Make Ahead Soy Free Taquitos

Here is the finished product, golden brown and a sprinkling of salt..mmmmm...I know what I'll be having for dinner tonight.

Here are the taquitos out of the oven and ready to be frozen. My kids each ate two just like this and had no complaints....I wouldn't necessarily recommend that though. My four year old has also been known to eat paint.

This recipe is really simple 3 ingredients (four if you choose to add cheese or rice cheese) and I'm giving you a vegetarian and vegan option for the taquitos. I made half with cheese for the kids, and half without for myself. I've made taquitos on this blog before, I really enjoy having taquitos in the fridge to make for lunch or a super quick dinner alongside a mashed up avocado and some diced fruit. For these I use the same process, but the ingredients are even simpler. All you need are corn tortillas, vegetarian black beans, and hot sauce. For the vegetarian option you can add cheese.

All I did was mix together refried black beans (make sure yours are vegetarian as well as soy free) and hot sauce to taste. I laid the corn tortillas on a baking sheet and made a thin line of beans down the center. I was going to take a picture of this stage, but it looked a lot like poo on a tortilla and I was feeling too nauseous and immature to take a picture of that. If you want cheese on these you need to sprinkle the cheese FIRST then add the beans. I baked this (do not roll them up yet) for about 5 minutes at 350. The tortillas should be softened and easy to roll without tearing at this point. If not stick the whole mess back in the oven for a couple more minutes. Roll from one end to the other and place flap side down on the cookie sheet. Pop them back in the oven for another 7 minutes or so. I was making these to freeze so I didn't want them cooked to a golden brown. I just cooked them long enough that the tortilla became crispy and maintained it's rolled up shape when moved about. When I'm ready to eat these I will either pan fry them, or brush them with oil and bake them until they are golden brown. I have even been known to stick a bunch into a casserole dish, cover them with enchilada sauce and call it dinner.

The kids as it turns out were very hungry as these came out of the oven, their little pleas for "kitos" were just too much to stand and I gave them some as is. They gobbled them up and asked for more. These are a favorite in our house, and a great example of how to make your own convenience foods.

As a side note...I've tried making taquitos the recommended way, by heating all the tortillas first then filling and rolling them and it has never worked for me. If you have mad tortilla making skills (I bet you do you lucky duck) do whatever works for you. This is just the way that I have found that works for me.

Do you make and freeze any foods? What's in your freezer?

P.S. Please be sure to check ALL ingredients you are using if you are on a soy free diet for allergy or intolerance reasons.