Root · Balanced Meals on a Budget

High-Protein Bean & Cheese Burritos

Mashed pinto beans folded with cottage cheese, Monterey Jack, and salsa verde sauce, wrapped up with air-fried fajita veggies.

4Burritos

33gProtein each

2Parts

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Texture tip — mash the beans while they're still warm and drain off every bit of the cooking liquid first. Warm beans mash into a smooth, thick paste that holds the cheese; wet ones turn the filling soupy and it'll leak out of the tortilla.

Ingredients

Bean filling

Dried pinto beans 250 g
Salt, for boiling 1 tsp
Salsa verde saucehomemade → or ½ jar Trader Joe's Hatch Valley 150 g
Cottage cheeseor Greek yogurt 150 g
Monterey Jack, shreddedor mozzarella + a pinch of chili flakes 100 g
Nutritional yeastoptional 2 tbsp
Garlic, chopped 6–7 cloves

To assemble

Air-fried fajita veggiessee the recipe → 1 batch
Large flour tortillas 4

Method

Part 1 — Cook the beans

Rinse the pinto beans and soak them in plenty of cold water overnight, 8 hours or more. Drain the soaking water.
Put the soaked beans in the Instant Pot with fresh water to cover, add the salt, and run the Bean/Chili setting. Let the pressure release naturally, then drain off all the cooking liquid. No Instant Pot? Use a stovetop pressure cooker and go 4–5 whistles, until the beans are mushy.
While the beans cook, make a batch of the air-fried fajita veggies — peppers, zucchini, red onion, and celery, heavily seasoned and charred at 430°F.

Part 2 — Build & roll

Mash the drained beans while still warm. Stir in the salsa verde sauce, then fold through the cottage cheese (or Greek yogurt), Monterey Jack, nutritional yeast, and chopped garlic.
Warm the bean mixture in a pan over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until the garlic loses its raw bite and the cheese melts into the beans. Taste and adjust the salt.
Warm the tortillas, spread a quarter of the bean filling down the center of each, and top with the fajita veggies.
Fold in the sides and roll tight. Sear seam-side down in a dry pan for a minute per side if you want a crisp shell.

Notes

Tortilla count assumes large flour tortillas — adjust for whatever size or type you're using.
The bean filling keeps 2 days in the fridge, or a week in the freezer.
Roughly 32–35g protein per burrito, tortilla included.
The filling needs one batch of Air-Fried Fajita Veggies — start them while the beans pressure cook.
Making the salsa verde sauce from scratch? It yields about 4 cups, so make it ahead — you only need 150 g here.