Black bean taquitos. Cheap. Quick. Freezer-friendly. And so darn delicious folks won’t even notice they’re vegan. Need we say more?Renee Schettler Rossi

How to Freeze Taquitos Properly

To assemble and freeze these taquitos for later use, bake the taquitos for just 5 minutes and then let them cool completely. Arrange them on a cool baking sheet and freeze until firm before transferring them to a resealable plastic bag or container. To reheat, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled and slide into an oven preheated to 425°F (218°C) until hot and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

A basket of black bean taquitos with lime halves and hot sauce on the side.

Black Bean Taquitos

4 from 1 vote
Black bean taquitos. So lovely you’re not even going to notice that they’re vegetarian. But your guests will appreciate the fact. And you’ll appreciate the taste.
David Leite
CourseMains
CuisineTex Mex
Servings10 servings
Calories111 kcal
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon mild olive oil, grapeseed oil, or coconut oil, plus more for brushing
  • 3 small garlic cloves (1 tablespoon), minced
  • 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • One (14.5-oz) can black beans, drained but not rinsed
  • One (4-oz) can chopped mild green chilies, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • Healthy pinch each sea salt and black pepper
  • 1/4 cup chunky red salsa
  • About 10 corn tortillas, preferably 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter
  • Guacamole, for serving (optional)
  • Fresh lime wedges, for serving
  • Salsa, for serving

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with foil.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the oil and onion, season with a pinch each salt and pepper, and cook until barely softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and ever so slightly brown at the edges, 5 to 6 minutes total.
  • Add the drained black beans, drained green chilies, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, and salsa and stir to combine. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to smash most of the black beans so the filling becomes sorta thick and cohesive. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • To make the tortillas softer, place a dry skillet over medium-low heat and warm the tortillas, one at a time, flipping as necessary. You will have much more control and less chance of the tortillas splitting when you patiently warm them one at a time rather than warming them all at once. Wrap the warmed tortillas in a clean towel as soon as they come out of the skillet.
  • Fill the tortillas, 1 at a time, with a small amount (2 to 3 tablespoons) of black bean and green chili mixture and roll it into a tight, cigar-like shape. Place the filled tortilla, seam side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet slicked with oil. Repeat until all the filling is used—about 10 taquitos, depending on the size of your tortillas. Be sure to spread the taquitos in a single layer on the baking sheet so they can brown on all sides. Brush the tortillas with oil, turning to coat them completely.
  • Bake the taquitos for 14 to 17 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately, either as-is or with guacamole, lime wedges for squeezing, and salsa. (For those of us who love spice, be sure to use a hot salsa as this recipe may lack the amount of spice we crave.
Minimalist Baker's Everyday Cooking Cookbook

Adapted From

Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 taquitoCalories: 111 kcalCarbohydrates: 20 gProtein: 4 gFat: 2 gSaturated Fat: 1 gMonounsaturated Fat: 1 gSodium: 158 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 2 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2016 Dana Shultz. Photo © 2016 Dana Shultz. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

If you’re looking for a lighter, vegetarian version of a taquito, this black bean taquitos recipe works well. The filling was very easy to put together and had a lot of good flavor with just the right amount of spice from the green chilis. I preferred to keep this recipe as light as possible so I opted not to fry the tortillas in oil before rolling them. I wrapped up the tortillas in a damp cloth and microwaved them for 30 seconds. These corn tortillas split apart after rolling and burst wide open while baking. About halfway through rolling the taquitos, they started to split open. The last 5 taquitos I rolled, I used the tortillas right out of the package without heating them. The unheated tortillas rolled and held without minimal splitting although they still split open in the oven. The appearance certainly didn’t affect the flavor though. While they didn’t look pretty, they tasted really good. The bottom of the taquito got pretty brown and crispy and they were difficult to cut with a knife. It was actually easier to eat them with your hands. I think these would taste really good with some shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese mixed in with the filling. I served the finished taquitos with fresh guacamole, salsa, and a little sour cream and they were delicious. I used 8-inch corn tortillas.

These black bean taquitos are a super easy and quick appetizer or even a weekend light dinner made almost completely out of the pantry based on staples you always have on hand. Bonus points for being vegan. The only thing I might suggest is to add the garlic after you have given the onions a few minutes, as the garlic wanted to brown before the onions were translucent, so I needed to keep them moving. Smashing the beans gave me an excuse to properly use my machacadora (wooden bean smasher). 

You can taylor the spiciness to your taste—I happened to only have a very hot salsa on hand, and was worried that it would be too much, but it mellowed and worked perfectly with my simple guacamole. This would work for 4 to 5 people for appetizers or could be dinner for two at the end of a weekend of yardwork! I think these would work with any “meaty” bean (though black beans are a terrific base to get the proportions and technique down with.

I love to eat nearly anything wrapped in a tortilla and this black bean taquito recipe did not disappoint. These addicting little taquitos are perfect for snacking or for a quick meal. Be sure to use good salsa as it will make a big difference in the finished product. I reheated these in a hot skillet, which helped keep them crisp on the second day. These were particularly delicious with homemade guacamole.

These black bean taquitos are a perfect, quick, and inexpensive dish to serve for lunch or a side dinner. My corn tortillas were very fresh and pliable so I didn’t need to heat before filling. I served these with Spanish rice and sides of guacamole and sour cream. With the short ingredient list and items already in your pantry, these are a quick, inexpensive, and delicious addition to a great Mexican meal! I will definitely make these over and over again…but I will add some pepper jack cheese to the bean mixture as cheese would make this recipe an 11!

I had to keep reminding myself to keep an open mind about this recipe. Canned beans, canned chiles, and then baked rather than fried—these all had my expectations low. But these taquitos turned out to be really good and very little effort. The only place I deviated from the instructions was warming the tortillas. I brushed both sides of the tortillas with oil, and then warmed then in the oven for 5 minutes before filling and rolling them. There was no need to brush them again after they were rolled. The taquitos held together well and crisped up nicely in the oven. I served with homemade guacamole and salsa. All in all, this recipe made for a tasty dinner, relatively healthy, and weeknight quick-and-easy. Definitely one to repeat.

These black bean taquitos were a fairly simple dish to whip up as a snack or appetizer. They’re a great versatile snack that can take on a variety of flavors or spice levels–you can definitely adjust the types or levels of spices to suit your taste. I didn’t wrap the taquitos extremely tightly in order to prevent further cracking. Some tortillas unrolled when I placed them on the pan, so I placed them against an edge or used a toothpick to keep it closed. They should be served right away or the tortillas get soggy. They’re nice served with salsa, guacamole, hummus, or whatever dip you have around. Plus they’re vegan so you can serve them at your next get together with no worries about diet restrictions!

These taquitos make a tasty and wallet-friendly meal. They’re also fun and easy to make—you can get the taquitos ready to bake in no time. One pointer here: I suggest warming the tortillas in the microwave oven but instead of using full-power heating them for 30 seconds at 50% power. This worked very well. Take out one tortilla at a time from under the moist towel to work with, and brush the taquitos with oil as you roll and place them on the baking sheet. The tortilla on some of the taquitos broke a bit during baking, but they stayed neatly rolled when picked up by hand (the filling was too thick to ooze out). The recipe yielded 12 taquitos, with each tortilla stuffed with slightly heaping 2 tablespoons filling. My companion and I enjoyed 3 taquitos each for dinner with a side salad of avocados and tomatoes tossed with lime and cilantro dressing. I tried another manner of warming the tortillas. I stacked 6 tortillas on a plate, covered them with a moist paper towel, and microwave them for 30 seconds at 50% power (my microwave is 1100w). Then I repeated with the remaining tortillas. I took 1 tortilla at time from under the paper towel for stuffing and rolling and then I brushed each taquito as soon as I placed it on the baking sheet.

We enjoyed these taquitos as a quick and easy weeknight meal. They were light enough for a warm summer evening but substantial enough to be satisfying. Although they were baked, the tortillas crisped up nicely in the oven and we loved the black bean and green chili combination for the filling. The blend of flavors was interesting and not at all spicy; however, they can be served with a spicier salsa to accomodate different tastes for heat. Keeping a stash of these in the freezer would be fantastic for a quick snack when friends stop by unexpectedly or as a last-minute emergency freezer meal. I got 8 taquitos, which was a little disappointing since we liked them so much. I would most likely double the recipe next time.

These black bean taquitos are so easy to whip up and pop in the oven. I loved the crunchy shells with a touch of chewiness to them in combination with the tangy black bean filling. I used fresh salsa to top these and a squeeze of lime juice and boy, were they good! These would be great to freeze up for a quick snack. I had some problems with the tortillas cracking so the last tortilla I didn’t heat at all, I simply rolled it up with the filling and that one turned out the best—no cracking and held its shape well.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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9 Comments

  1. I used to struggle with corn tortillas until I started steaming them in the microwave for TWO MINUTES, yes two minutes. They are screaming hot but they will be SO pliable and won’t crack during cooking. I got 21 tequitos and I thought I measured pretty accurately – so be prepared for extras.