It’s a bean-y week at Kitchen Stewardship! We lo-oove Mexican at the KS household. It’s the kind of place where we say, “Mild salsa? Never heard of it!” I usually have 5-10 jars on hand in the basement.
One of my favorite meatless, bean-filled meals is this veggie bean burrito that I learned from my friend Lindsay. My husband, in typical fashion, always says that it would be better with meat. It would also be more expensive and not nearly as good of a meatless option for Lenten Fridays, however!
Recipe: Veggie Bean Burritos
This is really an any-time-of-year kind of recipe. It lends itself perfectly to utilizing garden bounty at the end of summer but also fits with sales at the grocery store throughout the winter. Since you can swap veggies in and out, it’s incredibly versatile and delicious every time. I like to add red peppers and maybe some leafy green veggies like spinach or kale – just a smidge.
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A nourishing, simple meatless meal that makes a ton for leftovers or frozen meals! Kids and husbands will love veggie bean burritos.
Ingredients
for the sauce:
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed)
- 1 small can green chiles OR chopped jalapenos
- ½ Tbs. chili powder
- ¼ c. tomato paste (freeze the rest for the next batch)
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. ground coriander
- dash cayenne
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 c. water
- (can sub 14 oz. can tomatoes for sauce and paste.)
for the filling:
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 ½ c. chopped veggies (green pepper, frozen corn, zucchini, fresh mushrooms) I almost always end up with twice this much, so I double the recipe, and a single batch of sauce covers it all.
- 2 cans black beans OR 3-4 cups cooked dry beans
- ½ c. water
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. cumin
- 6–8 large tortillas or cooked brown rice
Instructions
To make sauce:
- Sauté onion and garlic and ¼ c. water or olive oil 5 minutes.
- Add chiles and spices, stir and sauté a few minutes.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients, mix well and simmer about 15 minutes.
- Set aside.
To make filling:
- Sauté onion, green pepper, mushrooms in water for 5 minutes.
- Add other ingredients; sauté 10 more minutes.
- You can just fill tortillas and eat smothered with sauce, or put a little sauce in the bottom of 9×13 pan, put the filling in tortillas, top with more sauce and cheese and bake 15-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
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This meal almost doesn’t need any sides, but if you like a little more on the plate, check out my Homemade Refried Beans or Mexican Rice and Beans for some great options.
Gluten-free version:
Easy peasy – just serve the filling and sauce over cooked brown rice, like this:
To make this recipe as frugal AND nutritious as possible, I do the following:
- I usually watch for mushrooms on sale, preferably organic since they tend to be about the same price as conventionally grown ‘shrooms.
- I make my own tortillas nowadays so that they’re 100% whole grain. (Here’s my recipe as part of the “Un-processed Foods” theme of the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods.)
- I chop and freeze zucchini either from summer’s bounty at the Farmer’s Market or from the reduced produce section when I see them.
- I always have green peppers in the freezer, too, from the summer or reduced.
- I cook with dry beans and make a BIG batch, tossing an extra cup or two in the recipe to add bulk and nutrition, then freezing any extra in can-sized portions.
- I choose jalapenos instead of the $1/can green chiles. I just froze a bunch tonight from the Farmer’s Market, organic for $1.50 for about a dozen. Huge savings there!
This is my entry in the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods, Bean and Legume Edition. Check it out for over 60 more “best blogger” bean recipes!
Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.
Amanda says
Did you know…. your filling is great on a pizza? I was digging around for something to put on pizzas one night and found the leftovers in the freezer. Now I make it and freeze it so that I have it ready for pizza night. 🙂 Yummm!
Katie says
Amanda,
That’s awesome!! I have some leftovers; totally should add pizza sauce and cheese, yum. 😉 Katie
Shauna says
Made these tonite (eating them now)… Oh My Gosh!! They are so good! And I love the sauce for an enchilada sauce. I’ve been looking for one I could make from scratch, instead of the cans. In order to get the veggies by my 5-yr-old (he won’t eat anything that looks green… or looks suspiciously like veggies!), I cooked it all up, minus some of the water, and put it in the blender on high… viola, refried beans! *sneaky mom* Hope this helps others who have very picky eaters!
Katie says
Great idea on the beans! 🙂 Katie
Maria says
Hello! I have one of those husbands too, and i’ve just had to tell him our food budget needs slashing so there will be a lot more rice and legumes on the menu. We also buy pasta cheaply (yes, I know, but that’s where we are at and it’s all baby steps, right?) and the kids love spaghetti bolognese. I find myself using far too much minced beef that way, but have discovered that red lentils make a great substitute! Just cook the sauce as you would, but with lentils instead of meat.
Katie says
maria,
We just had these again tonight – your husband will love them! 😉 Katie
Maria says
Haven’t got anything planned for tonight’s dinner and took tortillas out of the freezer for yesterday’s lunch so might just go for it!
Kelly says
the filling looks amazing – going to put this on next week’s meal plan! thanks for sharing! 🙂 Kelly www.facebook.com/TheNourishingHome
Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet says
This recipe sounds fabulous! Thanks for sharing as part of Pennywise!
.-= Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet´s last blog ..$5 Dish: Scrumptious Pan Fried Apples =-.
Nicole Feliciano says
perfect fall meal. I bet it would be nice for casual entertaining too. Hope to see you over at Momtrends.
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/10/friday-food-pork-and-apples.html
.-= Nicole Feliciano´s last blog ..Flowers for Birthday Parties =-.
Mary says
These sound really good. My husband, a confirmed carnivore, would move these over the plate lifting them occasionally to see where the meat was. It’s good to know I’m not alone. Have a great day.
.-= Mary´s last blog ..Apfel Sahne Torte – Apple Cream Cake – Foodie Friday =-.
Live.Love.Eat says
Wow, frugal, healthy and delish!
.-= Live.Love.Eat´s last blog ..Roasted Vegetable & Mozzarella Panini =-.
Jerri says
Great recipe. It looks delicious!
.-= Jerri´s last blog ..Tablespoon.com Pass The Inspiration Giveaway =-.
SnoWhite says
this looks fantastic!! And, it made me smile to know that I already do many of those tips to make this dish not only healthy but frugal too 🙂 thanks!
.-= SnoWhite´s last blog ..Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins =-.
Sarah says
My son, at two, has just discovered salsa. He always loved to “dip” things, but now he loves salsa. So, I’m having to buy mild ’round these parts once in a while, but I hope to have him up to the standard “medium” by three at the latest! 🙂
Best,
Sarah
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Beans! =-.
Rachel R. says
I’m cracking up here. Whenever I make something vegan, my hubby always says, “This would be really good with _____” (fill in the blank with some variety of meat – chicken, ground beef, etc.). So I had to laugh when I read your comment about your husband saying that would be good with meat. 🙂
.-= Rachel R.´s last blog ..Next Actions (wfmw) =-.