These amazing vegan taquitos make for such a delicious and stunning meal your whole family will love! They feature a black bean and vegetable filling, a cheesy cashew cream sauce and soft yet crispy tortillas, plus, they are baked in the oven (not fried) for a healthier recipe. 100% vegan, dairy-free and can be made gluten-free too.
Next time you are craving tacos, then you should make vegan taquitos instead!
If you love taco night like us, then I am sure you will want to make this recipe over and over again. For taco dinner, we usually alternate in between vegan fish tacos or a bean tacos, such as this lentil walnut taco recipe. But I have to say that taquitos is our new favorite way to serve tacos!
Taquitos are very much like tacos, only the tortillas are rolled with the filling ingredients stuffed inside, then baked in the oven until crispy and finally, the rolls are garnished with vegan cheese sauce, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc. They are actually also called "little rolled tacos"!
They make for such an amazing vegan dinner recipe, but also a fun and stunning appetizer or finger food to serve at parties or any gathering as everyone can just grab one and go. But, I make them for dinner with my family and they are such a huge hit every time.
Taquitos are very appetizing for the eyes, but the flavors are even better. This recipe includes black beans, peppers, tomatoes and wheat tortillas, although you can use corn tortillas too.
But the best part might be the amazing tangy vegan Mexican cheese sauce: made simply with cashews, nutritional yeast and lime juice, it is super creamy and adds so much flavor + texture to this meal. The cream sauce is included inside the taquitos to make them rich, tasty and help them stick together, but also, you will have plenty extra for drizzling or dipping.
Also, they are healthy and packed with fiber, vitamins, plant-based protein and also tons of healthy omega-3 fats, thanks to the cheesy cashew sauce. They make for a filling meal that's really just so full of amazing flavors. And compared to restaurant-style taquitos, these homemade taquitos are not fried and also, they are made without cheese and made completely meat-free.
Plus, they are quite easy to make and not harder than making tacos. The only extra step is to bake the taquitos, which only takes 15 minutes. You can meal-prep the filling and cashew cream sauce ahead, making this meal even quicker to prep at dinner time.
Let me know if you gave them a try! ❤️
Highlights of this recipe
- Amazing dinner recipe for your family, but also makes for such a fun party snack
- Kids love them!
- Gorgeous looking meal that's so appetizing!
- Versatile and can be customized
- Loaded with Mexican-style flavors
- Easy to make
- Oven-baked, not fried and can be made completely oil-free
- Loaded with vegetables and beans, so healthy!
- Fits many diets: vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian, soy-free and can be made gluten-free
Ingredients you'll need
- Tortillas: you will need taco-size tortillas to make this recipe (I used soft wheat tortillas). I like using wheat tortillas for their soft and easy-to-roll texture, although taquitos are often made using corn tortillas, so feel-free to use this instead. You can also use homemade whole wheat tortillas or red lentil tortillas to make these vegetable taquitos!
- Black beans: use canned black beans for convenience, or cook your own black beans from scratch!
- Green pepper: I love green peppers in Mexican recipes, but a red bell pepper or any colored pepper would also work well.
- Onion: I used a yellow onion, but a small red onion would be great too and even a little sweeter.
- Garlic: essential for flavor, I used 3 large cloves of garlic! I don't think garlic powder would add the same amazing flavor, so try not to swap for this.
- Tomatoes: I think fresh tomatoes give a better flavor compared to canned tomatoes, but also a better consistency to the bean taquito filling. If you only have canned diced tomatoes, then try to drain them so you don't add too much juice (you don't want the filling to be too watery).
- Lime juice: adds such an amazing tangy flavor to the filling, lemon juice would work too.
- Spices/herbs: I used a mix of chili powder, cumin powder and dried oregano. You can use any spices you like as well, such as smoked paprika for a subtle smoky flavor or cayenne pepper for a little heat.
For the cheesy cashew sauce
- Raw cashews: creamy base for the sauce. Do not use roasted and salted cashews, it would not provide the same texture.
- Nutritional yeast: adds a mild cheesy flavor to the sauce.
- Lime: lime juice in the cashew sauce adds a little tang and enhances the flavor from the nutritional yeast.
How to make vegan taquitos
These black bean taquitos are much easier to make than it seems! For a better visual, then be sure to check out my quick video too.***
Make the cashew cream sauce
Soak the cashews in boiling water for 10-15 minutes, then drain well.
To a blender, add the drained cashews, nutritional yeast, lime juice, water and salt. Blend on high until as smooth as you can. You will have to take a few breaks to scrape the walls + blend again to ensure all the cashew bits are nicely incorporated and crushed to smooth. This might take 2-3 minutes or even more if you don't have a high-speed blender. Set the sauce aside when done.
Make the vegan taquito filling
Rinse and drain the can of black beans and then, transfer about half of it on a plate. Use a fork to mash the beans to smooth and set aside.
Warm up a large non-stick pan with a little oil (or not, can be made oil-free). Then, add the onion, green pepper and a little salt. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes stirring often or until the vegetables are softened.
Add the garlic and spices (chili, cumin, oregano) and then cook for one more minute stirring constantly.
Then, add the black beans (both the mashed and whole), tomatoes and lime juice and then stir to combine. Keep cooking for another 7-8 minutes or so or until the tomatoes released most of their juice. You are looking for a pasty and creamy consistency, not a saucy texture.
Then, pour ¼ cup of the cashew cream sauce over in the pan, stir to combine and remove from the heat.
Build up the taquitos and bake
Pre-heat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lay a tortilla on a clean surface and place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling at the half bottom portion of the tortilla. Then, roll the tortilla from bottom all the way up.
Transfer the taquito over the prepared baking sheet with the seam side down and keep going with the rest of the taco/filling. You should be able to make between 10-12 taquitos.
You can spray some olive oil over the taquitos to help them crisp and brown while baking, but this is optional for an oil-free recipe. Then, bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Garnish and serve
You can serve all the taquitos on a large platter pilling them over each other or make individual plates with a few taquitos on each. Drizzle the remaining cashew cream sauce over, add a few dollops of salsa or pico de gallo and garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Helpful tips
- Do not overfill the taquitos: they are meant to be skinny and also, the tortillas tend to swell and fluff a bit while baking, which might push some of the filling outside.
- When making the filling, aim to reach a creamy and pasty consistency, which will prevent getting soggy taquitos and keep them closed up.
- If using corn tortillas, then you might want to slightly warm them up wrapped in a humid towel in the microwave. This can soften them before rolling, which might prevent cracking.
Serving suggestions
Taquitos are so fun to garnish, it's the best part!
They hold well when you grab them, so you could simply dip them in sauces or salsa, but it makes for such an appetizing presentation to garnish them instead.
You will have extra cashew cream sauce to drizzle over the taquitos, but also add some salsa and cilantro if desired. There are plenty of store-bought salsa brands that are healthy-ish nowadays, which is great to save some time. But, here are more garnishing ideas to try:
- Vegan tofu sour cream
- Fresh diced tomatoes
- Spicy buffalo sauce
- Roasted mango habanero salsa
- Diced red onion
- Spicy peach salsa
- Green onion or chives
- Chipotle mayo sauce
- Sliced jalapeño or marinated nacho jalapeños
- Vegan avocado lime crema
- Diced avocado
- Cucumber pico de gallo
- Pineapple pico de gallo
- Guacamole
Taquitos make for a full satisfying meal on their own, although you can also serve them with other Mexican inspired recipes for such a nice Mexican dinner. Try pairing them with:
- Mexican horchata
- Mexican tomato brown rice
- Southwestern quinoa mango salad
- Mexican corn salad
- Bean chili salad
Variations to the recipe
Taquitos are so versatile and easy to make your own. The filling is somehow similar to a taco filling, so you can use this recipe as a base and modify it to your taste. In any case, I think it works better when the mixture is a little pasty or even sticky, opposed to have large chunks that are super crumbly, so the taquitos hold better. Here are a few variations you can try:
- Swap the black beans for cooked lentils or chickpeas.
- We don't use vegan cheeses often, but it would work well in this recipe. We like the vegan mozzarella cheese from Violife.
- Add a handful of chopped walnuts for a little crunch.
- Include some mushrooms, chopped cauliflower, zucchini, carrots or sweet potatoes. Keep the vegetables small so they blend well within the mixture. Leftover mashed potatoes would be great here too!
- Make them spicy by including some jalapeño, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper or a can of spicy green chiles. You could also swap the cashew cream sauce for homemade buffalo sauce made using hemp seeds!
Storage tips
They are best when eaten right away as they are going to be more crispy when just out of then oven. But, leftovers are also great and make for a tasty lunch the next day.
Keep the leftover taquitos free of any garnishing ingredients (or they will get soggy) in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Ideally reheat using the oven (a mini toaster oven is great for this) to crisp them up again (at 400º for 5-7 minutes or until heated through) or use the microwave if in a pinch (although they will soften in that case, heat up 30 seconds at the time).
FAQ's
They are very similar, but not exactly the same. Both are filled with about the same ingredients, but flautas are usually larger using bigger tortillas where taquitos are smaller and shorter. Also, taquitos are more often made using corn tortillas compared to flautas where they use both wheat or corn tortillas equally. Despite their mild differences, both the term taquitos and flautas are often used interchangeably for the same dishes.
Yes! Simply don't use any oil when making the taquito filling and also, do not spray oil over the taquitos before baking them. They won't crisp as much, but they will still be delicious!
Traditional taquitos are more often made using corn tortillas, although I like to use wheat tortillas for their more pliable texture. You could also make mini taquitos if using street corn tortillas (you will have more than 10-12 in that case).
Yes! Simply use a gluten-free tortilla brand, the rest of the recipe is completely gluten-free! Corn tortillas are often GF and some wheat tortillas are made using GF flour, so just check what's available in your grocery store.
If you decided not to spray oil over the taquitos before baking them, then they might not crisp as much.
Yes you can! I recommend to spray some oil at the bottom of your pan for best result and also, start by roasting the taquitos seam down first. Work in batches so you don't crowd the pan too much and roast for a few minutes on each sides or until golden brown.
Similar recipes
- Mexican buddha bowl
- Baked vegan nachos
- Vegan loaded baked potato
- Vegan fajita bowl
- Mexican-style breakfast bowl
- Buffalo chickpea quesadillas
- Vegan black bean burritos
- Vegan Mexican bean soup
I hope you enjoy these vegan taquitos as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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Vegan Taquitos
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 10-12 small tortillas - I used wheat soft tacos
- 1 onion - diced
- 1 large green bell pepper - diced
- 3 cloves of garlic - crushed
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ¾ cup fresh tomatoes - diced
- 15 oz black beans - rinsed and drained
- ½ lime - juiced
- ¼ cup cashew cream (see recipe below)
- salt to taste
For the cheesy cashew cream
- ¾ cup raw cashews - soaked in hot water
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ lime - juiced
- ½ cup water
To serve (choose your favorite)
- the rest of the cashew cream
- pico de gallo or salsa
- cilantro
- guacamole
Instructions
- Start by making the cashew cream: soak the cashews in cold water overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then, drain well and transfer to a blender. Add the nutritional yeast, lime juice, salt and water and blend until smooth (take a few breaks to scrape the walls and blend again). Set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse and drain the black beans and then, mash about half of them (I use a fork and a plate). Set aside.
- Warm up a large non-stick pan with a little oil (optional, can be made oil-free). Then, add the onions, green bell pepper and a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Then, add the spices (chili powder, cumin and oregano) and garlic and cook for one more minute while stirring.
- Then, add the tomatoes, lime juice and black beans (both whole and mashed) to the pan. Stir well and cook for another 7-8 minutes stirring often on low-medium heat (it should become creamy or pasty, but not saucy or watery). Then, add a ¼ cup of the cashew cream (keep the rest for serving and dipping), stir to incorporate and remove from the heat.
- Lay a tortilla over a clean surface and scoop about 2 heaping tablespoons on the bottom half, then roll the tortilla all the way up. Transfer over the prepared baking sheet with the seam down. Keep going with the rest of the filling, you should be able to make 10-12 taquitos.
- Spray some oil over the taquitos for a crispier result, but this is optional. Then, bake for about 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm garnished with the remaining of the cheesy cashew cream, some salsa or pico de gallo and cilantro over.
Video
Notes
- Storage: these taquitos are best when just baked (they are crispier), but they also make for great leftovers. Just keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up top 3-4 days and reheat in the oven at 400º (mini toaster oven are great for this) until warmed through. You can also use the microwave, although they won't be as crispy in that case.
- You can use other ingredients in the filling such as lentils, mushrooms, zucchini or leafy greens and feel-free to add different spices, such as cayenne pepper and chipotle pepper.
- Other garnishing ingredients include: cucumber pico de gallo, diced avocado, red onion, hot sauce, avocado lime crema, jalapeño, etc. See blog post for more ideas!
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