The filling for these vegan burritos is ULTRA flavorful, satisfying and easy to make. The mixture can be made on the stove top or using an Instant Pot. No one will miss the meat and dairy!
These are truly my favorite burrito recipe to make at home. The filling is anything but boring, and the ingredients are super simple and mostly pantry staples. Plus, they are freezer friendly! So make a double batch and have delicious burritos ready any time you get a burrito craving.
No one will miss the meat in these mouthwatering vegetarian burritos. Serve with the toppings of your choice, like vegan sour cream, shreddable vegan cheese (make your own or use something like daiya shreds), lettuce, chopped tomato and more.
How to make them
The burrito filling is made in 1 pot, either on the stovetop or Instant Pot. I’ve included instructions for both. Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and/or to print.
In a pot on the stove, saute the onion, red bell pepper and garlic for a few minutes.
Now add all the other ingredients: drained and rinsed black beans, brown rice, corn, kale, salsa, water, spices and salt. Stir, then bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes, until the rice is cooked.
Let the mixture sit in the pot for an additional 10 minutes, covered.
Instant Pot Tips
Some people have reported getting a burn message when they make this recipe in the Instant Pot. To avoid it, after you saute the onion, pepper and garlic, add a few tablespoons of water and scrape the bottom to get off any stuck pieces of vegetables.
Then add the rest of the ingredients, stir and cook for 24 minutes. I have never had trouble with a burn message, but if you do, you might just want to stick with the stovetop version.
What to serve with vegan burritos
- Instant Pot Refried Beans
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice
- Vegan Queso
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Restaurant Style Salsa
Vegan Burritos
Ingredients
For the burrito filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- (1) 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked short grain brown rice
- 1 1/2 cups corn (frozen, fresh or canned)
- 1 cup finely chopped kale
- 12 oz medium style salsa
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
For serving:
- 8 burrito sized flour tortillas *use gluten free if needed
- 2-3 cups chopped lettuce
- Vegan Sour Cream
- vegan cheese shreds
- chopped avocado or guacamole
- chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, chopped green onions, jalapeno slices
- hot sauce
Instructions
Stove top instructions
- In a large pot with a lid, add the olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, red pepper and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Now add the beans, rice, corn, kale, salsa, water, spices and salt. Stir, then turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, place the lid on and simmer for about 45 minutes until the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and let the mixture sit for an additional 10 minutes. Now stir the mixture and serve.
To make using an Instant Pot
- Press the saute function on the Instant Pot and warm the olive oil in the inner pot. Add the onion, red pepper and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot for a moment. Add a few tablespoons of water and scrape any stuck pieces of vegetables to de-glaze the pot and prevent a burn message.
- Now add all the remaining burrito filling ingredients to Instant Pot, give it a little stir, place the lid on, turn valve to seal and set to high pressure for 24 minutes. Let pressure release naturally (usually this takes about 10 minutes). Carefully remove the lid and stir.
Assemble the burritos
- Spoon some of the mixture into the centers of the tortillas. Add whatever additional toppings you'd like such as vegan sour cream, vegan cheese shreds, lettuce, etc. Fold two sides over the filling and roll up. Enjoy!
Freezer burritos
- Simply roll burritos with only the mixture and no additional toppings. Wrap each burrito in foil, then place them in a large freezer safe bag. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes until warm.
Notes
- The mixture also make a great burrito bowl, without a tortilla but with lots of toppings.
- Feel free to leave out a vegetable if you don't like it or don't have it on hand, such as the red bell pepper or kale. Baby spinach could also be subbed for kale.
- The kind of salsa you use will greatly affect the flavor, so use one you like! I almost always use Trader Joe's salsa authentica.
- Nutrition is an estimate only and was calculated for the bean/rice filling only. Vegan sour cream, avocado, and tortillas are not included, as the amount and brand vary greatly.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in March 2018 and has been republished with new photos and writing March 2020. I’m always working to improve my recipes, thank you!
We are dipping our toes into eating vegan, so we don’t have much of a reference, buuuut this was a-maz-ing! Not only was delicious, it was also incredibly easy to make. You won’t regret it!
Thanks for the comment! I hope your journey into eating vegan goes well and you find some good recipes here. 🙂
This recipe is my favorite so far! It was so delicious and comforting.I added one extra green bell pepper. Just wondering if I could freeze the leftovers.
Yes, it freezes great, glad you enjoyed it!
Can I use uncooked beans for the instant pot version? Would I change the cook time?
Sorry, I’m not really sure. It would change the cooking time, and you would need more liquid, so it would turn into a whole different recipe. You could cook the beans separately first, and then follow the recipe, but I don’t know how to cook the dried beans with everything else all at once.
This came out perfect! It was the first recipe for my instapot and even tho I had no idea how to use it I made this and it is so tasty!!
Delicious and easy! Our whole family enjoyed this burrito filling, including my 2-year-old and 10-month old baby. We halved the spices for the toddler and salted at the end, and it still came out quite good. Otherwise, we followed the directions exactly as written. Next time, I’d like to use home cooked black beans. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Yay! So glad even the little ones enjoyed it. Thank you so much.
SO good! I’ve made it 4 times already since I discovered this recipe a month and a half ago. The sad thing is that I still haven’t quite got the hang of my Instant Pot. I made it the first two times exactly as the recipe suggested with no problems. The third time, I thought I’d be creative and up my kale content, but ended up burning stuff. I had to transfer everything to the stove top…and then STILL burnt the bottom. So sad. but still tasted great!!! <3 This'll go into regular rotation throughout the year. Thank you for sharing!
These are delicious. Only change made was I used homemade stock instead of water. Taste and texture were perfect! Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🙂
So happy you enjoyed them, thank you!
I am in love with this recipe! I’ve now made it three times. The second time I was going out of town and froze some for later. It reheats perfectly! This last time I took it camping and everyone, carnivores included, loved it. We had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner in different forms. It was renamed “Denise’s Vegan Chow”!
Very good and creamy! I added more seasoning and use cooked rice.
So glad you enjoyed the burritos! Thank you.
Is it the intent for the salsa to be in the burrito filling ingredients that are cooked in the instant pot or is it intended as a topping during assembly?
The salsa is actually one of the ingredients for the burrito filling, not as a topping afterwards. So you add it to the Instant Pot with the rice and other ingredients. Thanks!
This was very good and easy to make. We don’t have an Instant Pot so I made it in a large skillet. Didn’t have short grain rice but used long grain brown rice instead. I used a bit more seasoning than called for in the recipe. My only complaint was that it took much longer to cook down the rice and I had to keep adding liquid to the pan to be used cooking the rice. My intuition told me to cook the rice separately and then add it to the rest of the ingredients. Will make this recipe again as it was very flavorful. Thanks, Nora.
This dish was so easy to make and absolutely delish!!! It going to be a new staple in my house. By the way – I’m not vegan, but I enjoy eating healthy so I’m always on the lookout for new recipes.
Thanks Robin! I’m so glad you enjoyed the burritos, and I’m happy you’re here. 🙂
Worked like a charm. Made it with white rice bc we were short on time and used your comment recommendation (5 min and 1 c. water). It was DELISH! Even our picky 3 year old gobbled hers up. I used 1 can of corn, frozen kale and jarred garlic. DELISH! Thank you!
I’m so glad it worked well for you and even the little one enjoyed it! Thank you!
Great recipes! I made it for dinner tonight and I used it over chips and my husband had burritos. The filling is very flavorful. I skipped the 10 minutes of NPR because we were short on time. It turned out perf. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I look forward to cooking some more of them.
So glad you enjoyed them! Hope you find more recipes here to try. Thank you!
I have made these once so far, delicious! The leftovers were great as a burrito bowl salad as well. I am also not a fan of Kale so I simply added some fresh cilantro at the end.
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on cooking time or amount of water for substituting quinoa for the brown rice?
I’m so glad you liked this recipe!
I haven’t personally tried it, but I know quinoa only needs 1 minute in the Instant Pot on high pressure, so you could try it. The quinoa version may require less liquid though, I’m not sure, but if you try it please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
These are delicious, quick, easy and healthy! Love them.. I added a splash of lime juice after it was done cooking and it added a great freshness. Will definitely add this to the regular dinner rotation. May try substituting quinoa next time.
So glad you loved these burritos Michelle! The lime juice sounds like a perfect addition; I just love adding lime juice to Mexican dishes.
Can this be made with white rice instead of brown? Would it change the liquid amount or cooking time?
Yes it can be made with white rice. I haven’t personally tried it, but I would use only 1 cup of water and cook it for 5 minutes. White rice cooks super fast in the IP. If you try it let me know, thanks!
I really enjoyed this! I ate it as a bowl with some guacamole on top. SO many leftovers. It appears it will reheat well. For those worried about kale, I probably quadrupled the amount and still couldn’t taste it. I only had long grain brown rice on hand so added 1/4 cup water and cooked for 29 minutes. Perfect! Thank you for a great recipe!
Awesome Sara! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and you really can’t taste the kale right? My kids never notice it’s there, and they can be pretty fussy about greens. 🙂
Thank you for this tip! I added the extra 1/4 cup water and after 29 minutes with long grain brown rice, it is PERFECT. I’ve made this twice now and it’s come out beautifully. This recipe was an instant hit and am immediate rotation meal! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad it came out delicious.
Mine came out a little soggy so i’ll Cut back on the water a little bit but my omnivore hubby really liked it! This one’s a keeper.
Glad you liked it! Sometimes right when I remove the lid it appears a bit soggy, but I just stir it up really good and then it’s just right.
I am interested in making these as they look delish but do not care for kale. Do you have a suggestion for a replacement ingredient?
Thank you!!!
No worries! You could leave it out (it won’t affect the overall taste of the recipe), or use spinach if you like that. Not necessary though!
How do you make these without the “burn” notice? Followed directions to a “T” as well.
Oh how strange! I’ve never gotten the “burn” notice when making these. I’ve been reading a bit about why some people get the “burn” notice and others do not, and it seems like maybe there are slight differences in different models of Instant Pots, but it looks like there are also some things you can do. You could try adding another 1/2 cup of water and see if that takes care of it. Or check out this article for some other ideas on why you got that message. I have found it helpful. Sorry, how frustrating!
We had these tonight and loved them. They were simple to make and we had a ton of leftovers, which is always a good thing. I love these quick Instant Pot recipes!
I’m so glad Desiree, thanks for letting me know! I’m so happy you enjoyed the burritos. Easy Instant Pot recipes are the best!
I would note that with the cooking time called for, if you added enough liquid, you could do the beans from dried rather than canned. I’ve only used my IP a few times, granted, but I’ve only used dried beans in it because they’re super cheap and easy to make in a pressure cooker. Just make sure that the beans are completely covered with liquid(add a couple of cups of water) and maybe up the cooking time by a couple of minutes(24-28 mins on high pressure seems to be good for dried black beans). This is how I will probably make this, and I definitely WILL make this. It looks sooooo good. I just hate going out and buying cans of beans for everything(with the exception of red kidney beans because it’s so essential they be cooked properly) when dried beans would suffice.
Great idea! If you try it, let me know how it works for you. 🙂 Cheaper is always better.
I did this and it turned out great. I used 2/3 cup dry black beans and added 2+2/3 cups of water to the recipe. I did 28 minutes on high pressure and am loving it. Thank you!
This is a great recipe. Thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed the burritos!
I made this last night, and my family loved the burritos! Really easy and delicious! Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad your family loved the burritos! Easy and tasty recipes are the best! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Yummy! Looks so amazing! What tortillas are you using?
I use a variety, but these are just the flour tortillas from Trader Joes. I like them because they have simple ingredients and are thin, but sometimes I find whole wheat tortillas or brown rice tortillas. Ezekial has some nice sprouted tortillas, too.