Spicy Bean Burritos – These burritos have a huge pop of flavor from a spicy bean mixture along with a fantastic cooling effect from some chopped tomatoes and sour cream. They make for a quick vegetarian weeknight meal that will make everyone happy!

For the past couple of months, we’ve been eating more vegetarian meals each week than I ever expected to see on my menus. And coincidentally, in the spirit of saving money on groceries when the new house budget is our first priority, these vegetarian meals oftentimes come in comparatively less expensive than non-veggie meals. 

I think this has helped get Kyle on board with eating less meat but honestly, he’s been really impressed with the meals I’ve been making, these spicy bean burritos being one of them.

We all know that beans are cheap but these burritos weren’t completely about eating on the cheap. They were about ramping up the flavor of canned beans (pantry staples) with garlic, cumin, chile powder, and pickled jalapeños (more pantry staples) in a healthy way. 

And if you want to add another level of flavor, go make this cilantro lime rice to add to the center of these burritos!

I liken the bean mixture in these burritos to some of my favorite Tex-Mex dishes, this black bean skillet dinner, these refried beans, and Elly’s world famous black beans (but without the bacon)…which means that I totally loved these burritos. Actually, we both did and there was so much leftover filling that we each had lunches for the next few days covered. 

I certainly didn’t hear any complaints about this vegetarian meal, and in fact, Kyle commented how these burritos were almost exactly like the ones he orders from the Mexican food truck for lunch on Fridays. Sounds like a winner to me!

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Spicy Bean Burritos

Yield: 6 to 12 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

For the bean filling:

• 2 tsp canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder
• 2 tsp minced pickled jalapeños
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ⅓ cup water or vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you choose)
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp salsa
• Juice of one lime

For serving:

• 6 10-inch flour tortillas (burrito size), warmed in microwave for 10-15 seconds between 2 damp paper towels
• Shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, Monterey jack, or a mixture)
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded lettuce
• Chopped cilantro
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• Nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, chile powder, jalapeños, cumin, and salt, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in salsa. Mash the bean mixture lightly with a slotted spoon or fork to desired consistency.
2. Spoon about ⅓ cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each serving with desired toppings and roll the burrito tightly. Slice each burrito in half and serve immediately.

Notes

adapted from Cooking Light as seen on Pink Parsley and Annie's Eats

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