Vegan Pinto Bean Tacos

These healthy, fresh, and flavorful Vegan Pinto Bean Tacos are the best way to impress your friends next Taco Tuesday! Ready in less than 20 minutes, and you only need 8 ingredients.

I LOVE tacos with all kinds of different fillings. I personally believe that Taco Tuesday can be celebrated any day of the week.

And with 41 grams of protein per cup, I’d say pinto beans are my favorite vegan protein.

So, as you might imagine, vegan pinto bean tacos are a very common dinner over in our apartment!

Like most vegan dishes, these pinto bean tacos are high in carbs compared to something like fish tacos. However, it’s all healthy veggie carbs without a lot of sugar (only 3.8 g sugar per serving). So you can indulge without any guilt!

These tacos are great as a starter or as a full meal. The beans, tomatoes, and avocados add a fantastic freshness while the sweet corn counteracts the spiciness of the chili.

Plus, I just love having so much color on my plate!

How to make vegan pinto bean tacos

These tacos may look fancy, but they can be ready in 20 minutes and only require 8 ingredients. Just heat up the beans, chop the veggies, and assemble!

Step 1: If using home-cooked beans, scoop out 2 cups with a little bean broth and reheat in a large pan for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated enough and the broth becomes a thick sauce.

Step 2: If using canned beans, drain and rinse, then heat up the beans in about ¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Step 3: Heat a small pan over medium heat.

Step 4: Wash and chop tomatoes and jalapeños. Peel and slice avocado. Wash and finely chop cilantro.

Step 5: Heat tortillas in the pan for about 30 seconds per side.

Step 6: Assemble the tacos by spooning 1-2 tbsp. of beans into a tortilla, then top with chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado, sliced jalapeño, corn, and cilantro.

Step 7: Add some fresh lime juice to your taco right before taking the first bite.

You’ll be serving up Taco Tuesday (or Taco Wednesday, or Taco Thursday, or Taco Anyday…) in no time!

How to cook dried pinto beans

I DRASTICALLY prefer home-cooked beans over canned beans.

For this recipe, canned beans can work just fine, but if you want to use dried pinto beans, just know that you’ll need to plan ahead a bit.

Soak your beans in abundant water overnight, then drain and rinse them very well the next day. Add them to a large pot, cover with water about 1 inch higher than the beans, and place over high heat.

While waiting for the water to boil, peel and very finely chop an onion, then add to the pot.

Peel and crush 1-2 cloves of garlic and add those to the pot too.

Lastly, add some salt.

Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2-4 hours (depending on how firm you like the beans).

The amount of onion, garlic, and salt you need will obviously depend on how many cups of beans you are cooking. I prefer to cook 3-4 cups at a time and then freeze the cooked beans in Ziploc bags.

That way, I can always pull out a bag from the freezer instead of using canned beans.

I promise you, once you’ve cooked beans this way you will never want to eat canned pinto beans again. They are ten times easier to digest and they taste A LOT better.

Have a little time and want to infuse your pinto beans with some flavor? Simply cook the pinto beans for 10-15 minutes in spicy salsa or pico de gallo, vegetable bouillon, and a little bit of water.

That’s what I do if I have guests over, and they are always so impressed!

Other toppings for your tacos

Your imagination is really the only limit for what you can put on tacos.

I like to use avocado, sweet corn, tomatoes, jalapenos, and fresh cilantro with a squeeze of lime at the end.

The tomatoes and avocados add a fantastic freshness to the tacos while the sweet corn counteracts the spiciness of the chili. It’s an incredible flavor combination that will make you want to eat more than just a starter portion of these tacos!

But you can also feel free to experiment with your own toppings. Pinto beans go so well with many different flavors, so you really can’t go wrong.

Storage

It’s best to make these tacos right before serving. The main steps to preparing are simply heating the pinto beans and chopping the veggies.

I wouldn’t recommend storing the tacos, as the veggies will make the tortillas soggy.

More healthy vegan recipes

You can never have too many delicious and healthy vegan recipes, right? Here are a few other plant-based dishes that I absolutely love, and I know you will too!

• Vegetable Noodle Stir-Fry
• Low-Carb Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
• Air Fryer Tostadas (from Air Fryer Eats)

You can also check out this round-up of low-carb vegan recipes for even more plant-spiration! (see what I did there?)

When you’ve tried these pinto bean tacos, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked them and rate the recipe in the comments below!