My no. 1 craving in Korea is Taco Bell’s Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito.  The only Taco Bells in Korea are in Seoul or on the American military bases and since I don’t have access to those places, I had to create my own.  The good news is that it is healthier than Taco Bell!  The combination of the zesty sauce, creamy beans, and Mexican rice in this recipe creates the Taco Bell taste.

Homemade Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

For the Rice

-1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (or white if you prefer)

-1 chicken bouillon cube (or vegetable bouillon for vegetarian)

-1/4 cup salsa (I used Pace medium)

-2 cups water

For the Beans

-1 (15-16 oz) can whole black beans or pinto beans, undrained

-1/4 tsp ground black pepper

-1/2 tsp garlic powder

For the Zesty Sauce

-1 (~ 1/4 to 1/3 cup) container lowfat plain yogurt (or light sour cream!)

-2 Tbls light mayonnaise

-2 1/2 tsp taco seasoning (I used mild, low sodium is preferred)

Additional Ingredients

-3 large flour tortillas (I like whole wheat, but they don’t have them in Korea)

-3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used part-skim mozzarella)

Directions

For the Rice:

1) In your rice cooker or a pot, put in the rice, water, chicken bouillon, and salsa.  Cook like you would regular rice.  It should take 30-40 minutes.  * More water is used in this recipe to make the rice fluffier than Asian style sticky rice.

For the Beans:

1) In a pot, add the whole can of beans with liquid, the garlic powder and the pepper.  Cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until there is just a little liquid left in the beans, this makes them creamy and easy to mash.

2) Remove from heat and mash the beans with a fork or potato masher to make ‘re-fried beans.’ *I like doing this rather than buying canned re-fried beans, they taste more authentic in my opinion.

For the Sauce:

1) Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise  and taco seasoning.  This can be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

For the Burritos:

1) Make your burritos by putting about 1/3 cup of rice, 1/2 cup of beans, 1/4 cup cheese, and about 2 Tbls of the sauce in a warmed tortilla.

Enjoy!

Below are the ingredients used in this recipe.  The bouillon, salsa, yogurt, beans and mayonnaise can be found at Home Plus.  The tortillas and cheese can be found at Costco and the taco seasoning can be purchased online here.

Nutrition Information

For 1 Serving (1 Burrito): 473 Calories, 12.6 g Fat, 5.6 g Saturated Fat, 19.5 mg Cholesterol, 1.485 mg Sodium, 74 g Carbohydrates, 8.3 g Fiber, 5 g Sugars, 21.2 g Protein.  *Use low sodium taco seasoning,  low sodium chicken bouillon and low sodium beans to reduce the sodium, they are just hard to find in Korea.

Filed under: Entrees