Who can just do Taco Tuesday? I eat these colorful Black Bean and Yellow Rice Burritos for at least 5 meals a week! It doesn’t get much better than this; these burritos are delicious and incredibly well-rounded! They’re packed full of beans, greens, whole grains, and an incredible rainbow of veggies (and fruits with tomato and avocado). The best part? You feel so good eating these! No post-meal slump, you’ll be energized with clean energy that your body and mind will thank you for!
Are canned beans less nutritious?
Nope! Don’t feel guilty for being lazy or forgetting to soak beans, you’ll get all the bean benefits from popping open a can! Home-cooked beans are more flavorful but none of the nutrients are lost during the canning process. Just make sure the only ingredients are beans, water, and maybe salt. Nothing else needs to be in there! And remember to rinse canned beans in a strainer before cooking.
For this recipe I call for a canned beans just to make it quick and simple but if I remember to soak beans the night before I like to use my Black Beans in the Instant Pot for this recipe. If I forget to soak beans then no biggie – I just pop open one large (or two small) can(s) of black beans!
Beans, beans, the magical fruit. . .
Black beans are incredibly nutritious and loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals! Where do I get my protein? Beans, for one! The spotlight should really be on the fiber content, which beans are packed with! Literally no one in developed countries is lacking protein, even vegetarians and vegans are eating too much. But 95% of Americans are deficient in fiber. This results in an array of health issues including increased risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.1
What’s in black beans?
Tons of nutrients! 1 cup (172 grams) of cooked black beans contains:
- Calories: 227
- Protein: 15 grams
- Fat: 1 gram
- Carbs: 41 grams
- Fiber: 15 grams
(% of the daily value)
- Folate: 64%
- Copper: 40%
- Thiamine: 35%
- Manganese: 33%
- Magnesium: 29%
- Iron: 20%
- Phosphorus: 19%
- Potassium: 13% 2
Black beans also contain calcium, zinc, copper, selenium, vitamin B12, vitamin E, and vitamin K.
Eat with your eyes
Black beans are rich in color and rich in antioxidants! The antioxidant activity of the common varieties of beans were studied, finding that the darker colored seeds were associated with higher levels of flavonoids. Black beans came out on top packing the most antioxidant content followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans.3
Wanting to lose weight?
Incorporate beans into your diet! Beans contribute to weight loss since they are low in fat and calories and high in fiber — which keeps you feeling full longer!
What type of rice is best?
Brown, wild, and basmati are my favorites when making yellow rice! All of them are low or low-medium on the Glycemic Index, with brown and basmati scoring 55 and wild 57. What are the glycemic index ranges? Low GI: 1 to 55. Medium GI: 56 to 69. High GI: 70 and above.
While white rice lands high on the glycemic index at 72, Basmati rice may appear white in color but it’s actually considered a low-medium glycemic food at 55!4
How healthy is brown rice?
There was a time in my 20s when I thought that rice was a carb-rich food with little else going on. Where the heck did I get that idea? Rice is an incredibly nutritious whole grain, especially brown and wild rice!
One cup of brown rice contains:
- Calories: 216
- Carbs: 44 grams
- Fiber: 3.5 grams
- Fat: 1.8 grams
- Protein: 5 grams
(% of the Recommended Daily Intake)
- Manganese: 88%
- Selenium: 27%
- Magnesium: 21%
- Phosphorus: 16%
- Niacin (B3): 15%
- Pyridoxine (B6): 14%
- Thiamin (B1): 12%
- Copper: 10%
- Pantothenic acid (B5): 6%
- Zinc: 8%
- Iron: 5%
Brown rice is also a good source of folate, riboflavin (B2), potassium and calcium.5
Black Bean and Yellow Rice Burritos
Ingredients
- Rice
- ¾ cup uncooked rice Brown or Basmati are my favs
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- Several grinds of black pepper
- Black Beans
- 1 29- oz can black beans or two 15.5 oz cans
- ½ of a yellow onion chopped
- 1 small jalapeño minced (omit all or ½ seeds)
- 5 small cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup broccoli finely chopped
- ⅓ of a zucchini sliced then quartered
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- For Serving
- Tortillas
- Lettuce thinly sliced
- Tomato finely chopped
- Red cabbage finely chopped
- Yellow onion finely chopped
- Avocado or guacamole
- Salsa
- Vegan sour cream
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Yellow Rice: In a small pot, add everything under “Rice” and cook according to package directions.
- Beans: Drain and rinse beans in a strainer. In a medium-sized pot, sauté onions and jalapeño on medium-low heat until softened. Add in everything else under “Beans”, stirring occasionally until cooked through and broccoli is softened.
- Meanwhile, prep all veggies.
- When yellow rice and black beans have finished cooking, heat tortillas one at a time on a large skillet until lightly browned, flipping halfway through.
- Fill tortillas with beans, rice, and all the desired toppings. Top with avocado or guacamole, optional salsa and/or hot sauce, and/or optional vegan sour cream. Enjoy!
Notes
If you enjoyed these colorful burritos, I’d love to hear! Leave me a comment below! 🙂
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6124841/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-black-beans-healthy#nutrition
- American Chemical Society. “‘Musical Fruit’ Rich Source Of Healthy Antioxidants; Black Beans Highest.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 December 2003. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031205053236.htm>
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24772728/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-brown-rice-good-for-you#nutrition
