Sunshine-Explosion Crispy Vegan Taquitos Recipe
Ever wonder what happens when you’re halfway through rolling the perfect taquito and your dog knocks over the spice rack? That’s basically how I discovered my signature crunch technique (more on that mind-blowing revelation later). I was in my kitchen on June 17th last year—sweating bullets because my AC broke that EXACT morning—when I realized vegan taquitos don’t hafta be those sad, floppy disappointments everyone expects. My grandma Eloise always said good food needs “soul wobble” and these crispy vegan taquitos got wobble for dayssss. I’ve been cooking plant-based since 2011, or maybe 2013? Depends if we’re counting that bizarre year I only ate macrobiotics on weekends. Anyway, forget everything you think you know about taquito architecture because we’re about to flip the script on these rolled-up flavor bombs.
The Accidental Taquito Evolution
So lemme tell you how these crispy vegan taquitos first wandered into my life… I was actually trying to make enchiladas for my roommate’s birthday (hi, Derek!), but I’d bought these corn tortillas that were, like, suspiciously small and kept breaking when I tried to fold them. After throwing approximately seven partial enchiladas against my kitchen wall (not my proudest moment), I had what I call a “pan-panic moment” and just started rolling the broken bits into tiny tubes.
The first batch was TERRIBLE. Like, emergency-call-for-pizza terrible. They were gummy in the middle, burnt on the ends, and tasted like sadness wrapped in corn. Justine from my old cooking class would’ve had an absolute conniption—she always said my problem was “impatience with fundamental textures” (whatever THAT means).
I didn’t actually perfect these crispy vegan taquitos until I moved to that apartment with the slanted floors in Pittsburgh, where everything in my oven cooked unevenly and I had to develop my tri-corner baking method (patent pending, lol). The magic finally happened when I was out of olive oil and used my roommate’s fancy apple cider vinegar mixed with a splash of maple syrup instead. NOT RECOMMENDED for anything else, but something about that mistake made these taquitos achieve what I now call “crunch-xplosion” status.
Ingredient Carnival
- 12 corn tortillas (the slightly stale ones work better—I hoard them in my ‘tortilla drawer’ for at least 3 days before taquitofication)
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained but NOT rinsed (the goop is gold, friends!)
- 1 cup cauliflower minced to “rice” consistency (or as I call it, “cauli-dust” when you go too far in the processor)
- 3/4 cup vegan cheese shreds (the kind that actually melts, not those sad potato starch pellets)
- 2 Aunt Mabel’s pinches of cumin (basically 1 tsp if you don’t have my aunt’s enormous fingers)
- 1½ tbsp chili powder, prefably New Mexican (the one from that store that closed down on Elm Street had THE BEST intensity)
- ⅔ onion, absolutely-not-finely diced (chunky is better—trust me on this catastrophe-turned-technique)
- 4 garlic cloves, smooshed with the side of your knife until they surrender
- 2.5 tbsp tomato paste (from a tube, NOT the can—canned tomato paste tastes like pennies after day 2)
- 1 Avocado for serving (the almost-too-soft kind that makes grocery store employees nervous when you squeeze test)
- Cooking spray or 3 splash-counts of neutral oil for the “shimmer-roll” technique
Let’s Roll These Bad Boys (Cooking Directions)
STEP ALPHA: Preheat your oven to 425°F (or what I call “hot enough to make your kitchen smell like your hair straightener when it gets too close to your ear”). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper—or if you’re like me last Thursday, aluminum foil lightly brushed with that oil your neighbor gave you that you’re not 100% sure what kind it is.
LEVEL TWO: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, fry the diced onion until it’s what I call “memory-transparent”—you can still see it’s there, but it’s mostly a ghost of its former self. Should take about 6-7 minutes, or the length of two decent TikTok scrolling sessions. Add the garlic for the final 45 seconds or until you start to worry about burning it.
THIRD DIMENSION: Dump in beans, tomato paste, spices, and two generous tablespoons of water (more if you’re cooking in a drought state like I was during The Great Kitchen Flood of 2022 when I accidentally left the sink running for 4 hours). Mash about 70% of the beans with a potato masher while leaving some whole for what I call “texture integrity.” Cook until the mixture starts to pull away from the pan in a single mass—what my imaginary cooking show calls “the unified theory of bean cohesion.”
D) Fold in the cauliflower-rice and let it steam in the hot bean mixture for approximately 3 minutes. The cauli should still have a slight bite to it—nobody wants mushy insides (as my ex used to complain about my early taquito attempts). Check out my Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl recipe for more cauli-inspo!
CINCO: Warm your tortillas using my “wet-napkin method”—stack them between damp paper towels and microwave for 20—actually, make that 25 seconds. They need to be pliable enough to roll without cracking but not so damp they turn to mush. This is what I call the “tortilla twilight zone” and it’s crucial for crispy vegan taquitos success.
PHASE 6: Assembly time! Place about 2½ tablespoons of filling in a line slightly off-center on each tortilla. Sprinkle with vegan cheese. Roll tightly from the fuller side and place seam-side down on your baking sheet. If they try to unroll, you can secure them with toothpicks, but I prefer using what I call the “crowding technique”—push them all together so they have no choice but to stay rolled.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Here’s where the magic happens with my “cracker-lacquer” technique. Spray or brush the taquitos with oil, making sure to get the edges real good. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until they reach what I call “dangerous-crunch stage”—that perfect golden brown where they’re almost TOO crunchy but not quite burnt. You’ll know it’s right when they make that specific hollow “tok” sound when tapped with a fork.
Taquito Truth Bombs (Notes & Tips)
• NEVER pre-stuff your taquitos more than 10 minutes before baking! The moisture migration will create what I call “sad-sock syndrome” where your tortilla gets inexplicably soggy in random spots.
• Contrary to literally every other recipe, DO NOT salt your filling mixture until after cooking. I learned this bizarre trick from my downstairs neighbor Guillermo who swore by late-salting for texture control. It sounds bonkers but it absolutely prevents the bean mixture from getting gummy during baking.
• My MWRC technique (Multiple Wave Rolling Configuration): Roll the first 4 taquitos, put them in the oven IMMEDIATELY while you roll the next batch. This creates a staggered crispiness that actually improves the overall eating experience. Learn more about staggered cooking methods on Serious Eats.
• If your taquitos unroll during baking, don’t panic! Perform what I call the “mid-bake intervention”—take them out at the 10-minute mark, re-roll with tongs, and return to finish baking. No one will ever know your temporary failure.
★ Leftover filling makes an INCREDIBLE breakfast when scrambled with a bit of tofu for a next-day brunch option.
Kitchen Tools That Make The Difference
BEVELED WOODEN SPOON ★★★★★
I found this at a garage sale in 2019 and the previous owner claimed it belonged to her great-aunt who was allegedly a chef for some minor European royalty.
You can achieve similar results with any wooden spoon, but the beveled edge helps in what I call “bean-scraping efficiency.”
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F7NP3K5
QUARTER SHEET PANS ★★★★★
Regular baking sheets are actually TOO BIG for proper taquito heat circulation—I discovered this after accidentally warping my full-size sheet pan in 2018.
Using quarter sheets creates what I call the “heat pocket phenomenon” that makes the bottom and top crisp simultaneously.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KLVDB6P
Wild Variation Territory
For what I call “fusion confusion” taquitos, swap the traditional spices for 2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste and add ½ cup chopped pineapple to the filling. It sounds absolutely insane, but the sweet-spicy combination with the crispy shell creates a flavor paradox that will make your brain short-circuit in the best way.
During autumn, I make what my family now demands as “fall-quitos” by adding 1/3 cup of finely diced butternut squash to the filling mixture. The slight sweetness complements the spices in an unexpectedly perfect way. I discovered this during the Great Squash Surplus of 2020 when my CSA delivered 8 squashes in one week.
For a complete protein powerhouse, stir 1/4 cup of quinoa cooked in vegetable broth into your filling. This adds a pleasant nutty pop that creates what I call “textural jazz”—a symphony of different mouthfeels in every bite. This pairs beautifully with my Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad.
Burning Question Answered
Why do my vegan taquitos always get soggy on the bottom even when the top is crispy?
You’re suffering from what I call “condensation captivity.” Unlike what literally EVERY other recipe tells you, you should actually let your taquitos cool directly on the hot baking sheet for exactly 3.5 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. This allows the bottom crust to release its trapped steam through what I call “reverse condensation channeling.” I learned this bizarre technique after accidentally leaving a batch in the oven while taking a phone call about my sister’s hamster emergency. When I returned, they had cooled slightly on the hot pan and the bottoms were miraculously crisp! The taquitos should make a distinct “tink” sound when tapped against the plate if properly crisped.
Final Taquito Thoughts
I genuinely believe these crispy vegan taquitos represent the pinnacle of my accidental culinary genius. There’s something profoundly satisfying about that first crunchy bite that gives way to the creamy, spiced filling—it’s what I call the “texture journey.” Maybe I’m overly emotionally attached to this recipe because it saved that disastrous dinner party where I forgot my cousin was allergic to mushrooms?
Will I ever create something that achieves this perfect balance again? Are taquitos actually the highest form of food architecture humans can achieve?
I’m already working on a buffalo cauliflower version that’s causing intense debate among my taste-testing friends. Stay tuned for that volatile flavor explosion coming soon!
Remember—a taquito without crunch is just a sad bean tube! Go forth and crunch-ify!
—Chef Marly, 2nd place winner of the Northeastern Regional Plant-Based Appetizer Showdown (unsponsored division)
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