Quick Weeknight Meal: Bean Burritos

September always feels like a busy time of year. School is back in session, and the busyness of fall replaces the more leisurely pace of summer. We're always looking for some good quick meals this time of year. So we are going to focus on fast, easy, and healthy weeknight meals all month. In fact, we have a contest coming up with some serious prizes to be won — stay tuned for details! And for right now, here's a favorite fast weeknight meal of our own.

Bean burrito wraps are a great quick meal. Almost everything is made ahead; you can put your ingredients away in the fridge the night before or in the morning, and just pull them out for dinner. Also, this is potentially a vegetarian or even a vegan meal.

We just make up a big batch of beans — usually Rancho Gordo heirlooms. These take a little while to cook, of course, but we do it on a Sunday evening and then keep them in the fridge during the week. Heirloom beans, cooked in their own pot liquor with a little bacon or garlic to help them along, just taste better and better as they sit. You can also cook beans in the slow cooker.

Here's how we do it, when we have a supper of bean burritos or wraps.

Bean Burritos
serves 2-10

Corn or wheat tortillas
1-2 pounds cooked basic pot beans
Shredded lettuce or arugula
Chopped tomato
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Salsa

To serve, heat the tortillas gently in the microwave and heat the beans on the stove. Serve immediately with bowls of shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, and cheese on the side. Fill, wrap, roll, and eat!

(Images: Faith Durand)

Comments (7)

These are a weekly staple in our house. I can't wait to see the other recipes for busy fall nights!

we love this just as much for guests as for easy weeknight meals, and we've been making our burritos and serving them up in buffets for as long as we can remember.

No offense, but bean burrito wraps seems a bit repetitive, not to mention a co-opting of a Mexican dinner staple. Regardless, I love burritos and we have them pretty regularly at our house, at least once a week.

I know it's been mentioned, but it really is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me - the difference between a burrito and a wrap is mostly in how you fold the darn thing</i. So can I breath some O2 air and drink some H2O water with my burrito wrap?

Oh, please, come on. What is this, a meeting of POEM (Professional Organization of English Majors)?

Let's discuss the burritos, not grammar.

We make burritos on a regular basis...with additional condiments such as salsa (regular ol' Pace), pickled jalapenos/carrots, and/or a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Beans & tortillas are really one of the world's best food combinations, a perfect protein complement. Easy to make it vegan too, just use soy cheese.

Burritos fillings are such a joy because there are just so many variations. This seems like a great summer alternative to the more involved bean mix that I make which also involves red and green capsicums, plenty or red onion, ground cumin and coriander and even though the recipe initially called for ground paprika I've switched over to ground chipotle chilli because it just has so much more flavour. I briefly fry it all up before adding red kidney beans , corn kernels and home canned tomato sauce and let it sit on low heat until the sauce has simmered down.

This, however, is going on the "summer version" menu.