Air-Fryer Taquitos with Cauliflower and Black Beans

The air fryer cooks these taquitos just right—crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. When placing taquitos in an airfryer, it helps to position them seam side down so that they hold their shape and stay closed as they cook. Check out more of our favorite vegan air-fryer recipes!

By Darshana Thacker Wendel,

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups chopped fresh mushrooms
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4½ teaspoons salt-free taco seasoning
  • 2 cups riced cauliflower
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 10 5-inch corn tortillas
  • 1¼ cups guacamole

Instructions

  • Preheat air fryer to 320°F for 8 minutes.
  • For filling, in a saucepan cook mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in ¼ cup water over medium about 10 minutes or until onion starts to turn translucent, stirring occasionally. Add water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Stir in beans, tomato paste, and taco seasoning. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in riced cauliflower, lemon juice, and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Warm tortillas according to package directions. Wrap in a kitchen towel to keep warm. To assemble taquitos, lay a warm tortilla on a clean surface. Spoon tablespoons filling horizontally across middle of tortilla. Starting from edge closest to you, roll up tortilla, tucking it under filling and rolling tightly to make a thin roll. Place assembled taquito on a tray lined with an additional kitchen towel. Keep covered. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
  • Transfer half of the taquitos, or as many as can fit, into the air fryer. Air-fry 5 to 7 minutes or until tortillas are crisp and slightly browned around the edges. Serve warm with guacamole.

Comments (107)

(5 from 51 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Theresa

How much sodium? How come you don’t list nutritional values?

Vanessa

How do you cook these without an air fryer.

Gustavo Guerrero

Congratulations and Thank you so much! You're great!

Sharon Bryant-Perry

This is absolutely amazing! It is 12:45 in the morning, and I just had to get out of bed and go make one. Wow, wow, wow!

Sylvia

I’ve done that before at 9:45pm.

Noemi

To heat corn tortillas so they stay soft, I usually use my cast iron griddle, with a random pan lid on top. If the tortillas are pretty dry, I might sprinkle just a touch of water on the hot griddle or on top of the tortilla. Heat over medium high for about 20-30 seconds, then flip and repeat. The steam from the water helps keep the tortillas soft.

Birgit

Looks so tasty! I would love to make them with an airfryer, however, i haven't got one for myself yet Has anybody bought one from https://www.airfryer.com.se/ ? I am thinking of getting one but yet sure if its trustworthy.

Kat

To keep the tortillas from cracking, Warm up the corn tortillas first wrapped in a damp towel in the microwave. Also, don’t let them sit too long before air frying or baking, because the tortillas will split apart. (I live in a very dry climate?) Also, needs A lot more spice and heat. We added chipotle peppers in adobe sauce and more garlic ; )

denise

I LOVE this air fryer...mostly because it does EVERYTHING, not just air fry...I dehydrate fruits and dry out almond pulp to make flour, toast, bake, keep warm....you name it, you can do it in this one machine!!!! I air fry potatoes, chicken, etc.....my son, neighbor and friends all have the same one...it's super easy to clean too!!! https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KCO124BM-Digital-Countertop-Black/dp/B08FVWKK7T/ref=asc_df_B08FVWKK7T?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80882941598079&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584482468545767&th=1

Alexandra Hullquist

I made my own filling on the fly, but knowing how long and what temperature to air fry in my crisp lid added to my Instapot was very helpful. 7 minutes was a good time frame and they were just the right amount of crisp outside, yet moist on the inside. As mentioned by another person, they did not resemble the photo provided with the recipe. But they were good, nonetheless.

Super Shaz

These tasted pretty good but absolutely did not resemble the ones in the photo. I don't know whether other air fryers give that golden color but ours didn't. They became crisp but the tortillas (I live in Mexico and they were fresh from the tortilleria) retained their original pale color. As I look at the image in the recipe, they look like they've at least been spritzed with oil before going in the air fryer. Would like to hear others' tips ... thank you!

Joyce Dugger

I can’t wait to use this healthy Recipe.

Marie

Pretty darn good. Makes more than the 10 taquitos the serving size says, for me, it made 20 tasty taquitos. My only recommendation is it needs a little more kick, my husband and I thought it was a little bland, but we will make it again and just add more taco seasoning.

JackieG

The filling was really good and surprisingly stayed intact in the taquitos. I did omit the green bell pepper (hard on my husband’s stomach) and used a full sodium taco spice instead. Trader Joe’s Mexican Riced cauliflower (frozen section) was perfect for this recipe, so I added it from the bag straight into the pan in the last 5 minutes. My system was to warm the tortillas in a separate pan and assemble one-at-a-time directly in the hot pan (I have asbestos fingers, lol) to avoid the dreaded splitting. I think we both agreed that this might be better as a burrito filling (less work/time rolling and “frying”). The recipe made about 18 taquitos (rather than 10). You’d never know there were mushrooms and cauliflower in there! Definitely a keeper!

Teri

This was great - it was so nice to have yummy "fried" food that was crunchy and flavorful without using any oil. Loved that a cruciferous vegetable was included. It definitely needed to be paired with the guacamole.

Phil Kaiser

These were great. Subbed zucchini for mushrooms b/c my wife doesn’t like shrooms. Makes more than 10. Used low sodium taco seasoning. Very crispy. I wish FOK would publish nutritional info with their recipes. Made FOK vegan queso recipe to serve with these. Also a keeper.

Noemi

FOK's whole thing is that if you eat a lot of plants and leave out the animal products, your health will improve. They are not about counting calories or other nutrition. You can find calculators for that all over the internet.

Gigi Bell

Easy and delicious!

Kris Elliott

We just had our first "Air-fryer Taquitos with cauliflower and black beans!" They were yummy! I was wondering what the calories and fat grams were? What are the nutritional details? Thank you!!!

Jenna

How to make w/out an airfryer?

Lori

A little time consuming, but it was my first try. I made my own taco seasoning and the filling was perfect. I had small tortillas so I think it would have been better to fold in half like empanadas. I loved the recipe and my husband did too. Taquitos have always been a favorite of mine. I'm so happy to have a vegan version that is so much better than meat.

Marie Diaz

Soooooo good. I was worried that the cooked mushroom would be overpowering, but I completely forgot they were even in there lol. We loved them!

Heather

recipe

Archana

Can I use frozen riced cauliflower or do I have to rice a fresh head of cauliflower?

Marie

I cooked my frozen cauli in the microwave before using it in the recipe! Worked perfectly :)

Carol

Recipe is simple. Ingredients a a available and delicious.

Molly

My kids loved these so I consider that 5 stars!

T

Made these yesterday and they're yummy! We tried two cooking methods. The air fryer crisps them like taquitos but the filling stays in better if baked in the oven. The oven method makes them in the middle of a taquito and enchilada, still crisp enough to still eat without a fork.

Bri

Made this for dinner and it made WAY more than 10 taquitos! They were delicious, however, with most FOK recipes we always have to add seasonings. With added cumin, chili, smoked paprika, and cilantro, these were perfect! We created a little system for cooking - my husband heated the tortillas on a pan for 10 seconds each side on med-high heat then handed to me on a plate where I rolled the filling in and put directly in the air fryer. We realized that if we let them sit rolled up, the tortillas start to split from the moisture of the filling. The faster you put it into the air fryer, the better! They turned out crispy and they were super filling! Will make again, especially for a party!

Lillie Mack

Am I use the oven because I don’t own an Airfryet?

T

Yes, I prefer the oven for these. I tried them both ways.

K

If you bake in a regular oven just make sure to increase time and temperature. Air fryers bake for less time at a lower temperature. Look up converting recipes from convection oven to a regular oven.

Denise

This was our second time making these. We felt like something was missing from the first batch. For the second batch, we added a 15-ounce can of chickpeas (rinsed and mashed) and an extra cup of cauliflower rice. We also added extra taco seasoning. We wanted to share with the FOK community because this small change made a big difference. They were fantastic!!

Barbara Christiansen

Just made and devoured them! Fun finger food.

Patty

Can these be prepped and frozen for air frying at a later time?

Megan Edwards

Hi Patty! Yes you can prep and freeze the taquitos beforehand, but we recommend letting them thaw a bit before putting them in the air fryer. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Rita

Why am having a hard time printing this recipe

Trish

Nice recipe. I did find that the ingredients made way more than just 10 five inch tortillas could hold. Did anyone else find this? Maybe I could have put more than a tablespoon of filling, but there's no way it all would have fit in just 10.

Rita

Do you have a hard back recipe book

T

Yes and I have it along with some other ones including recipes from the family & associates. Search for the "Forks over Knives" cookbook. They may even sell it on this site.

Amber Kirby

I don’t even like cauliflower, but these were seriously good. Even my teenage son said they were fantastic after he hesitantly tried one. Definitely doing again. We did the nacho cheese recipe to dip and/or pour on top. Served with pico and guac.

New Vegans

My husband and 11 year old loved these and they're not entirely onboard with my vegan meals, so I'm happy to find another recipe we can all enjoy. I was impatient and didn't want to heat up my tortillas prior to rolling, so I just overfilled and rolled them loosely. My air fryer is a Ninja oven (with convection) so I upped the temp to 400 and set it for 15 minutes. I took them out when they started to brown and they were the perfect crispiness. Topped with fresh guac, they were amazing.

Colleen Shaver

I’m not able to invest in an air fryer. What temp would I use in an oven and for how long?

Mary AK

If you have a convection oven that will work well. My new oven has an air fryer setting. Air fryers are just small convection ovens where the fan stays on all the time. Usually 25-50 degrees higher in oven than in an air fryer. Maybe -lace higher to the top to get closer to the heating element. But keep an eye on it. Ovens vary greatly believe it or not.

Sally Taylor

Haven’t tried it but I will.

CI

So why rate it at all if you haven't tried it?!?

Moira Shepherd

Yes, such a reply is senseless and useless.

Joanna Brandt

Very delicious! I agree- don’t microwave the tortillas

Molly

I’ve used hearts of palm (it can take 30’ of steaming to make them soft, but you can probably cook them in a microwave too) as a substitute for lots of things, including mushrooms.

Jacqui Wolstencroft

My goodness how tasty are these!

Francesca Petrie

Delicious! Thank you Forks over Knives for your amazing recipes.

Deborah Kincaid

Delicious! Even my husband who is reluctant with some vegan foods thought they were good.

Tracy

Just made these. I tried heating tortillas in microwave…epic fail! So then I got out my cast iron skillet and heated the corn tortillas and they rolled without cracking. I will try again with vegan queso as Joan suggested. Yummy flavor!

Joan

Delicious and easy to prepare. I made them with large flour tortillas because that’s what I had on hand. I’ll try using corn tortillas and serve with vegan queso. Yum!

Rosalidia Kapper

Wasn't allowed to print sooo I handwrote it. What's up? I am a Vegan now. Was a natural vegetarian since day one. Accept got married and ate meat. Not liking meat so tried not to eat it. Did not like any meat period. So now I am very happy being a Vegan. PS: When grandkids were very young, they did not like burgers, hotdogs, etc. Unfortunately, they are carnivorous now.

Margaret Smith

Looks really good

Sherry McCrary

If I don’t have an air fryer, is there an oven recipe?

Karen

Yes I agree what is the alternative to an air fryer for those who don’t have one?

Patty Kujawa

If you have a convection oven, that is essentially an air fryer. See this link: https://www.everydayfamilycooking.com/air-fryer-conversion-chart-calculator/#:~:text=How%20to%20Convert%20Air%20Fryer,your%20food%20as%20it%20cooks.

Sashi

To bake air fryer recipes, I usually add 50-degrees and increase the time by 25%. So, for this one, I would do 375 for 15 minutes. Hope that helps!

Christy

Wow a fantastic recipe ! The family gave rating as awesome and delicious!! We’ll look forward to making often with plenty others in your recipes I’m making as we go. I’m benefiting in weight loss and many other goals because of plant life.

Robin

These were very tasty. My corn tortillas split so they didn't really roll tight for a taquito, but that was ok. They were more like an enchilada with no sauce. Like a few other reviewers I don't like mushrooms, but the health benefits of mushrooms are big so I try to incorporate them "in disguise" where I can. This recipe was really easy to do that! For the mushroom haters, you don't even taste them! They cook down with everything else so it works great and you get the health benefits of the mushroom.

Tammie

If you have not tried Oyster Mushrooms, I recommend them highly. I am not super crazy about mushrooms either, but these are a very mild one.

Rebecca Black

Is a great recipe even my little brother and step-dad agreed and they HATE vegetables unless it's green beans, corn, onions, and lettuce

Alli

These were incredibly good. I don’t like mushrooms, so I just left them out - and they were still great. Added a habanero in with the garlic, added more garlic, should’ve added more salt to the filling. Will definitely make these again!

Haley

I made this really late at night so I was tempted to cut corners and leave stuff out, but I ended up doing it exactly as the recipe described aside from making my own salt free taco seasoning. It was so delicious. The corn tortillas fell apart and were a bust but I had some gluten free tortillas that came out really crispy and stayed together. I think I will try making my own corn tortillas next time I try this. I did add salt to the guacamole though.

Barbara

You can slightly brown your tortillas in a cast iron skillet and keep them between kitchen towels until you're ready to add your filling. They will be soft enough to roll and I think they taste better.

Shannon

Delicious! Easy. My 9 year old loved them, and asked for one in his lunch box the next day. Ours were a little dry, so it's good to have dipping sauces - salsa, sour cream, along with the guacamole. I also gave them a little bit of oil to get the crisp going. Thanks so much! We look forward to experimenting other fillings too.

Shannon

Forgot to mention - I didn't see what temperature to set the air fryer to in the recipe. I tried 180 first, and that was not enough, but 200 was perfect.

Julia

Is the riced cauliflower supposed to be cooked first?

PdxGamer

It looks like this recipe calls for flour tortillas. These should be called 'Flautas'. I'll still be eating them soon... :D

PdxGamer

The rating should be a five star.

Barbara

The recipe calls for corn tortillas.

CW

Chopped steamed Chestnuts (not water chestnuts, I mean the kind they sing about roasting over an open fire in the holiday songs) make an excellent substitute for mushrooms. They are more easily found in stores in Nov. Or Dec. And they are pre-cooked and vacuum-packed and they freeze well. I have tried mushrooms so many times, so many ways and still hate them, so I was thrilled to learn about using chestnuts instead.

Delite Fontenot

Just made these delicious taquitos- but only 1/2 the recipe!! It’s just me! So I heated tortillas in microwave, and made them immediately, and double decker air fried! I used frozen riced cauliflower, taco seasoning, and already had cut up onions & bell pepper for the week! So not hard or labor intensive at all!! I Made 5 crunchy yummy taquitos, after correcting the first one I overfilled! Had @ 2 TB mix left over & enjoyed it on the side! Dipped mine in jarred Green Chile Tomatillo salsa! Hard not to eat all 5 right now! Maybe exchange mushrooms for jackfruit or tempeh! ENJOY!

Robin Kerstiens

So many of the FOK recipes have mushrooms. My husband is allergic, so since there is not a good substitute for mushrooms, those recipes are passed up.

Steven

What about soy crumbles or tofu?

Andi

Robin, Take a peek at CW's comment about chestnuts. She seems to have found a perfect mushroom replacement. My kids hate mushrooms so I can feel your pain on how many FOK recipes call for them. Sometimes simply leaving them out works too. Happy cooking :)

KAT Tierney

Hi, What brand of air fryer do you use? THX!

Judy Sykes

I wish I could post the photo I took of the Taquitos falling apart the first time I tried to make them! It was pretty hilarious. I think maybe part of the problem was old tortillas; when I got out a new batch they seemed to work better. Bottom line, I figured it out and my husband liked them. There is a LOT of filling left, so I’ll try again in a few days. It was pretty labor-intensive making the filling, and it seemed very wet. I never had to add any water while cooking it. They did come out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The guacamole helped a lot.

raelie ha;ll

make stuffed peppers with the extra mix

Karen

Vegan

Claudia

I added some hot sauce to the filling, but other than that, made as is. My husband and I loved it, and it's been added to the rotation. (One note: we found it made more taquitos than just 10. I'm not sure how many more. I used all 12 tortillas, saved the leftover filling and will make more taquitos tomorrow.) Thank you so much for the great recipes; makes my husband's transition to this type of diet so much easier, and easy for me to support him.

Karen Brown

These were the best! Delicious filling, l also added 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cocao and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts and my own salt free taco seasoning. Thank you for a great recipe.

Teri of NC

Wow, these are great! Home run! I baked 10 in my air fryer and the rest in the oven at 400 F for 10 minutes. They turned out great in the oven, too.

Kathy Maultsby

Someone asked about riced cauliflower. I, too, want to know. I know I can chop raw cauliflower into rice-sized pieces, but are we to assume that this is precooked before going into this recipe? Please advise. Thanks.

Jane Donahue

What is riced cauliflower ?

Annleasa

I put my raw cauliflower pieces into a food processor and pulse until it’s riced. Hope this helps.

Teri of NC

No, it's not pre-cooked. You can take a head of cauliflower, break it into bite-size pieces, and blend it (without water) in your blender to rice it (it's quick to do). Do a handful at a time. This will give you about 4 cups of riced cauliflower, depending on the size of the head. But there is probably riced cauliflower in your produce section, or possibly in the freezer section.

Lenora

These were really good. I too made my own taco seasoning- just chili powder and cumin. I also just used the convection bake option on my oven since my air fryer is small. That worked out well. Bonus was that this made WAY more than taquitos for some reason. I'm not complaining because they are good. Another bonus, my kids actually like them too.

Sue

What temperature did you cook them in your convection bake oven? Same as the air fryer temp? Thank you!

Mary

These are AH-MAZING! Nice and crispy. Even the meat eaters loved these. Thank you!

Susan E Crafton

Pls, what are the amounts used for your taco seasoning? TIA!

Heidi

If you don't have an air fryer?

Cori

A convection oven works well!

Sashi

To bake air fryer recipes, I usually add 50-degrees and increase the time by 25%. So, for this one, I would do 375 for 15 minutes. Hope that helps!

LETICIA SERNA

What's the nutritional information for this recipe.

ian h.

These are so easy to make! Definitely be careful not to over-stuff them or you’ll have filling fall out into your air fryer tray.

Craig Lending

This was a great recipe. Pretty much as directed, except double the garlic and hot sauce on the guacamole. We are trying out an air fryer we borrowed, and I was amazed how crispy these come out.

Ramona

We love this recipe and so many others of Forks over Knives. They are easy and delicious.

Belinda

Really enjoyed this recipe although I think I’ll leave out the cauliflower next time and add a little more pepper !

Rebecca Finch

Great recipe and gave me many ideas for variations. Didn't have fresh mushrooms so I used dried Chinese brown (shitake) and substituted a red pepper for the green. Made my own taco seasoning. Chopped the ingredients in the food processor to get a fine mince on everything so that the filling would hold together. Used commercially made tortillas but I would like to try homemade. Made my own tomato salsa because I am dieting and not using high fat plant foods right now. Made a double batch of everything and then experimented with reheating the taquitos after they had been out for awhile--worked perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe.

kimball rowe

These are great. I recommend a touch more salt and double on the garlic and instead of green bell pepper I used a yellow pepper to be more creative!

Christine

I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I am guessing I underfilled the taquitos because I got twice as many. But they tasted perfect like that so I am not complaining! I can't recommend this recipe enough. SO good. I also cooked them for 8 minutes because I saw the 8 minutes in the preheat and didn't notice the 5-7 minutes in the last step. 8 minutes was perfect. I even did the last batch for 9 minutes because one of my sons wanted them a little crunchier.

Sara Connor

Can these be baked in oven?

Stephanie

If you have a convection oven, it is basically the same as an air fryer. I use my toaster over to "air fry" things because it has a convection option and the results come out the same as my actual air fryer gadget.

Cdg

These look amazing! Going to save in my air fryer section for when I actually budget to buy one! (Anyone have any good recommendations for an airfryer that’s not too small for our big family meals?) Until then I’ll try with the oven adjustments. Anyone make and freeze these? My mom used to deep fry a bunch of taquitos as a kid and then freeze them to reheat for after school snacks when friends came over.

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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