BLACK BEAN & SWEET POTATO BURRITOS

Vegan burrito, loaded with roasted sweet potatoes, toasted almonds, seasoned black beans, quinoa, kale, vegan cheese and topped with cilantro tomato salad, vegan sour cream, and avocado. Packed with protein and flavor!

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ROASTED SWEET POTATOES AND ALMONDS

Sweet potatoes are so healthy AND so delicious. Packed with vitamins and nutrients such as fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, C, and B6…to name a few, sweet potatoes definitely earn their place at the table. They are also incredibly filling and can help keep you full for hours.

Sweet potatoes can be boiled, steamed, fried, or in this case, baked. Roasting potatoes is hands down my favorite way to prepare them. When baking sweet potatoes, you really enhance their sweetness and texture.

Like sweet potatoes, almonds are also packed with nutrition and wonderful roasted. For this black bean & sweet potato burritos recipe I tossed the sweet potatoes with slivered almonds, olive oil, and seasoning. The sweetness from the potato and the roasted nutty flavor of the almonds are a match made in heaven.

CILANTRO TOMATO SALAD

When serving hot, savory burritos, it’s always a great idea to serve it with a refreshing topping! This simple cilantro tomato salad is a perfect topper for these black bean and sweet potato burritos. With only 6 ingredients, its worth taking the 5 extra minutes it takes to prep.

Don’t want to take the extra steps? Just swap this salad out for a pre-made salsa or pico de gallo.

When making a tomato salad, don’t forget to deseed your tomatoes. This keeps the salad from getting too watery and soggy. To do so, cut tomatoes in half and remove seeds with a spoon. Simple, yet effective!

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KALE

Kale is absolutely amazing and, in my opinion, should be included in any diet often and abundantly. It has many health benefits, including supporting the immune system and regulating blood pressure, to name a few. Kale is also high in vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate and fiber. So say yes to kale! 

To prepare kale you want to take a few steps. Wash it of course. But you also want to de-stem the kale. To do so hold the kale on one end with the thicker part of the stem in your hands. With your other hand grab the leaves with a little pressure and slowly pull down the stem. This will rip them off.

Once the stems are removed, you will rip or chop the kale to desired size. Then it’s time to massage the kale. That’s right, massage! To massage the kale simply add a touch of olive oil,  lemon juice or both, and massage the kale with your hands. You do this to make the kale more tender, easier to chew, and easier to digest. It should only take a minute or so. Trust me, you will notice and appreciate the difference! 

QUINOA

Quinoa is an edible seed that is classified as a whole grain. It is high in protein and fiber. Actually, one cup of quinoa has about twice as much protein and 5 more grams of fiber than rice! So it’s an excellent way to keep you full for hours. 

Quinoa is also a sponge when it comes to absorbing dressing or sauce, so it’s a little flavor powerhouse. In this particular recipe, I kept it simple and just added a vegan bouillon cube to the quinoa while cooking. It adds a nice well rounded flavor with very little effort. Add more or less of the cube depending on desired level of salt. 

One of my favorite aspects of quinoa is how well it keeps when made in larger batches. If you cook quinoa correctly without over-cooking it, it can be mixed into a salad and stored for days without becoming soggy or weird.

THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN COOKING QUINOA

1: Keep a lid on while cooking it and leave it alone! Don’t constantly mix it.

2: Don’t over cook your quinoa! When all of the liquid is absorbed, uncover it and take it off of the heat. Even moving it to a bowl or tray to cool instead of allowing it to sit in the pot you cooked it in is extremely beneficial.

3: Fluff your quinoa with a fork when finished cooking. This allows it to break up and have volume rather than sitting and clumping together.

DITCH THE PROCESSED INGREDIENTS

Now I have absolutely no problem with including processed ingredients in my meals. I think it’s important to limit the use of them, because at the end of the day, they do contain more oils, fats, and calories. But life is all about balance, so indulging in some vegan cheese or sour cream every so often is not a problem in my books.

The addition of vegan cheese, sour cream, and of course the flour tortilla and delicious in this recipe. But the veggies, beans, and quinoa really can stand on their own!

If you are looking to clean up this recipe, ditch the cheese, sour cream, and tortilla and serve as a bowl. You can bulk up the amount of quinoa or serve with rice.