These smothered bean and rice wet burritos (vegan) are warm, saucy, and comforting. Stuffed with seasoned beans, homemade cilantro lime rice, and vegan cashew sour cream, then baked until crispy and drenched in a bright, creamy cilantro jalapeño sauce.
A Quick Look: Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos (Vegan)
- 📝 Recipe Name: Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos (Vegan)
- 🕒 Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 8 burritos
- 🎯 Key Ingredients: Seasoned beans, cilantro lime rice, creamy jalapeño sauce, vegan sour cream, flour tortillas
- 🌱 Dietary Info: Vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, oil-free option
- ✨ Best For: Cozy dinners, meal prep, family meals, Mexican-inspired nights
- 💕 Why You’ll Love It: Crisp edges + creamy sauce, two smother options, hearty & customizable
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Jump to:
- A Quick Look: Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos (Vegan)
- Why This Recipe Works
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- Have You Tried Tomatillos?
- Tested Tips
- How to Make Smothered Vegan Burritos
- Make It Your Own
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage & Meal Prep Tips
- Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos FAQs
- More Vegan Mexican Dinners
- 📖 Recipe
- Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos (Vegan)
- 💬 Comments
I’ve been making some version of these bean and rice burritos since I first went plant-based over 20 years ago. They’ve changed with me over the years, but the core stays the same. I use my creamy jalapeño sauce, creamy tomatillo salsa with chile de árbol, or this avocado salsa recipe for smothering.
I often throw in some fajita veggies along with vegan cashew sour cream or cashew lime crema. They’re adaptable, comforting, and always a hit!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easily swap the sauce with your favorite Mexican sauce. I also use my creamy tomatillo arbol salsa and my avocado salsa recipe.
- Beans, cilantro-lime rice, lime crema, and optional fajita veggies make these filling and adaptable.
- Meal-prep friendly.
- hey keep well and easily reheat for quick lunches or dinners.
- Flexible & family-friendly. Great with add-ins like potatoes, vegan taco crumbles, sautéed peppers, or extra sauce on top.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make the best smothered vegan bean and rice burritos, along with some notes:
- Flour tortillas: Large or medium burrito-size works best for rolling and smothering. Use gluten-free if needed.
- Beans: Canned or homemade pinto or black beans both work.
- Cilantro lime rice: Jasmine or long-grain white rice both work. Brown rice works too, just increase cooking time.
- Sauce: Use either my creamy jalapeño sauce or my tomatillo salsa with chile de árbol. But any green or Mexican molcajete salsa works to add moisture and depth.
See recipe card for quantities.
Have You Tried Tomatillos?
Tomatillos are the bright, tangy base of most Mexican green sauces. They turn pale and sweet when simmered, which is what gives this burrito its classic smothered flavor.
You’ll find them near the tomatoes in most grocery stores. Pick tomatillos with tight husks, a firm feel, and a bright green color. A little stickiness means they’re fresh, but skip any with black spots on them.
If you love cooking with beans like I do, you’ll probably want to check out these, too.
Instant Pot vegan refried beans, easy vegan refried black beans, vegan refried bean dip, or this pinto bean salad.
Tested Tips
- Adjust the heat by blending an extra jalapeño into the sauce, adding chipotle in adobo to the beans, or topping with homemade pickled jalapeños and carrots. Keep it mild by removing jalapeño seeds and membranes when making the jalapeño sauce.
- These burritos come together much faster when the components are meal-prepped. Beans, salsa, and rice can be prepared ahead to make assembly easy on busy nights. See my full meal prep Mexican food roundup for ideas, or this collection of vegan meal prep recipes.
- ¼ cup rice + ¼ cup beans works well, though depending on tortilla size, you may use closer to ⅓ cup and get fewer burritos.
- My favorite way to bake these burritos is in a cast-iron pan, though this recipe works just as well when I use a baking dish.
- If you’re in a rush, use store-bought vegan sour cream, premade rice, and store-bought enchilada sauce.
For a casual Mexican-inspired dinner, serve these smothered burritos family-style with healthy Mexican rice, easy cowboy caviar, air fried potato tacos, and cast iron salsa roja for everyone to scoop and share.
How to Make Smothered Vegan Burritos
Find full measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Sauté onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, then stir in beans, ¾ of the salsa, water, and spices. Simmer 8-10 minutes.
- Step 2: Warm tortillas, spread with vegan sour cream, fill with ¼ cup each rice and beans, then roll tightly. Place seam-side down in a cast-iron skillet, lightly oil the tops, and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. Pour 2½ cups creamy jalapeño sauce over top and bake 5 more minutes (or broil 2–3 minutes) until bubbling. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Make It Your Own
- Mix and match the fillings with whole pinto or black beans, refried beans, vegan mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, tofu taco filling, or crispy baked tofu.
- Use cilantro-lime rice, Mexican red rice, brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
- Add in some sautéed fajita peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, or zucchini.
Serving Suggestions
- Top with shredded cabbage or lettuce, cilantro, diced tomatoes, fresh pico de gallo, red onions, sliced radishes, and sliced pickled jalapeños and carrots.
- Add something creamy, like a dollop of fresh guacamole.
- Make a burrito bowl and skip the tortilla, and add fillings to bowls instead.Top with lettuce, cilantro, and lime.
Storage & Meal Prep Tips
- Refrigerate: Store burritos in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Freeze before adding the sauce. Wrap individually and place in a freezer-safe container. Burritos freeze best without sauce.
- Reheat: Warm in the oven, air fryer, or microwave until heated through.
- Meal prep: You can make the rice, bean filling, and creamy jalapeño sauce ahead of time for quick dinners.
I sometimes serve these bean and rice burritos with a side of air fryer sweet potato wedges or crispy air fryer potato wedges drizzled with dairy free chipotle sauce. It complements it so well.
Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos FAQs
A smothered vegan burrito usually includes rice, beans, vegetables, and a flavorful sauce poured on top before baking or serving.
Popular options include beans, rice, roasted vegetables, fajita veggies, potatoes, tofu crumbles, or salsa-based mixtures.
Smothered burritos can use green tomatillo salsa, red enchilada sauce, creamy jalapeño sauce, or a simple vegan queso-style sauce.
Both describe a burrito covered in sauce. The terms are regional, but the concept is the same: a saucy, fork-and-knife burrito.
Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest! 💛
📖 Recipe
Smothered Bean and Rice Wet Burritos (Vegan)
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Ingredients
- 1 recipe creamy jalapeño sauce, divided for the bean mixture and smothering
- 1 recipe cilantro lime rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or water for oil-free
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced, optional
- 1 jalapeño, diced and deseeded, optional
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- (2) cans pinto or black beans, drained
- ½ cup water, plus up to ½ cup more if needed
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, optional
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 8 burrito-size flour tortillas
- ⅓ cup vegan sour cream, 2 teaspoons per tortilla, or more to taste, store-bought works
Instructions
- Start by making the creamy jalapeño sauce and the cilantro lime rice. I like to simmer the rice while the jalapeno sauce cooks to keep things moving.
- Heat olive oil (or water) in a large skillet. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute, then stir in the beans, ¾ cup of the creamy jalapeño sauce, water, and all spices. Let everything simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Warm each tortilla in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 10-15 seconds per side until pliable (or wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds). Place a tortilla on a cutting board or plate, then spread 2 teaspoons of vegan sour cream in the center of it. Then top the sour cream with ¼ cup of cilantro lime rice and ¼ cup of the prepared bean filling.
- To fold the burrito, fold the right and left edges of the tortilla inwards towards the middle over the fillings. Then, fold the bottom edge upwards over the fillings, tucking it tightly underneath them as you roll. Continue rolling away from you until the burrito is completely sealed. Repeat these steps for the remaining tortillas.
- Place the burritos seam-side down in a cast-iron skillet (or baking dish), lightly oil the tops (or skip for oil-free), and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly crisp.
- Pour about 2 ½ cups of creamy jalapeño sauce over the burritos and bake for 5 more minutes, or broil for 2-3 minutes until bubbling and glossy.
Notes
- Adjust the heat by blending an extra jalapeño into the sauce, adding chipotle in adobo to the beans, or topping with homemade pickled jalapeños and carrots. Keep it mild by removing jalapeño seeds and membranes when making the jalapeño sauce.
- Don’t overfill the burritos: ¼ cup rice + ¼ cup beans works well, though depending on tortilla size, you may use closer to ⅓ cup and get fewer burritos.
- My favorite way to bake them is in a cast-iron pan, though this recipe works just as well whenever I use a baking dish.
- For a quicker option, use store-bought vegan sour cream, premade rice, and store-bought enchilada sauce
- Serve with shredded lettuce, homemade pico de gallo, cilantro, homemade guacamole, avocado slices, and any remaining creamy jalapeño sauce.
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
This is one of those meals that just works. Easy, filling, and incredibly comforting — perfect for feeding a crowd or making dinner feel special without extra effort.