We may earn a commission when you click on the affiliate links in this post.
This crisp bean burrito is a delicious snack or a quick lunch that’s packed with protein. Enjoy a bean burrito fried or baked—either way you’ll love this simple, tasty recipe.
Table of Contents
This crisp bean burrito recipe is a quick, easy to make finger food. I’ve made these for snacks, a quick lunch, and even dinner. They remind me of little bean and cheese chimichangas and have a tasty crispy exterior and a soft interior. Kids and adults alike will love this tasty bean burrito. They are even portable if you want to stick them in your kids’ lunches for a fun treat!
Ingredients in this Bean Burrito Recipe
You’ll love this easy fried burrito recipe! Only four ingredients:
- 1/2 cup oil – half a cup, vegetable oil
- Soft flour tortilla shells – this recipe will make five crisp tacos
- Refried beans – I like using canned refried beans or one cup of your favorite bean mixture. You can add in extra taco seasoning for more flavor. Or make your own homemade refried beans with our super simple recipe
- Cheese – one-quarter cup shredded cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, Monterey jack cheese, or more to taste
Taco Time Crisp Bean Burrito Copycat Recipe
Growing up, we were within walking distance to the fast food restaurant Taco Time. I remember being really young and biking up to Taco Time with a dollar bill in my pocket—just enough money to buy one of their famous crispy bean burritos!
Sitting in the restaurant with my friends, I felt like I was such a grown-up, buying my own meal and all. I was seriously like 10. Our Taco Time had a little salsa bar with about 5 different salsas and ranch dressing (which was my favorite). I would get little cups of each of the different selections and dunk my burrito in each one. The condiments made me feel like I was getting my dollar’s worth.
I’ve thought about that yummy crisp bean burrito a lot over the years and finally decided to create my own. It took a bit of trial and error, but I’m happy to say I nailed it!
Baked or Fried?
You can fry up your bean burrito up in a deep fryer, or pan fry in a large skillet on the stove, but I think they are just as good when baked, and way fewer calories! Or try them in the air fryer!
Burrito Filling Ideas
In addition to refried beans and cheese, you can add all sorts of ingredients as filling in these simple fried burritos:
- Pulled pork
- Shredded chicken or beef
- Ground beef or any meat mixture you like (brown ground beef before adding the ground meat to the burrito)
- Onions and peppers
- Garlic, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika or cumin
- Picante sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Jalapenos
- Rotel
- Diced vegetables
- Lime juice
- Black beans
- Diced tomatoes
- More melty cheese
- Cilantro
Be as creative as you would like and feel free to create your own little “salsa bar” at home with your favorite toppings and find out what you like dipping them in the best! I love dipping them in ranch dressing, and also guacamole. Enjoy!
Simple Steps to Crisp Bean Burritos
This is the perfect after school snack, or quick supper idea. All in just a few quick and easy steps:
- Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
- Next, spread 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite refried beans on each 10-inch flour tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, then roll them up.
- Fry in the oil just about 15-30 seconds, starting the the seam side down, then flip over.
- Then, place on a baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve with enchilada sauce, guacamole, sour cream, extra cheese or salsa.
How to Store Leftovers
These are a terrific snack to make ahead of time and store in the freezer. Simply let them cool wrap in foil, and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Then, when needed, pop them in the microwave, instant pot or air fryer until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the TacoTime website, the Crisp Pinto Bean Burrito is made up of refried pinto beans and cheddar cheese hand-rolled in a flour tortilla and then cooked to crispy perfection.
Read More: 75+ Best Mexican Recipes
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
Serve these bean burritos alongside cilantro lime rice or any of these yummy dishes for a real Mexican feast!
How to Make a Crisp Bean Burrito
Crisp Bean Burrito
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil
- 5 soft flour tortillas
- 1 cup refried beans
- ¼ cup shredded cheese, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Set aside a baking sheet.
- Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet. Spread about 3 tablespoons of refried beans on each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, then roll up. Fry in oil for 15-30 seconds on each side.
- Place burritos on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve. Dip in enchilada sauce, guacamole, sour cream, or salsa.
I’m near positive these were made of corn tortillas, and simply trying to fry refried beans in a corn (of flour) tortilla doesn’t come close to the yellow crispy bean burrito Taco Time has or had. This will taste like just any other bean burrito, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not a clone.
Isn’t this a taquito, not a burrito?
It is a copycat recipe from Taco Time! They call it a burrito so we do too 🙂
Made them. Used deep fryer.
Looking on how to make crisp meat burritos from taco time
Anyone tried making these in an air fryer?
Hi Jolene, did you ever try these in the air fryer? I was thinking of trying it this weekend. Did you read the comment above that said they add a little enchilada sauce into the bean mix?
Has anyone tried doing these with corn tortillas? I am never sure how those will work but they do make taquitos with corn tortillas right? So if I did this with a corn tortilla wouldn’t that be like a taquito? I’m trying to stay away from gluten (yeah one of those ugh) so I’ve been TRYING to do more corn tortillas.
Hi Megan– It probably won’t taste the same if you do it with a corn tortilla but I bet it would still be good! We have gluten allergies in our family and have been using the new Mission-brand gluten free tortillas when trying to make things like this recipe. It doesn’t taste AS good as regular flour (of course) but I think it will be closer than using corn. Hope this helps!
Love it! Now I need one for the stuffed Mexi-Fries!!
Ooooh yes, that would be a great one too! I haven’t had the stuffed Mexi-fries but they look amazing!
I just stumbled upon this post and am happy I did. In 2014 a Taco Time opened up near us. Prior to that I had never heard of Taco Time but we quickly became addicted to the crisp bean and crisp juan burritos! Sadly, in August of this year they went out of business here. My family has been missing these and I can’t wait to make them at home!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! My husband and I are living overseas for four years and I’ve been missing my Taco Time fix! I’m making these tonight! I cannot wait! Too bad I can’t get mexi fries to go with them!
Haha! Do they have frozen tater tots where you live? Just throw them in the oven and add shredded cheese the last 5 minutes of cooking to get your mexi-fries fix too. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm about the recipe. Enjoy!
You can season frozen tater tots with anything. Try sprinkling taco seasoning. It’s pretty close to taco time mexi fries!
I made these for dinner last night and they were amazing. Best of all I had dinner made in like 15 or 20 minutes! Thanks so much for sharing–I loved them so much I am using some leftover beans to make another one for lunch. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your success! There was a Taco Time next to my high school and I would sneak over to get their crisp bean burritos more often than I want to admit. I think they are even better made at home…but, I do love dipping in their hot sauce. 🙂
I may have missed it, but how many does this make? I have a big family, doubling is no problem but I would rather not have too many =)
Looks very good, something simple I could cook with my kids.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Anyone tried freezing these?
I freeze them before cooking. I wrap separately and put them all in a freezer bag. Take out what you need and thaw partially.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! We made these last night and they were easy and yummy!
Yay! We love “crispy” (my hubs calls them) bean burritos. Can’t wait to try these!
I thought a crisp bean burrito sounded good for lunch today.. I saw this recipe and had everything to make it at home. It didn’t disappoint! Thanks!! Ever had their Casita Burrito? I would love to find a recipe for that!!
So glad you liked it! I haven’t had the Casita burrito before, I will definitely have to give it a try! Thanks for commenting!
I used to manage a Taco Time. Our bean burritos also had a small amount of enchilada sauce mixed into the beans. The casita burrito had a small flour tortilla filled with equal parts beans and meat (chicken, ground or shredded beef), sour cream and then was rolled up. Topped with enchilada sauce and cheddar cheese.
The casita burrito is made with a flour tortilla, beans, beef or chicken and their ranch dressing inside, then topped with their enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
I love crisp bean burritos!! I never thought about baking them before and I definitely need to be giving this a try shortly.