Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat.

Use clean dry hands to crumble the tofu into the skillet. Use a potato masher if needed to really break down those larger chunks.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir everything together and use your spoon or rubber spatula to break up the larger chunks of tofu. You want everything to be a very ground meat texture. Continue to stir until everything is well-incorporated.

Cook on medium heat (or medium-low if you notice the tofu becoming too crisp too fast) for 30 minutes, giving it a good stir every 5-10 minutes. You want to cook the water out of the tofu slowly so the outside doesn’t burn before the inside is nice and meaty.

Remove from heat and stir in the refried beans and vegan cheese until everything is completely combined.

Remove 1 tortilla from the oven and lay it flat. Spread a thin layer of the taquito filling on it, leaving about 1/2 inch of empty space around the edges. Then, roll the tortilla tightly from one end to the other. Place off to the side, seam-down, and continue until you have used all the filling.

Spray your air fryer basket lightly with oil (skip this part if you’re oil-free) and place 5-6 taquitos, seam-down, next to each other into your air fryer basket. The number of taquitos you can air fry at one time depends on the size of your air fryer. Our holds 6. You want to almost wedge them in so they don’t flip or open while cooking. Then, lightly spray the top of the taquitos with oil (again, optional) and air fry at 370F for 10 minutes.

Serve these vegan taquitos on a platter with guacamole and salsa for dipping! Leftover taquitos can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 12 weeks. Reheat in the air fryer or oven until warmed through and slightly crisp.