So, I broke down last week and bought a burrito from the hospital cafeteria for lunch. It was SO good, but at $5.50 for the least expensive option, I knew I could do better.
I just finished tallying my cost for this recipe and I have to say, I’m sure I could have done much better. To be fair, I didn’t do any comparison shopping, I just ran in, got what I needed, and ran out. So, you might be able to make these for far less than I did. I did, however, make my own black beans instead of buying cans. That saved me a dollar or two. Oh, and I lucked out with the red bell peppers – on sale 10/$10! That’s a SUPER good price.
I seasoned up some regular old white rice, added my black beans (you can season those too, if you’d like), and then topped those with some amazing roasted vegetables. Roasting vegetables intensifies their flavor, and when you add herbs like I did, they become even more amazing. I suggest using whatever vegetables you can get for a good price (I was a bad example here), but the mushrooms really did make this special. So, get the mushrooms if at all possible!
Now I have 8 awesome burritos in my freezer just waiting to be grabbed for lunch in the morning. The recipe is enough for 10, but I already ate one burrito and I had previously used one of the tortillas for something else. To reaheat just place in a microwavable dish and nuke until hot.
Roasted Vegetable Burritos
Roasted Vegetable Burritos
Servings 10Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice ($0.75)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.07)
- 1 zucchini ($1.65)
- 1 red onion ($1.93)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.00)
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($1.49)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 10 large flour tortillas ($2.99)
- 2 15oz. cans black beans ($0.75)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese ($2.31)
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.75)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop the zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Toss the vegetables with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp oregano. Spread the vegetables out over a large sheet pan and roast for 40 minutes, stirring once half way through.
- Combine the rice in a medium pot with 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 Tbsp of chili powder. Add 3 cups of water, place a lid on top, and bring up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed until you’re ready to assemble the burritos. Fluff the rice just before using.
- When you’re ready to make the burritos, stack a few tortillas on a large plate, place a damp paper towel over top, and microwave for 30 seconds. This will make the tortillas more pliable as you wrap the burritos.
- Place 1/4-1/3 cup of rice on a tortilla, add 1/4 cup of black beans, 1/3 cup of the roasted vegetables, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, and a handful of fresh cilantro leaves. Roll the burrito tightly and wrap in plastic until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Since the vegetables take the longest to cook, get them going first. You can use any mix of vegetables, but I like to make sure that I have an onion, some type of pepper, and some mushrooms. The mushrooms get ULTRA delicious when roasted.
Cut the vegetables into bite-sized chunks and then toss with olive oil, salt, cumin, and oregano.
Spread the seasoned vegetables out over a large baking sheet (cover with foil for easy clean up). Roast the vegetables in a preheated oven for 40 minutes, stirring once half way through.
Now the vegetables are all roasted and totally delicious. Try not to snack on them :)
While the vegetables are roasting, you can cook the rice. Combine the dry rice in a medium pot along with salt and chili powder. Add 3 cups of water, put a lid on top, and bring up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit, undisturbed, until you’re ready to make the burritos. Fluff the rice just before using.
When you’re ready to assemble, you can make the tortillas more pliable by microwaving them with a damp paper towel over top. I do a few at a time as I’m making the burritos.
It’s really easy to accidentally over fill the burritos to the point that you can’t roll them up. So, you might have to play around with the quantities. I used about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rice and 1/4 cup of beans per burrito.
…and about 1/3 cup of roasted vegeatbles.
And lastly, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese and a small handfull of fresh cilantro.
Roll the burritos up and wrap each one in plastic. To freeze, place them in a heavy duty freezer bag.
Hahah, okay, I had to document this… this is the first and last time my freezer will ever be so clean, neat, and tidy! See what a hurricane can do for you? :D
Seven of them waiting in the freezer. Lovely!
Just made these, amazing!! Mine only came out to 6. Perfect freezer meal for work. First Burrito I’ve ever made, completely manageable. I would have done a couple things different in retrospect, but still a delicious meal. I love the flexibility in this recipe, I substituted mushrooms for semi-sweet corn (not roasted, cooked separately)that little bit of sweetness worked out so well.
Made these for dinner last night. Everyone loved them. Thanks for sharing!
i’ve followed your blog for a while, always telling myself i’d try one of your recipes… and today i finally did! i look forward to trying one of these guys out tomorrow at work. very easy to follow instructions.
Yum! Making these tonight! You can eliminate the plastic wrap waste by freezing on a cookie sheet and then transferring to the zip lock once they’re frozen…I do this with breakfast burritos that I make in bulk and take to new moms with babies and limited time to fix food in the morning.
I’ve just got onto the freezer burrito bandwagon and I have to say it’s been a freaking lifesaver!! I live alone, but am very very busy and it’s been amazing to get home after a long day and still have a hot, nutritious meal without any hassle. Didn’t put rice in though; great idea!
I only had about 3/4 cup of brown rice, so I roasted a sweet potato with the veggies to fill it out a bit. Turned out not bad! Thanks.
I rarely cook but I followed this recipe to make dinner for me and my mother today. We both loved it!
Eating one of these right now and thinking “OMG, I CAN’T BELIEVE I MADE THIS!”
This is so good – I think I’m spoiled life – never buying frozen burritos again. The quantities were perfect – made it to 10 and had no leftovers at all. I got a little OCD with the wrapping though (haha, first time) and it took me all night (not really, but felt like it). So funny – the inside looked like sushi when I cut it in half to eat it! :D Thanks, Beth!
Oh, when I warmed it, I zapped it for 2 minutes in the microwave, then finished it off in the toaster oven (mine felt a little damp)…but it wasn’t quite rock-hard frozen yet when I took it out of the freezer, so YMMV.
This is slightly off topic, but I get rid of my sweet flavored vodkas by putting them in my coffee with a little milk.
Anyway, these burritos look delicious. I’m going to have to try them out after payday.
i love the sound of these burritos! my husband loves frozen egg & cheese burritos for breakfast but i haven’t made any ahead to freeze for lunch. this would be a great recipe for that. :)
That’s a completely reasonable question! It was frozen solid when I microwaved it. That being said, every microwave is different so you might have to experiment with the reheating time. I often have to cut large objects like this in half when microwaving them to make sure the center gets hot (I cut it after microwaving for 2-3 minutes so that it’s soft enough to cut), but this time I didn’t find that I needed to cut it.
Just to make sure I understand — was it totally frozen when you reheated it for 3.5 minutes?? (Sorry for being so dense!)
Anon – Hahah, yes, that flavored vodka was an impulse buy… it’s been in there about a year now :P I’m a wine girl!
Kmeyer – Yes, some burritos do get soggy when reheated, but this one turned out especially well! I reheated one from frozen today while I was at work and it held up really great. No sogginess what so ever :) 3.5 minutes on high and it was great!
Fellow gluten freer: look for brown rice tortillas, they hold together much better than corn and taste better than flour