These Vegetarian Swiss Chard and Pinto Bean Burritos are the ultimate in meatless meal Tex-Mex comfort food. Stuffed with brown cilantro rice, lots of melty cheese, diced avocado, and a smokey chipotle swiss chard and pinto bean filling, they are super satisfying for even the most avowed meat-eaters!
Looking for more meatless meals? Some of our favorites are Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells, Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza, and Garlic Rice with Fried Egg.
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When I menu plan for the week (something I really should do more often than actually happens), I like to try and include at least one meatless/vegetarian day.
So when America's Test Kitchen came out with "The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook" a few years ago, I immediately bought it and started bookmarking a bunch of the recipes, including these vegetarian swiss chard and pinto bean burritos.
The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook (the original, not the vegetarian one) has long been one of my favorite cookbooks in my collection and many of my favorite recipes come from there.
So it's no surprise that their Complete Vegetarian Cookbook is equally wonderful and that I am completely in love with these smoky, super hearty, unique burritos that are stuffed with cilantro rice, Monterey Jack cheese, and a crazy seeming filling of cooked swiss chard and pinto beans.
After making these a few times, and incorporating Annie's Eats idea to use brown rice instead of white rice, I decided the only thing missing was some creamy diced avocado tossed in with all the other stuff, so I added that to my burrito fillings and really love the extra flavor and creamy texture it gives.
The leftovers (if there are any) reheat really well the next day, or they freeze beautifully for future meals when you need something quick and filling and easy, so you might want to make a double batch just to have some one hand. Vegetarian swiss chard and pinto bean burritos are also great for taking to friends who need a little love in the form of a home-cooked dinner after having a baby or when going through difficult times.
I had honestly never cooked with swiss chard before trying these burritos, but it's really delicious prepared this way. Although you could use the stems, you actually don't when making these burritos because the stems are tougher and take longer to cook down.
Instead you just slice the leaves off the stem of the chard and chop them up to go into your burrito filling. The chopped chard cooks down in just about 15 minutes with a little vegetable broth, chopped onion, and chipotle pepper before you add half of the pinto beans all mashed up to bulk up the filling.
The rest of the pinto beans get added whole and then you just lay out six large burrito-size tortillas and divide the rice, cheese, swiss chard and pinto bean filling, and avocado between them, roll them up, then top them with a little more cheese before popping them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
I even made a little gif to show you the process. 🙂
Gives these delicious vegetarian swiss chard and pinto bean burritos a try! You can always top them with my favorite guacamole ever and sour cream or just wrap them up in tinfoil and eat them out of hand on the go if you like.
Leave me a comment letting me know your favorite meatless meal or vegetarian option! Or hop on over and follow House of Nash Eats on Facebook and let's keep the conversation going there!
More Meatless Recipes You'll Love
- Copycat Costco Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Garlic Rice with Fried Egg
- Grilled Summer Vegetable Quesadillas
- Creamy Roasted Garlic & Mushroom Risotto
- Southern Tomato Pie
- Four Cheese Pizza with Tomato Basil Arugula Salad
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Vegetarian Swiss Chard and Pinto Bean Burritos
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup brown rice
- 6 cloves garlic minced and divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound Swiss chard stemmed, leaves sliced into 1-inch strips
- 1 ½ cups pinto beans 1 15 oz. can, rinsed and drained
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 10 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded (about 2 ½ cups), divided
- 1 large Avocado diced
- 6 large tortillas
Instructions
- Combine 1 ¼ cups of the broth, the brown rice, half of the garlic, and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes, until the rice is tender and the broth has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the cilantro and fluff with a fork, then cover and keep warm.
- While the rice cooks, heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion and cook until it softens and just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotle, cumin, oregano, remaining garlic, and the remainin ½ teaspoon of salt, then cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the chard and ½ cup of the broth, then cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the chard is tender.
- In a medium-size bowl, coarsely mash half of the beans with the remaining ½ cup of browl using a potato masher or two forks. Add to the pot of chard and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and remaining whole beans, then cover and keep warm.
- Adjust the oven rack to be 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Warm the tortillas so they are pliable by microwaving them in a stack between two damp paper towels for 1 minute. Lay the warm tortillas on a clean surface and divide the rice, chard-bean mixture, shredded cheese, and avocado evenly between the tortillas, mounding in the middle close to the bottom edge of each tortilla. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, fold the sides of the tortilla over the filling, then fold the bottom up, tucking it over and pulling back on it firmly to tighten around the filling. Continue to roll tightly into a nice, secure burrito. Place seam side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat for each burrito.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese over the burritos, then place in the oven under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve warm.
Waw, this recipe it’s definitely a top priority to make as soon as. I love every single ingredient here and I think this so delicious. Combo made in heaven. Pinned - will definitely make it 😊
YUM! Can’t wait to try to try this recipe! I’ve been looking up different things to eat for lunch. Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful sounding lunch, I love Swiss Chard it has such a great earthy flavour that will work perfectly with all those spices.
We love this recipe from the same cookbook and was happy to be able to share it with a friend this way (complete with GIF! 😀). I think you may have accidentally left the tortillas off the ingredient list.
Thank you for pointing that out about the tortillas! I don't know how I do things like that! LOL. Glad you noticed that!