Enfrijoladas are a Mexican dish made of corn tortillas covered in a flavorful bean sauce stuffed with cheese. Ready in only 25 minutes and easily customizable to whatever you need, this recipe will be a house staple!
Enfrijoladas are one of my favorite inexpensive, delicious, and vegetarian-friendly meals.
Instead of the typical red or green sauce used in most enchilada recipes, enfrijoladas are made from corn tortillas dipped in a silky smooth bean sauce and then filled with fresh crumbly queso fresco, and topped with diced onions and even more cheese.
And it’s ready from start to finish in only 25 minutes!
These enfrijoladas are the perfect recipe for any meal because they are so versatile. Pair with an egg for breakfast, serve it with roasted radishes for lunch, or add more hearty ingredients to the filling for dinner.
What Are Enfrijoladas?
The name enfrijoladas means “in beans,” which references the bean sauce the corn tortillas are dipped in. They’re similar to enchiladas but dipped in a bean sauce made from either black or pinto beans instead of the typical red enchilada sauce or green enchilada sauce.
The sauce is rich, smoky, and smooth. It’s so delicious that I could eat it as a soup! It’s addicting and will keep you coming back for more.
Ingredients Needed
- Canned beans: Using canned beans makes this recipe simple, and the added liquid helps with blending. I used black beans in this recipe, but you could also use pinto beans!
- Chipotle peppers: These chipotle peppers in adobo sauce give a fantastic smoky and spicy flavor that we love. You can add more or less depending on your preferred spice level.
- Broth: Using vegetable broth keeps this dish vegetarian friendly, but feel free to use water or other broths you may have.
- Queso fresco: Traditionally used in this recipe, but you can use Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, Mozzarella, or any cheese you like!
- Corn tortillas: The perfect vessel for all the sauce and cheese. I don’t recommend using flour tortillas.
- Spices: I like using garlic, oregano, and garlic to enhance the flavor.
How To Make Enfrijoladas
Blend: Add the black beans, chipotle peppers, onions, garlic, broth, salt, and oregano to a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
Cook: In a medium pot, add oil and black bean sauce. Cook until the mixture is hot and bubbly.
Fry: Add oil in a deep skillet and ensure it reaches 350°F. Place a tortilla into the frying oil and fry for 15 seconds.
Assemble: Dip each tortilla into the black bean sauce, transfer it to a plate, and fill with queso fresco. You can either roll it up like an enchilada or fold it over like a taco.
Serve: Serve immediately topped with sliced red onions, fresh cilantro, and Mexican crema!
Tips!
- For a healthier dish, skip frying the tortillas and just warm them up on the stove.
- This dish is traditionally filled with just cheese, but you could add some shredded chicken, Mexican chorizo, or ground beef.
Recommended Tools
- Blender. A powerful blender is a must when blending sauces to make sure it all gets smooth.
- Cast iron skillet. A versatile pan that is also great for frying.
Serving Suggestions
Enfrijoladas pair well with so many Mexican side dishes. Here are a few of my favorites to round out the meal:
Storing and Freezing
To store, place the bean sauce in an airtight container by itself and it’ll keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
I suggest reheating the beans sauce and then heating and frying the corn tortillas right before serving.
Ingredients
- 2 (15-ounce) cans black or pinto beans (undrained)
- 1-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying (optional)
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- 8 ounces queso fresco*, plus more for topping
- For topping: sliced red onions, chopped cilantro, and Mexican crema
Instructions
- Add the canned beans, chipotle peppers, onions, garlic, vegetable stock, salt, and oregano into a large blender. Blend until the black bean sauce is silky smooth.
- Heat a medium pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and pour in the bean sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 5 minutes. (If the sauce gets too thick, add some water or broth and mix it in.)
- To fry (optional): Fill a large sauté pan or deep skillet with about ½ inch of oil and heat over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 350°F. (To test, drop a small piece of tortilla in the oil. If it sizzles, it’s ready.) Cooking in batches, carefully add 1 tortilla into the frying oil and fry for about 15 seconds. Transfer it to a large plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Continue frying the remaining tortillas.
- If not frying, heat up the corn tortillas in a skillet or in the microwave for 1 minute until warm and pliable.
- To assemble the enfrijoladas, dip each tortilla into the bean sauce. Transfer the tortilla to a plate and fill with queso fresco. Roll it up like an enchilada, or fold it over like a taco.
- Serve immediately topped with sliced red onions, fresh cilantro, and Mexican crema.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Chipotle peppers: Add more or less depending on how spicy you like it. I used 3 peppers with sauce.
- Queso fresco: If you can’t find queso fresco, use mozzarella, Oaxaca, or even Monterey Jack.
Nutrition Information
Tried this tonight Delicious! Definitely recommend
This recipe sounds good my mom wants me to use pinto beans because she has had them before I have never but I’m willing to try them
Delicious recipe, great flavors! I’ve never had enfrijoladas before and loved them. I did have issues with the tortillas falling apart during the dipping step, like other commenters. I solved this by spreading the sauce on both sides of the tortilla while on a plate and then rolling them up, versus dipping. I saw in another enfriojladas recipe that the corn tortilla can be fried in oil before dipping to prevent them from falling apart, though I did prefer using less oil. So the spreading method seemed to work just fine.
Next time put little oil on the tortilla so dont dissolved and sometimes you can use the yellow tortilla but the corn tortilla not the white one I dont like them they taste funny but I use the milagro when I can find them or the La Providencia
This is the best version of enfrijoladas I’ve tried. They’ve been my pandemic go to food. I used about 1.5 chipotles in adobo which gave lots of flavor but not too much heat. These are MUCH better than the ones I’ve made with drained beans. Thanks!
The flavor was great but I had a difficult time rolling the corn tortillas. I heated the corn tortillas for 1 minute in the microwave as directed however they began to dissolve upon contact with the bean mixture. I had extra tortillas, and thinking the microwave heating method might be the problem, I used your alternative method and warmed the extra tortillas in a skillet, but these too began to dissolve upon contact with the bean mixture. I ended up just folding each tortilla in half as they didn’t hold up to rolling. Later, I researched this problem in relation to this particular dish and read that corn tortillas need to be warmed in a pan with oil to prevent them from cracking and dissolving. Since we are trying to avoid oil as much as possible, I will use flour tortillas next time.
These were delicious! I did thin out the bean mixture with about a cup of broth. We filled them with monterey jack and Trader Joe’s soy chorizo and stuck them in the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. Thank you Isabel!
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you loved it!
Im so excited to make this tonight! What is your favorite red salsa you use? Thank you!
For store bought red salsas, I LOVE Valentina. I always have a bottle in my fridge. If you’re wanting to make your own red salsa, try this toasted red chile salsa recipe – https://www.isabeleats.com/toasted-red-chile-salsa/. It’s the best!
These look amazing!! Thanks for all the great recipes!! 😍
Thank you so much! 🙂