Slow Cooker Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos

Slow Cooker Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos start with pinto beans and Swiss Chard that cooks in the slow cooker to make a delicious filling for vegetarian burritos. 

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Slow Cooker Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos were inspired by a recipe I came across for Swiss Chard cooked with cumin (plus an abundance of Swiss Chard in the garden!)  And these Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos are definitely one of those recipes that produces a somewhat unphotogenic mixture when it comes out of the slow cooker, but if you like Swiss Chard and pinto beans, please don’t let that keep you from making this. 

I loved the combination of flavors with the pintos and greens, and other than chopping the Swiss Chard a little smaller next time, this was a lucky recipe experiment where I wouldn’t change a thing! And you could certainly make these burritos with another type of leafy greens if you don’t have chard. And definitely these burritos are a perfect Meatless main dish, and if you skip the cheese or use some type of vegan cheese, this recipe could be easily be made vegan.

The recipe makes quite a bit, and I froze the extra filling for an easy dinner another time. And check out my Salute to Swiss Chard for more Swiss Chard ideas!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• dry pinto beans
• water
• onion
• ground cumin (affiliate link)
• garlic powder
• Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link)
• salt
• Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) or Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link)
• chopped swiss chard leaves
• Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link)
• grated mozzarella blend cheese
• green onions

How to make this recipe:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. I have good instructions for cooking dried beans in a slow cooker, and soaking is optional, but I did soak these beans overnight to be sure they wouldn’t take too long to cook.
2. The next day drain the beans, add 6 cups fresh water, ground cumin (affiliate link), garlic powder, and a chopped onion. Cook the beans on high until they are quite soft. For me this was a little over 4 hours, but the age of the beans will affect how long they take to cook. 
3. When the beans are done, drain them, saving 1/4 of the cooking water.
4. Stir in the salsa and hot sauce into the beans and continue to cook while you chop and wash the chard.
5. Cut off chard stems, stack up the leaves, and slice then chop the chard leaves until you have 6-8 cups of chopped chard leaves.  (If you’re using garden chard, wash it in a salad spinner after it’s chopped.)
6. Add the chard to the slow cooker, pressing down to get it all in if needed, cover the cooker and continue to cook and let the chard wilt.)
7. When the chard has all wilted down (about 30-45 minutes) stir to combine, cover and cook about another hour on high.
8. This not-too-photogenic mixture is after the beans and chard have all cooked together. If the mixture seems dry at this point, add the 1/4 cup of cooking water you saved.
9. You’ll need about some thinly sliced green onion and grated mozzarella blend to make the finished burritos.
10. There are lots of good options for low-carb tortillas, but I’d probably use My Favorite Low-Carb Tortillas! Warm the tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds, then spread on about 1/3 cup of the filling mixture, a sprinkle of cheese, and some green onions.
11. Fold up the bottom to make the end of the burrito, then fold the sides in and serve, with extra hot sauce if desired.

More Tasty Vegetarian Bean Dishes in the Slow Cooker:

Slow Cooker Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice from Andrea Meyers
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos with Lime from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Slow Cooker Puerto Rican Black Beans with Sofrito and Chilantro from The Perfect Pantry
Slow Cooker Black Beans with Cilantro from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Slow Cooker Mung Beans and Rice with Indian Spices and Caramelized Onions from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

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Yield: 12 small burritos

Slow Cooker Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 40 minutes

Slow Cooker Spicy Vegetarian Pinto Bean and Chard Burritos make a delicious meatless lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dry pinto beans (see notes)
• 6 cups water
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 T Cholula hot sauce (optional, more or less to taste)
• 8 cups chopped swiss chard leaves
• 12 Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (see notes)
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella blend cheese (see notes)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Instructions

Directions for cooking

1. I recommend pre-soaking the beans for best results, but if you forget to soak them, add 1-2 hours more time for cooking the beans.  Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover by several inches.  (I just soaked them in the crockery part of the slow cooker.)
2. The next day, drain beans.
3. Then add them back to the slow cooker with 6 cups water, onion, ground cumin, and garlic powder.
4. Cook on high until beans are quite soft.  (I cooked my soaked beans for a little over 4 hours to get them as soft as I preferred.  Unsoaked beans or beans that aren’t fresh may take a couple hours longer for this step.)
5. When the beans are soft, drain them and return to the slow cooker, saving 1/4 cup of the bean cooking water.
6. Add the salsa, salt, and hot sauce (if using).
7. Let beans continue to cook on high while you chop and wash the swiss chard.
8. Cut off chard stems, stack up some chard leaves, and then slice and chop the leaves until you have 6-8 cups of chopped leaves.
9. If you’re using garden chard, wash with a salad spinner.
10.  Put the chopped chard leaves in the slow cooker, pressing down to get them all in if needed.
11.  Cover the slow cooker and continue to cook on high to wilt the leaves.
12.  When they’re all wilted (about 30-45 minutes) stir to combine and then continue to cook the beans and chard leaves about an hour longer, or until the chard leaves are very soft and beans are nearly falling apart.
13.  Check to see if the mixture seems dry and add the saved cooking water if needed.

Directions for assembling

1. Thinly slice enough green onions for the number of burritos you’re making.
2. Have grated low-fat mozzarella blend cheese ready.
3. Heat a tortilla in the microwave for a few minutes (or for making a lot of burritos at once, I like to wrap them in a double layer of aluminum foil and heat in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.)
4. Lay the softened burrito on a plate or cutting board, add about 1/3 cup of the bean/chard filling mixture, spreading it in a line from the outside edge of the tortilla to about 2/3 of the way down (leaving about 1/3 of the end to fold up to hold the mixture inside.)
5. Top with about 2 T grated cheese and thinly sliced green onions (plus extra hot sauce if desired.)
6. Fold up the end of the burrito, then fold in the sides over the end so you have one open end and one end that’s closed to keep the filling in.
7. Serve hot.
8. The burrito mixture and extra tortillas will freeze well if you don’t eat this all right away.

Notes

One pound of beans is about 2 heaping cups of beans. I love Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) and used the Medium spiciness for this recipe, but any spicy salsa that's low in sugar will work. I used Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link), but any low-carb tortilla will work. I used small whole wheat tortillas with 3 net carbs each. I used about 2 T cheese for each small burrito; use more or less to taste or omit cheese for vegan.

I used a Crock-Pot 5-Quart Smart-Pot Slow Cooker for this recipe so I could fit a generous amount of chard into the slow cooker.  I prefer to use low carb flour tortillas for this recipe.

Nutritional information is based on net carbs in the low-carb tortillas I used.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 847mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 10gSugar: 5gProtein: 15g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Lots of people don’t realize that low-glycemic dried beans are permitted for all phase of the original South Beach Diet. Of course with the tortillas, this recipe would be Phase 2 or 3 for South Beach Dieters, and it’s also important to choose whole wheat or low-carb tortillas and use low-fat cheese. Burritos with beans would be too high in carbs for low-carb diets.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Dried Beans or Slow Cooker to find more recipes like this. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there. Click here for more Slow Cooker / Pressure Cooker Recipes on my other site!

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