Lentil Burritos
These Lentil Burritos are meatless but so filling! They’re stuffed with lentils and sweet potatoes, and topped with a creamy yogurt sauce.
For a short time during culinary school, I had a part-time job at the “gourmet prepared foods” counter of a local grocery store. It was the type of place that charged $19.99/pound for cooked chicken breasts sprinkled with spices.
Insane, I know. The two most popular items were mini turkey meatloaves and lentil burritos. Which mean that all day long, my shift basically involved people leaning over the counter and asking “Ya guys got any lentil burritos?”.
These Lentil Burritos are delicious and so affordable!
It’s true, they were a crowd-pleasing meatless but filling meal. But I knew I didn’t need to pay $7.95 for each one – I could make a version of them at home for just a fraction of that price, as they’re made with totally affordable ingredients.
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Because they’re full of good-for-you things like lentils (if you like lentils, also check out my Instant Pot Lentil Soup, Lentil Pasta Sauce, and Greek Yogurt Pasta) and sweet potatoes, I like to make them sort of gigantic, ala everybody’s favorite Mexican chain restaurant.
Hungry husbands can eat them all, others can eat half and save the other half for lunch the next day. Buy an extra sweet potato to make a sweet potato breakfast casserole, another affordable meal!
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Lentil Burritos
Ingredients
For the Big Ol' Lentil Burritos:
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- ½ large red onion chopped
- 2 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup brown lentils rinsed and picked through
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups packed baby spinach
- 1 cup thick and chunky salsa
- 4 10-inch flour tortillas
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Nonstick cooking spray
For the Coriander Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons coriander chutney this can be found in the Indian section of most grocery stores
For the Garnishes (optional):
- Chopped Red Onion
- Fresh Cilantro
- Hot Sauce
Instructions
- In medium saucepot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water, lentils, curry powder and salt; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until lentils are tender, adding more water if necessary.
- Let lentil mixture cool slightly; drain off any excess liquid (do this really well - you don't want any extra moisture in this mixture). Stir in spinach and salsa and drain off excess liquid once more, if necessary.
- Spoon 1-1/4 cups lentil mixture into center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up tortillas over filling, folding in ends if desired.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly spray with nonstick spray, then add burritos, in batches if necessary, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer burritos to rimmed baking pan and bake 15 minutes or until heated through.
- Meanwhile, make Coriander Yogurt Sauce: In small bowl, stir together yogurt and chutney.
- Serve burritos with yogurt sauce and desired garnishes.
Can I used canned lentils? If so, do I still need to use water?
Hi Kaitlyn – If using fully cooked canned lentils, I would recommend adding just enough water and cooking long enough in step 1 to cook the sweet potatoes until they are tender. After that, I would stir in the lentils!
Thank you for the nice recipe.
Can these be frozen? If so, do you have tips or recommendations? These burritos are very good but I can’t eat the whole batch by myself.
Hi Sarah! Absolutely – I’ve tried freezing these, and they’ve been pretty good. I wrap them individually in foil then place in a freezer bag to freeze. To warm them, I would recommend leaving them wrapped in foil and baking them in a 350 degree oven until they’re warm. Or, you could take the foil off and microwave them. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much, BabyJune! Glad you’re here!
Thanks Nancy! I’m not sure this burrito will win over somebody who isn’t a fan of sweet potatoes OR lentils, but you could try! Or…use brown rice and black beans or something?
Hmmm…the Husband’s not a fan of sweet potatoes or lentils but if I make these big ol’ burritos, maybe I can trick him into eating and enjoying them! This looks delicious! I love that they’re meat free but still uber filling.
Um…lentils + burritos? That’s pretty awesome. I think I know what I’m making for dinner. 🙂 I’m glad I stumbled upon your website, the cauliflower steaks from the index look delish.
Thanks Marjory! That coriander chutney, if you can find it, has SO much flavor on it’s own. I love that stuff.
Haha – black beans have gone bad in my fridge, too. Just once – but they grew mold! It was so gross. They were hidden in the back behind other stuff, otherwise this never would have happened, as I’m a black bean fanatic! Hope you enjoy these burritos!
I was planning to make black bean and sweet potato tacos tomorrow, but the black beans in my fridge went bad (how did this happen, I don’t know.) Looks like I will be giving this a try tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.
Perfect for a Meatless Monday! They are oozing with so much flavor.
I can attest to the fact that a hungry husband can eat a full one. They are soooooo good and surprisingly filling.