These tacos with refried beans and rice (vegan Mexican tacos) are inspired by taquería-style tacos. Warm corn tortillas filled with seasoned beans and rice, then topped with fresh toppings. Perfect for taco nights, meal prep, or quick weeknight dinners.
If you love everything tacos, try these refried bean taquitos, crispy potato tacos, bean taquitos, and vegan tofu tacos.
A Quick Look: Tacos With Refried Beans and Rice (Vegan Mexican Tacos)
- 📝 Recipe Name: Tacos with refried beans and rice
- 🕒 Total Time: About 15 minutes if your beans, rice, and toppings are prepped
- 👥 Servings: 4 (8 tacos)
- 🎯 Key Ingredients: Corn tortillas, refried beans, rice, and salsa
- 🌱 Dietary Info: Vegan, dairy-free, plant-based
- ✨ Best For: Taco night, meal prep, quick dinners
- 💕 Why You’ll Love It: Warm bean and rice tacos loaded with fresh toppings, salsa, and bold flavors
Jump to:
- A Quick Look: Tacos With Refried Beans and Rice (Vegan Mexican Tacos)
- Why This Recipe Works
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How to Make Tacos with Refried Beans and Rice
- Tested Tips
- Customization & Topping Ideas
- Storage & Meal Prep
- Make it a Meal
- Tacos With Refried Beans and Rice FAQs
- Taco Bar Ideas
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Back in the day, weekend grills meant carne asada, Mexican rice with vegetables, fresh onions, cilantro, and a fiery arbol chile salsa that made anyone's eyes water.
I always went for grilled corn tortillas with beans and rice, topped with cilantro, plenty of fresh onions, and lime-drenched cabbage. There were usually cebollitas asadas (grilled green onions) and poblano peppers on the side. Fresh pico de gallo was always on the table, along with creamy jalapeno sauce with tomatillos.
If you've ever wondered how to make vegan tacos that are simple and incredibly good, I think you're going to love these endlessly customizable tacos. To this day, they're still one of my favorite meals.
These vegan Mexican tacos are especially good lightly charred on the grill. Serve them with cowboy caviar salad, pinto bean salad with corn, or these grilled foil potatoes.
Why This Recipe Works
Tacos with refried beans and rice are easy to customize and work just as well for a quick dinner as they do for a casual get-together.
- Refried beans: Add richness and depth, creating a creamy, satisfying base
- Rice: Turns this into a more complete, filling meal and balances the texture
- Fresh toppings: Onion, cilantro, salsa, and lime bring brightness and contrast
- Corn tortillas: Soft, slightly nutty, and traditional—they hold everything together without overpowering the fillings.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegan Mexican tacos:
- Corn tortillas are traditional and work really well here, but flour tortillas work too
- Beans: Instant Pot refried pinto beans or whole beans, homemade or canned, for black or pinto bean tacos
- Cooked Mexican rice, like easy lime rice, Mexican rice for tacos, rice cooker brown rice, or any rice you prefer
- Salsa: Use red or green, or something with some heat, like arbol chile salsa.
See the recipe card for full amounts and exact measurements.
How to Make Tacos with Refried Beans and Rice
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Spoon your refried or whole beans onto each warmed tortilla.
- Step 2: Add a matching spoonful of Mexican rice over the beans.
- Step 3: Top with fresh cilantro, onions, cabbage, guacamole, and a heavy drizzle of salsa.
Tested Tips
- Lime-infused cabbage: Mix diced cabbage with lime juice and salt for added flavor and tenderness.
- Tortillas: Warm corn tortillas right before serving so they stay soft and flexible. I usually heat them in a dry skillet or directly over the flame for a little char.
- Taste your beans before assembling and adjust seasoning if needed
Customization & Topping Ideas
Wondering how to make a vegan taco? Keep it simple or build it with your favorite homemade or pre-made toppings and sauces. Use whole beans instead of refried, skip cabbage or swap for lettuce, or add grilled onions, fajita veggies, or tofu.
- Heartier Fillings: Add grilled onions, fajita vegetables, or tofu taco meat.
- Fun Toppings: Thinly sliced radishes, fresh diced onions and cilantro, grilled corn, easy pickled jalapeños and carrots, or a mango tomato avocado salsa.
- Sauces & Cremas: Drizzle with vegan lime crema, vegan sour cream, or a vegan nacho cheese sauce.
Storage & Meal Prep
Refried bean tacos are a favorite for vegan meal prep because the components work in so many different dishes throughout the week.
- Refrigerator: Store beans, rice, and toppings separately for up to 4 days
- To reheat: Warm beans and rice, then assemble fresh
- Meal prep: I like to make the beans, rice, and salsa ahead of time, but wait to make the guacamole fresh right before serving.
- Leftover vegan refried black beans and cilantro lime rice are also great for smothered bean burritos, easy burrito bowls, nacho bowls, or vegan taco dip.
Make it a Meal
I like serving refried bean tacos with something fresh to drink and a few extra toppings or sides, so everyone can build their own plate.
Mexican aguas frescas, watermelon juice, or this quick horchata recipe all pair really well here, along with grilled foil potatoes and extra salsa like creamy tomatillo salsa or avocado tomato salsa.
If we’re having people over, I usually warm a stack of tortillas, set everything out taco-bar style, and let everyone customize their own tacos.
Tacos With Refried Beans and Rice FAQs
Vegan tacos can be made with refried beans, black beans, crispy potatoes, tofu taco meat, grilled fajita vegetables, Mexican rice, salsa, guacamole, cabbage, and different salsas or sauces.
Pinto beans and black beans both work really well in bean and rice tacos. You can use whole beans for more texture or refried beans for a creamier filling.
The biggest secret is layering flavor from the beginning. I like to sauté onion and garlic first, season the beans well, and cook the rice in a flavorful broth or tomato base instead of plain water. Fresh lime juice, salsa, cilantro, and a little salt at the end also make a huge difference.
Fresh salsa, guacamole, grilled vegetables, Mexican rice, tortilla chips, aguas frescas, and simple sides like grilled potatoes all pair really well with bean and rice tacos.
Taco Bar Ideas
Set everything out buffet-style with warm tortillas, beans, rice, salsa, guacamole, and toppings so everyone can build their own tacos.
Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest! 💛
📖 Recipe
Tacos With Refried Beans and Rice (Vegan Mexican Tacos)
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Ingredients
- 8 corn or flour tortillas
- 2 cups cooked beans, refried or whole, vegan black beans or vegan pinto beans
- 2 cups Mexican rice for tacos or cilantro lime rice
- 1 cup fresh guacamole
- 1 cup salsa, I like salsa tatemada, salsa de chile de arbol, or creamy tomatillo salsa.
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1-2 cups shredded cabbage, optional
- 1-2 fresh limes, optional (quartered)
Instructions
- Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet, on the grill, or directly over the flame until soft and lightly charred.
- Spread or spoon beans onto each tortilla, then add a layer of rice.
- Top with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, onions, cilantro, guacamole, and salsa.
- Finish with fresh lime juice and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Total time does not include cooking beans or rice from scratch. For a quicker version, use pre-cooked rice, canned beans, or store-bought salsa and guacamole.
- Mix and match toppings like grilled corn, sautéed fajita veggies, quick pickled jalapenos, or avocado.
- Warm tortillas over an open flame or on a skillet for a slight char and deeper flavor.
- Serving tip: Serve with lime wedges and extra salsa on the side so everyone can customize to their taste.
- For meal prep, store the beans, rice, and toppings separately and assemble when ready to eat.
Nutrition
Julie Gaeta is a plant-based recipe creator, certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and mom of nine who's been plant-based for over 20 years. She's cooked approximately 4,382 pots of beans and can't vacation without her juicer and pasta pot. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Yahoo, YourTango, and other major outlets. She helps others simplify wellness and feel good again through her blog, coaching, and weekly newsletter.
Julie Gaeta says
These tacos are fresh and full of flavor. I love them for taco nights and meal prep and they’re always a favorite! 💛