Vegan Taquitos
These vegan taquitos are crisp, rolled tortillas stuffed with a mashed red bean and avocado filling, sweet corn, tomatoes, and a smoky chipotle sauce, then dry-fried until golden. They come together fast with pantry and fridge staples, which makes them the perfect lunch when you are short on time. Think of them as everything you love about a taco, rolled up tight and toasted until crispy.
Mexican cuisine is full of great tastes and wonderful aromas, and it is a place where you can discover ways of cooking you never thought possible. It also includes tons of accessible, weeknight-friendly dishes. Taquitos sit right in that sweet spot: they are rolled and crisped versions of the same fillings you would find in tacos, quesadillas, and burritos. I will be showing you the ways in which they can be prepared and how versatile a snack they can be.
What Goes Into These Taquitos
The filling is built on two ingredients doing the heavy lifting: red beans and avocado. You mash them together first so they bind, then fold in everything else. Here is what each part brings to the roll:
- Red beans and avocado get mashed together to form the base. The beans add protein and body, while the avocado adds creaminess and helps the filling hold its shape inside the tortilla.
- Sweet corn, tomatoes, and green pepper bring texture, sweetness, and a little crunch so the filling is not one uniform paste.
- Onion, cilantro, and lime are the fresh, bright notes. Cilantro and a squeeze of lime at the end lift the whole thing.
- Chili pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper are the seasoning backbone. Cumin is what gives that warm, unmistakably Mexican aroma.
- Shredded cheese melts into the filling as the taquitos fry. The recipe works with vegan or regular cheese, so reach for a good melting vegan cheese to keep these fully plant-based.
- Chipotle sauce is brushed on before rolling and served alongside for dipping. It carries the smoky heat.
A quick note on the tortillas: use gluten-free ones if you need to. And if you have never made Mexican food before, you could use store-bought, but if you have some free time and a desire to experiment in the kitchen, I advise you to try and make taco shells at some point. It is a good skill to have in the kitchen.
How to Roll and Crisp Them Right
The whole point of a taquito is that crunch, so a few small moves make the difference between a tight, crispy roll and one that unravels in the pan:
- Mash, do not puree. When you mash the beans and avocado, stop while there is still some texture. A little chunk keeps the filling from turning gummy and gives you something to bite into.
- Do not overfill. Divide the filling evenly between the 6 tortillas. Too much and the taquito will not roll tightly or will burst as it fries.
- Roll them tight and place the seam down. A tight wrap holds its shape, and starting seam-side down in the skillet lets the tortilla seal itself as it heats.
- Fry dry. A dry cast iron skillet, no oil, gives you a golden, just-crispy shell in about 2 minutes per side. The dry heat toasts the tortilla rather than deep-frying it, which keeps these on the lighter side.
If you can take it, I would recommend some fresh chili pepper as well, as taquitos are naturally meant to be spicy. And I almost forgot, and this seems like the most important part, the sauce. I like using a Chipotle-style sauce, but you can decide for yourself. Maybe you want to use a new sauce you got from the supermarket or, who knows, maybe make one yourself. Browse a few vegan sauces if you want ideas. The world is your oyster, or should I say your taquito?
What to Serve With Vegan Taquitos
Taquitos are made for dipping, so keep extra chipotle sauce on the table and set out lime wedges for squeezing. They make a fun spread alongside other vegan finger foods, and they slot naturally into a Mexican-themed dinner with tacos or quesadillas. They also go great with a family picnic, now that I think of it, so tuck them into your picnic lineup for something hand-held and satisfying.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
The filling is the part you can prep in advance. Mix it up, cover it tightly, and keep it in the fridge for a day or two, then roll and fry when you are ready to eat, since freshly fried is when the shell is at its crispiest. Because there is avocado in the mix, press a little plastic wrap directly onto the surface to slow browning. If you have leftover assembled taquitos, store them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat them in a dry skillet or the oven rather than the microwave, which turns them soft. These are naturally hand-held, so they hold their own among other vegan snacks. If you are new to plant-based cooking and want more like this, the vegan diet guide is a good place to start.
I hope you will enjoy making these taquitos as much as I do. If you try them, please rate the recipe below and leave a comment telling me how crispy you got that shell and which sauce you ended up using. If you have any questions or advice, do not hesitate to tell me all about it.
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Vegan Taquitos
Ingredients
- 6 tortillas use GF if needed
- 1 cup red beans
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 1 avocado ripe, cubed
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- ½ green pepper diced
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp cilantro chopped
- 6 Tbsp cheese shredded; vegan or regular
- 1 tsp chili pepper
- ½ tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 6 Tbsp chipotle sauce
For serving:
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 2 Tbsp spring onion
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the beans and half of the avocado.
- Mash the mixture with a fork until most of it is mashed, but still has some texture.
- Add the rest of the avocado, the corn, tomatoes, pepper, cilantro, shredded cheese, chili, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix with a spoon until incorporated.
- Divide the mixture between 6 tortillas.
- Top each of them with chipotle sauce and wrap each tortilla tightly.
- Place the tortillas into a large dry iron skillet and fry dry for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden and just crispy.
- Top with lime wedges and spring onions.
- Serve with additional chipotle sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both use tortilla and similar fillings, but a taquito is rolled tightly around the filling and then crisped, while a taco is folded open and eaten soft or in a hard shell. In this recipe the taquitos are dry-fried in a skillet until golden, which gives them their signature crunch that a taco does not have.
Use gluten-free tortillas, which the recipe already accounts for. Also check that your chipotle sauce and shredded cheese are certified gluten-free, since some brands add wheat-based thickeners. Everything else in the filling, the beans, avocado, corn, and vegetables, is naturally gluten-free.
They can be. The recipe calls for shredded cheese that is either vegan or regular, so use a vegan melting cheese and a vegan chipotle sauce to keep the taquitos fully plant-based. Every other ingredient, from the red beans to the avocado and vegetables, is already vegan.
Yes, prepare the bean and avocado filling up to a day or two in advance and keep it covered in the fridge. Press plastic wrap onto the surface to slow the avocado from browning. Roll and dry-fry the taquitos just before serving, since they are crispiest straight out of the skillet.
Do not overfill the tortillas, roll them tightly, and place them seam-side down in the skillet so the tortilla seals itself as it heats. Frying in a dry cast iron skillet for about 2 minutes per side gives a firm, golden shell that holds together.
A chipotle-style sauce is the natural match here, brushed on before rolling and served alongside for dipping, because its smoky heat complements the beans and avocado. You can use a store-bought sauce or make your own. If you want fresh chili heat, add some fresh chili pepper, since taquitos are meant to be spicy.
Very flavorful and easy to make. Thank you, the entire family loved these (we’re big fans of the Mexican cuisine)! 🙂
So happy you and your family liked it! 😀