Authentic-Tasting Refried Bean Burritos with Homemade Tortillas (vegan)
My favorite burritos are from hole-in-the-wall burrito or taco shops in Arizona or Mexico. Los Betos is a chain that makes them, too. They have huge tortillas and loads of blended refried beans spilling out when you take a bite. I love to douse mine in the little cups of hot sauce they give you, and tuck some marinated spicy carrots in there, too (if the restaurant has spicy carrots, you’re in the right place). But truthfully, I think they are also sublime eaten as is—just beans and tortilla.
I can’t find the list of ingredients anywhere, but I would imagine there is a lot of lard and/or oil in the beans and tortilla. I wanted to create this simple, inexpensive-but-incredible meal at home for a fraction of the price and lower fat. However, it has seemed intimidating. Either the beans were not salty enough and tasted bland, or I would try to add too many ingredients (onion, garlic powder, chilis, lime juice, etc), or the beans were too runny or the whole wheat tortilla cracked too much. It took some trial and error to crack the healthier homemade version. 
I learned that simplicity is the key in this case. And these simple burritos do not disappoint. The beans are simply beans, water, and salt. The tortillas are flour, water, oil, and salt. And somehow that hits the spot!
About Store-Bought Tortillas
Tortillas are a conundrum. You can pack so much nutritious stuff into a tortilla and it tastes great….because of the tortilla! Biting into a chewy, delicious wrapping is extremely satifying to me. At times I have avoided all things needing a tortilla because there is just no easy way to have a healthy tortilla. They need to be homemade or have a lot of oil or other filler ingredients to be pliable. The whole wheat ones have a long paragraph of ingredients, but are low fat (meaning little oil is in them) and whole grain. The white ones are better tasting and can have much fewer ingredients, but are still not a very healthy choice.
I often get the Maya’s brand of whole wheat tortillas, and they are very inexpensive (often less than 15 cents per tortilla).
I’ve often bought the whole wheat Mission Organics tortillas. Their ingredients are decent, they have 5 grams of fat per tortilla (kind of a lot compared to 2.5 in Maya’s) and are just really expensive (over $1 per tortilla), with their only advantage being organic and 1 extra gram of fiber than others.
The healthiest tortilla is probably the Ezekiel brand, which uses sprouted whole grains and no oil. However, they crack so easily (warming them in a damp towel does help) I don’t find them feasible for burritos, especially with kids, and they are far from authentic or scrumptious.
The refrigerated cook-your-own tortillas (Tortilla Land brand) are super yummy and taste most authentic to me, and are made of only four simple ingredients you could pronounce and use in your own kitchen (Wheat Flour, Water, Canola Oil, Salt, Sugar). They have 4 grams of fat and 0 grams of added sugar (4 grams of fat means less than 1 teaspoon of oil). White flour is not ideal in so many ways, but at the moment (this could change), this is my preferred tortilla for taste and approval of my family and simplicity of ingredients. I really don’t like that there is canola oil in them, though, and also wish they were organic. They are what is used in these pictures.
So that was a lot of paragraphs to say that there is no ideal tortilla solution, and you have to pick your battles.
The Homemade Tortilla
It’s not always possible, but when I have a little extra time, I make homemade tortillas! They are so yummy. I’ve tried oil-free options and they weren’t great (maybe I’ll find a good option one day). I think three tablespoons of olive oil isn’t too bad, and it makes them flexible and soft. The pictures for this post were not with my homemade tortillas, however. I haven’t gotten them that thin yet! I use this tortilla press (affiliate link), but you can also just roll them out with a rolling pin or straight drinking glass.
Nutrition Facts for these Bean Burritos
A burrito made with one Tortilla Land tortilla and 2/3 cup of beans is 250 calories, 4.6 grams of fat, 6.5 grams of fiber, and 10 grams of protein. You could easily eat two for a 500-calorie meal with 20 grams of protein (and 12 grams of fiber!). Couple your burritos with salsa and/or some fruit for extra vitamin C, which will help you absorb the iron in the beans.
More than macronutrients, beans are a good source of folate (you’ll get 74% or your daily need in one cup!), magnesium, and iron. Beans also help with weight management and reduce cravings from all the fiber and protein. Beans help lower bad cholesterol and overall prevent disease. One common denomenator among centenarians is that they eat beans every day.
If you want to make Homemade Tortillas
The next best thing is to make them yourself. You can make the viral red lentil wraps (made of just lentils and water!), or these oil-free whole wheat tortillas, or these soft tortillas made with the oil of your choice. I even have a cast iron tortilla press which helps a lot. When you have the time and energy, homemade is great! It is hard to make them big and flexible enough, I will warn you.
Just how Inexpensive are these Burritos?
These are fantastic to batch-prep and freeze some for future meals. Store-bought vegan burritos are over $3 each, and you can make these for a fraction of that.
1 pound dry pinto beans = $1 (16 cents worth for each burrito)
18-count package of tortilla land tortillas = $4.53 (.25 cents each tortilla)
That’s 41 cents per burrito! You can add 60 cents of salsa and guacamole and still have a $1 burrito.
After wrapping your burrito, put it back onto the hot skillet to grill the sides a bit!
The possibilities are endless. You can set them in a pan and cover them with enchilada sauce for easy bean enchiladas, you can add any type of cheese, tomatoes, rice, avocado, chilies, pickled jalepenos….the sky is the limit.
Authentic-Tasting Refried Bean Burritos (vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans (about 2 cups), or 4 cups cooked pinto beans
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 flour tortillas (any kind, see post for details on options)
Instructions
- *Try to blend up the cooked beans a few hours before you want to eat them, so they have time to firm up and not be so runny!*Preferably the day before: Pour the bag of pinto beans into a bowl and cover with water. Let sit overnight or for at least 3 hours, until a lot of the water is absorbed and beans are swollen.
- Drain the water off, then pour the beans into a pot on the stove, an Instant Pot, or Crock Pot. Add 6 cups of water to cover them. Add the salt. You can add an onion cut in half here, too, if you would like, and remove it after cooking. I do that sometimes but honestly salt is what makes the biggest difference in flavor. On the stove: Bring the water and beans to a boil, then cook for 60-90 minutes until soft. In Instant Pot: Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Do a quick or natural release.In the crock pot: Make sure beans are covered by about 2 inches of water. Let cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Once beans are soft, drain off most of the water. Leave about 1 inch in the bottom. Use a ladle and scoop the beans with some cooking water into a blender and blend until smooth in batches, OR use an immersion blender and blend right there in the cooking pot until smooth. If they are too runny, just give them a few minutes after blending, they firm up significantly as they cool. Taste and add more salt if needed. Salt is the magic ingredient here to making them taste like authentic Mexican restaurant burritos!
- Meanwhile, cook up some tortillas. Spread some blended "refried" beans into each tortilla. You can add toppings like salsa, guacamole, cheese or plant-based cheese or cheese sauces, hot sauce, onions, etc. I honestly love them with just beans, too! Covered in enchilada sauce is also delicious. Grilling the burrito in a dry skillet so it's crispy on the side is a nice touch.
- Burritos refrigerate and reheat well, and freeze fantastically.
Homemade Tortillas (half whole wheat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup warm water
Instructions
- Mix the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl with a whisk.
- Add the oil, and stir and rub with your hands until it looks like sand.
- Add the warm water and mix until a soft dough forms. Add a little more water if needed, as whole wheat flour absorbs a lot.
- Knead the dough for a few minutes.
- Cut into 8 pieces, and let them rest for 20 minutes. I prepare my beans and toppings during this time.
- Coat each ball in flour to prevent sticking, then, roll out with a tortilla press or a rolling pin. Make them as thin and round as possible.
- Cook on a hot dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Keep warm under a towel until ready to eat.
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I have tried to make refried beans before and we just didn’t like them. This is the recipe, folks! I did it in my instant pot with an onion and blended in my blender. Added quite a bit more salt as I was blending. They were so good! Put them in the same tortillas you mentioned from the refrigerator section (that was a game-changer. My kids will finally eat burritos because of those!) and we ate them with ketchup and guacamole. Even my picky kid ate them! Thank you so much for such a simple (and soooo cheap) recipe that is going to be a staple in our home!
Thank you so much for this helpful comment! So glad your kids finally ate burritos!