Cheesy bean and rice burritos are easy to make and assemble. With refried beans, salsa rice, and melted cheese in every bite, these burritos are filling and tasty.
These cheesy bean and rice burritos have always been my personal go-to. I'm not a fan of the texture of meat inside of my burritos so I like to keep it simple and plain.
We have a local burrito restaurant called Taco Del Mar and I always order the same thing when I go in- a vegetarian burrito of beans, rice, and cheese.
This homemade version is the easiest copycat recipe I can make.
If you love burritos, then you'll also love my Healthy Air Fryer Tortilla Chips, Tortilla French Toast, and Mac and Cheese Quesadillas.
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients. With salsa rice, canned refried beans, and shredded cheddar cheese, every bite is flavorful, and the effort to make them is minimal.
- Great for now and later. Make them quickly and freeze them or store them for later if meal planning, or simply eat them fresh and warm.
- They're meatless. This is a great option to add to the menu when you're looking for meatless recipes! Serve them up on Taco Tuesdays or Meatless Mondays and I'm sure no one will complain.
🥘 Ingredients
Flour tortillas- Use burrito sized flour tortillas for this recipe. Other sizes will work, but smaller tortillas may be harder to roll up.
Quick Rice- Using quick rice in the salsa rice mixture will make this recipe a lot quicker to prep.
Salsa- This gives the salsa added taste and moisture so that the burritos are packed full of flavor.
Cheddar Cheese- You can use any cheese of your choice, but I prefer to use shredded cheddar cheese in these burritos.
Refried Beans-Use a can of your favorite refried beans, or use homemade refried beans if desired.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make cheesy bean and rice burritos with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Bring 2 cups of chunky salsa and 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium sized pot on the stove.
Add in the quick rice, stirring to combine. Place the lid on the pot and turn off the heat. Let rest for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, shred your cheddar cheese and warm the refried beans in a small pot on the stove or in a bowl in the microwave.
Place 8 flour tortillas on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds.
Lay your tortillas down on a large surface and spread about ¼ cup of the refried beans down the middle in a stipe.
Add about ½ cup of rice over the top or to the side.
Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top of the beans and rice.
Fold and roll up your burrito.
Let rest for about 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese.
Repeat until all burritos have been rolled.
Serve warm.
🍴 Recipe Tips
For those of us without a tortilla steamer handy, I like to warm a stack of my tortillas for about 30 seconds in the microwave before filling and rolling. This helps them to roll more easily without tearing.
Folding the vegetarian burritos is like an art form though. Tuck in two sides, then cover the filling with the bottom side and rolling upward while tucking in the sides of the top edge so that the filling is covered and there are no holes in the burrito shape.
After the burritos have been rolled, let them rest for a minute with the warm filling and cold cheese inside as this will help to melt the cheese.
You could also take it a step further and cook the outside of the pan in a hot pan to seal edges and give it a subtle crunch.
💭 FAQs
If you would like your rice and bean burritos to be healthier, make better choices when buying the ingredients. Opt for the healthier, low-fat bean variety options, lower carb tortillas, brown rice instead of white, etc. Making small changes like this can add up to a lot of healthier benefits.
I personally enjoy cheddar cheese for my burritos but Monetary jack, nacho cheese, and others are all great options. Choose a cheese you already like and that you think would pair well with the flavors.
Yes. You can make these burritos and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days. Simply place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for several minutes until heated through or cook them for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.
Here are some more awesome frugal recipes to try soon!
- Dill Pickle Potato Salad
- Crispy Fried Tuna Patties
- Chicken Cream Cheese Crescent Bombs
- Maple Dijon Roasted Rainbow Carrots
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos
Ingredients
- 3 cups White Quick Cook 5 Minute Rice ($1.14)
- 2 cups Salsa ($1.12)
- 1 cup Water ($0.00)
- 1 can Refried beans ($0.88)
- 8 ounce Cheddar cheese, shredded ($0.99)
- 8 large Burrito sized flour tortillas ($2.00)
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot on the stove, bring 2 cups of salsa and 1 cup of water to a boil.
- Stir in the quick cooking rice. Place lid on pot and turn off heat. Let rest 5 minutes.
- Shred your cheese and warm the refried beans as you normally would. (I warm mine in a small pot over medium heat).
- Place 8 tortillas on a plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Fluff cooked rice with a fork.
- Lay your tortilla down and then spread about ¼ cup of refried beans (more or less) onto the tortilla in a stripe down the middle.
- Take a scoop of rice (about ½ cup) and make a strip of it right next to the refried beans.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top of the beans and rice.
- Fold in the two ends on either side of the filling and then tuck in the other edges as you roll so that you get a nice burrito. Repeat until all burritos have been finished.
- Allow the burritos to rest for about 1 or 2 minutes after rolling so that the warmth can melt the cheese before eating.
- Serve warm.
Rachel says
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I want to print it to keep it in my recipe binder, but the link for print mode isn't working. Can you correct it please?
Nicole says
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe, but I'm sorry to hear that you had printer issues. I have fixed the issue and it should be working fine now. 🙂
Rachel says
Awesome, thank you!! I
Deb Spackman says
These came together super quick and were delicious and filling. We had some left over and wrapped them in foil for next time. Definitely a repeat recipe. Loved it!
Nicole says
Funny enough this is what we ate for lunch today haha. They are great for leftovers, glad you enjoyed them! 🙂