Make homemade vegetarian taquitos with just a few simple ingredients! This is a budget-friendly, crowd-pleasing recipe for lunches and dinners (and it’s freezer-friendly!)

When it comes to simple, budget-friendly, crowd-pleasing meals, you can’t really go wrong with taquitos. Growing up, taquitos were my favorite store-bought freezer meal.

But when I had kids, I wanted to make a healthier, more budget-friendly version. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good box of taquitos (nostalgia and all). But my homemade taquitos are easy and meatless, making them a major budget-friendly win.

Homemade Vegetarian Taquitos

Homemade vegetarian taquitos are one of the many things I make with my Instant Pot Taco Lentils & Rice. This one-pot Instant Pot recipe takes about 10 minutes to stir together, and when it is done, the possibilities are endless. One way we use these super flavorful meatless lentils and rice is by rolling them into oven-baked taquitos.

So what is usually in taquitos?

Here’s what’s in my easy vegetarian taquitos:

• 1 batch of Taco Lentils & Rice
• Shredded cheese (any kind – I like mild or medium cheddar and pepper jack or mozzarella)
• Tortillas (corn or flour)
• A little oil to brush the pan and the tops of the taquitos
• Sour cream and salsa (to serve)

Easy Vegetarian Taquitos

Homemade taquitos are so easy and versatile. You do not need any fancy techniques or ingredients. In fact, you can take this recipe and make all kinds of different taquitos.

Here are some more ideas for homemade taquito filling:

• Seasoned shredded chicken, black beans, salsa verde, cheese
• Seasoned ground beef, pinto beans or lentils, salsa, cheese
• black beans, corn, taco seasoning, pepper jack cheese
• black or pinto beans, corn, cream cheese, green chilies
• refried beans with cumin and chili powder, pepper jack cheese

Just follow the recipe below, but use these as the filling instead of my lentils and rice.

Are Taquitos Made with Corn or Flour Tortillas?

If you are gluten-free, I have good news! You can make taquitos with corn tortillas.

You just need to follow one important step: before assembling the taquitos, place 3 corn tortillas on a plate with a damp paper towel on top of them. Then microwave them for 15-20 seconds. This steams the tortillas and prevents cracking.

Vegetarian Lentil Taquitos

I use our taco lentils and rice filling for a few reasons. One, it is easy, flavorful, delicious, and a regular part of our menu.

Second, my family does not love beans. So while there are plenty of bean-based vegetarian taquito fillings (see above), we prefer lentils and rice.

Lentils are still nutritious and budget-friendly, and I can make homemade lentils in my instant pot, stove top, or slow cooker without worrying about soaking them ahead of time. This makes them a little easier than homemade beans.

But for those of you who love beans, I got you! Go here to learn how to cook homemade beans in the instant pot, slow cooker, or on the stove top.

And go here to learn how to make my popular Cumin Beans.

Vegan Homemade Taquitos

If you are vegan, you can still enjoy creamy, comforting homemade taquitos! Of course, there are all kinds of vegan cheese options at health food stores. But if you’re like me, the ingredients list is a little concerning and the price is a little steep.

Instead, just follow this recipe, but instead of cheese, use this magic dairy-free sauce. It’s just a simple homemade cashew cream, but it is easy to make, only has 3 ingredients, and adds that creamy, fatty texture to any dairy-free recipe. I even used it to make dairy-free lasagna that my family had no idea was dairy-free.

Freezer-Friendly Homemade Taquitos

If you’re into freezer cooking, homemade taquitos are a fantastic meal to add to your freezer-friendly meal list. Simply assemble the taquitos, pack them into a freezer bag, and when you’re ready to bake, proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Real Food, Healthy Taquitos Recipe

Food prices are rising everywhere, and real food is still important to so many of us. Currently, vegetarian taquitos are helping my family save money and eat healthy. These homemade taquitos are loaded with real food. You can use homemade tortillas or fancy organic ones (the best price for organic tortillas is at Costco, in my opinion). Corn tortillas work great too!

In full disclosure, I usually buy regular tortillas right now. If organic fits the budget and I am at Costco, I buy them there. But for the most part, I do not worry about super healthy tortillas right now, because it’s not really in the budget. Instead, I focus on making flavorful real food filling.

The best part about saving money is that there is no one right way to do it. Do what you can, find what works for you, and let the rest go.