Step 1

Make the rice via your favorite cooking method. (I prefer to use my rice cooker.)

Step 2

While the rice cooks, make the ground beef substitute.

Step 3

Add the meatless crumbles/beef substitute and olive oil to a frying pan. Cook on medium heat until warm and slightly browned, about 10-15 minutes. Taste, and add additional salt if needed.

Step 4

Note: if using Beyond Meat crumbles, you will need to add salt to bring out the flavor. I recommend adding ½ tsp salt.

Step 5

While the crumbles and rice cook, you can drain the black beans and grate the cheddar.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Step 7

Once the rice is done cooking, let it cool uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Allowing the rice to cool for a few minutes will help keep it from clumping together when we add the seasonings.

Step 8

Now add the butter/Earth Balance, olive oil, salt (start with ½ tsp; you can add an additional ¼ tsp later, if needed), cilantro, and 1 Tbsp lime juice.

Step 9

Mix until everything is completely incorporated, the butter/Earth Balance cubes have melted, and the cilantro is evenly distributed.

Step 10

Taste, and add the remaining ¼ tsp salt and the additional Tbsp of lime juice if desired.

Step 11

Grease a 9x9 inch pan. Spread the rice in the bottom of the pan. Use an offset spatula to get the rice even and level.

Step 12

Now spread the meat substitute evenly over the rice.

Step 13

Next, dollup the salsa evenly over the meatless crumbles by the tablespoon. Use your offset spatula to spread the salsa out. Don’t worry if the salsa does not spread completely evenly. The salsa won’t touch every square inch of the casserole and that's ok. The flavor will still carry.

Step 14

Now spread the drained black beans in an even layer on top of the salsa.

Step 15

Last, sprinkle the cheddar/vegan cheddar over the black beans.

Step 16

Bake the casserole, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and every layer is warmed through.

Step 17

Let the casserole cool for 15 minutes. At this point, you can enjoy the casserole as is, or use it as a filling in grilled burritos.

Step 18

Place a generous amount of the casserole filling inside a tortilla. Try to maintain the casserole layers so that each bite of the burrito will have something from each layer. Fold the tortilla up into a burrito. (Allowing the casserole to cool for 15 minutes before compiling the burritos will help you maintain the layers as you transfer the filling to the tortilla.)

Step 19

Heat a few Tbsp of canola or olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until the oil is warm, about 1 minute. Now add the burrito to the skillet.

Step 20

Grill/fry the burrito over medium heat until the tortilla side that is face down in the skillet turns golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 21

Flip the burrito so the other side is now face down in the skillet, and fry for an addition 3-4 minutes, until this side is also golden brown.

Step 22

Remove the grilled burrito from the skillet, and place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil.

Step 23

Repeat the burrito grilling process until you've used all the casserole filling.

Step 24

Serve these grilled burritos with greens, and garnish with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce, etc. Enjoy!