These easy black bean burritos are vegan-friendly and ready in less than 30 minutes. They’re so easy to adapt depending on your preferences and make a healthy but filling lunch or dinner that you can easily meal prep to last you a couple of meals.

Some form of burrito has been my go-to lunch for years – especially since I started eating a more plant-based diet and included more beans into my diet.

This recipe uses black beans, rice, guacamole, and crispy paprika-spiced potatoes for the ultimate burrito experience – but you could easily omit the rice or potatoes for less complication and carbs! Or, you could make potatoes the main focus like these spicy potato tacos or crispy hash browns for a breakfast vibe!

How to make a black bean burrito

This black bean burrito recipe has five key components: rice, black beans, potatoes, pickled red onions, and avocado. Here, I’ll break down each component.

Black beans

The black beans in the recipe are made with a blend of tomato paste, spices, and hot sauce to create a deliciously spicy, protein-packed burrito filling. To make your black beans, you’ll need:

• 1 400g tin of black beans, drained
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Tomato paste
• Your favourite hot sauce (I love Frank’s Red Hot!)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Garlic, minced

You could also use my staple Mexican black beans recipe in this burrito recipe and that would be delicious!

To make the black beans

These black beans are so easy to throw in a saucepan and leave the flavours to simmer together until you’re ready to assemble your burrito. They’re also a great nacho topping, or for adding to burrito bowls. If you prefer pinto beans, have a look at this similar Mexican Pinto Beans Recipe. You might also like this vegetarian chicken fajitas recipe.

• Saute your minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two
• Add the beans and all other ingredients
• Stir and leave to simmer on a low heat for around 20 minutes until the beans have softened and the liquid has reduced

You might need to add a splash of water to your black bean mix every now and again. Bear in mind, however, that you don’t want the beans to be too saucy, or the black bean burritos will get soggy when assembled!

Rice

If I’m making this recipe for a quick lunch, I actually often omit the rice altogether. However, if you have some cooked rice leftover from a previous meal, it’s a great addition to really pack out these black bean burritos and make them a more feeling meal.

Fluffy white rice works best here – with chopped coriander and lime juice stirred in once it’s been reheated.

Potatoes

I know, potatoes in a burrito aren’t exactly traditional, but there is something about those crispy, spicy potato chunks that really change the game when it comes to burritos.

To make your potatoes:

• Dice any potato of your choice into small bite-sized chunks
• Preheat your oven and on a clean baking tray, mix together olive oil, paprika, onion powder, and slat and pepper.
• Stir in the potatoes and make sure they’re coated well.
• Cook in the oven for around 25 minutes until they’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside

Avocado

The avocado adds a wonderful cooling, creamy counterpoint to the spiciness of the beans and crispy potatoes in these black bean potatoes.

You could either add in chopped or sliced avocado, or mash it into guacamole with lime juice.

Pickled red onions

This final component adds a really unique and delicious zing to this bean burrito recipe and is well worth the effort. I’d recommend making these in advance if you can (they last a good few weeks stored in the fridge) – but if you can’t, then these pickled red onions can be whipped up in around 10 minutes. They just get better with age!

• Start by heating a cup of apple cider vinegar, two teaspoons of sugar, and some salt in a saucepan, and bring to the boil until the sugar dissolves
• Finely slice your red onion and place it in a clean glass jar
• Pour the vinegar mixture over the onions in the jar (take care here!) and leave to one side to cool
• Ideally, you’ll have time to cool the onions and place them in the fridge to chill – but they’re fine warm too, just mind your fingers!

What tortilla wraps to use?

You can use any tortilla wrap you’d prefer for this recipe. I use medium/large white tortilla wraps, usually the mission brand but it’s up to you!

Tortilla wraps are much easier to roll into burritos when they’re warm, so whatever wrap you use I’d highly recommend sticking them in the oven for a minute or two, or in the microwave for around 15 seconds (no longer!).

If you are planning on really loading up your black bean burrito, you could use foil to help contain the wrap! Just don’t put the foil in the microwave, for obvious reasons…

How long do these black bean burritos take to make?

From start to finish, this vegan burrito recipe is ready in 30 minutes. However, if you already have some of the ingredients prepped (for example, if you made black beans and rice for burrito bowls the night before), then this recipe is much quicker than that.

Do I have to make my burritos spicy?

No, of course not! I’ll often omit the hot sauce from the black bean recipe if I’m cooking for my toddler who wouldn’t like the spice. That way, you can control the spice by adding in jalapenos or hot sauce when assembling your burrito if you choose to.

Variations and adaptions for this black bean burrito recipe:

This recipe is extremely easy to adapt according to your tastes and what you have in the fridge. For example, a few variations could include:

• Adding in sofritas (a scrambled tofu mix) for extra protein
• Adding in sauteed veg such as mixed peppers and red onions
• Omitting either the rice or the potatoes
• Adding jalapenos for extra spice
• Adding in a delicious cheesy sauce
• Swapping out the black beans for pinto beans
• Omitting the wrap and making a burrito bowl for a low-carb option!