 sauces are where it’s at. This vegan queso is insanely good! This is our top choice for a vegan cheese sauce in this burrito.
4. Creamy Cilantro Sauce or Chipotle Cream Two more cashew-based sauces, these are easy to mix up in advance. The Cilantro sauce is tangy, and the Chipotle version is smoky and creamy.
5. Vegan Sour Cream or Cashew Cream Or, go more traditional with a dollop of “sour cream”!

More vegan burrito fillings

Of course, there are lots more things to add to a vegan burrito to make it even more delicious! Here are a few adders to make it the ultimate vegan burrito:

• Pico de gallo or salsa
• Corn
• Chopped romaine lettuce
• Pickled jalapenos
• Crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips
• Chopped cilantro

Use Spanish rice or this shortcut!

The Spanish Rice is what makes this vegan burrito, in our opinion! Though Spanish rice is actually not Spanish at all…it’s a Mexican dish! It’s sometimes called Mexican rice or arroz rojo (” red rice” in Spanish).Our Spanish rice is faster than most recipes: you’ll cook it with salsa to infuse lots of flavor. It’s so worth it and you can use the leftovers for days! It takes about 30 minutes total to make, and you can most of that time preparing the burrito filling.

Want a shortcut? Make a pot of white rice, then mix it with store-bought salsa to taste. If you’d want, stir in a little adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers to get even closer to the flavor of Spanish rice.

How to roll a burrito

Lastly…what’s the best way to roll a burrito? Honestly, Alex and I weren’t the greatest at this at first. It can still be difficult depending on the tortilla! We like to use flour tortillas because they’re the most pliable. You can use gluten-free tortillas if you wish: some brands can tend to break, depending on the ingredients. That’s where aluminum foil comes in handy! Here’s our method for how to roll a burrito:

• Place the tortilla on a plate. Place the filling in the center of the tortilla, all the layers on top of each other.
• Fold the tortilla in half over the filling. Then tuck it around and underneath the filling, forming a tight roll.
• Fold in each side of the burrito, then roll it up. Cover in aluminum foil if desired. Cut in half and serve.

This vegan burrito recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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More vegan favorites!

Here are some more of our top vegan recipes:

• Vegan Pasta Primavera Fresh, simple and full of veggies!
• Vegan Fajitas Roast up spiced veggies on a sheet pan, then top with guac and refried beans. Dinnertime score.
• Vegan Shepherd’s Pie A layer of creamy potatoes covers veggies and thick gravy. A stunner!
• Vegan Enchiladas Colorful and zesty, these enchiladas are perfect for parties or weeknights.
• Easy Vegan Lunch Ideas All the ideas for non-boring desk lunches!
• Vegan Sloppy Joes The tangy lentil filling is full of flavor and nutrients! A plant based dinner everyone will love.
• Ultimate Vegan Chili The BEST vegan chili! It’s bursting with flavor and is totally plant based.
• Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo It tastes decadent, but this creamy sauce is filled with healthy plant based ingredients.
• Favorite Vegan Lasagna Ready to become your new favorite: guaranteed.