Cooking the comfort food that my mom prepares gets me closer to her even if it is just in my mind, like these Enfrijoladas, another dish that is an excellent example of the creativity of our culture: beans, corn tortillas, fresh cheese and some peppers. These Enfrijoladas recipe are filled with shredded cooked chicken but sometimes are filled with chorizo or just a couple of spoons of crumbled fresh cheese.
Enfrijoladas Recipe, Corn Tortillas Dipped in Bean Sauce
Black beans or pinto beans? Well, it all depends of what you have at hand. Even thought black beans are typical for this type of dish, the kind of bean used varies from region to region throughout the country. I have even cooked them with red Salvadoran beans and had great results with them.
Each cook has a version of this recipe, like the ones that add chicken broth to the beans to make the puree or others use a cooked tomato sauce to mix with the puree. I add árbol peppers — to give a little spiciness to the sauce — and avocado leaves, which are a very common addition to the sauce in southern México. I’ve also tried them with a hint of anise spice like some cooks do in the State of Veracruz.
This is a basic recipe that you could adjust to suit your own taste. If you want to make this satisfying meal vegetarian, then a filling of sautéing spinach or mushroom could be used.
The avocado leaves give a slight anise aroma to the beans, soups, stew and baked meats. It is used in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Central Mexico. You can find dried avocado leaves at Hispanic stores and, if you find fresh ones, just make sure they are free of pesticides.
Please, read the cooking notes; you will be glad you did.
How to make Enfrijoladas recipe
Instructions:
- In a Blender place the avocado leaves and peppers with the cooked beans their broth. Blend until smooth, if it is too thick add water or chicken broth until you have the consistency of a sauce. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and add the bean puree; simmer for about 3 minutes and season with salt if needed. Set aside and keep warm.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a skillet and fry briefly each tortilla, one by one on both sides. Drain and place on a warm plate. Cover with an aluminum foil if you wish to do so.
- Now you have two options here to assembly the Enfrijoladas Recipe:
Option one: You can immerse each tortilla in the bean puree (like in the picture above); transfer to a plate and spread some of the chicken or chorizo and fold in half. Overlap each tortilla, spoon some cream, sprinkle crumble cheese and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro.
Option two: Spread a thin coat of the bean puree across the center of each tortilla and add the filling of your choice; fold the tortilla in half and place 2 in each plate; pour some of the bean purees over the tortillas. Garnish a spoon of cream, some sprinkles of cheese, chopped onion and cilantro. Serve Immediately.
ENFRIJOLADAS RECIPE
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of cooked pinto or black beans with their broth
- 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken or 3 cooked chorizos
- 2 avocado leaves slightly toasted in a skillet or comal optional
- 2 árbol peppers slightly toasted in a skillet or comal optional
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil for frying.
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup of Mexican cream
- 1/2 cup of crumble Mexican fresh cheese or farmer cheese About 3 oz.
- 1 onion finely chopped
- Optional Garnish: Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
- In a Blender place the avocado leaves and peppers with the cooked beans their broth. Blend until smooth, if it is too thick add water or chicken broth until you have the consistency of a sauce.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and add the bean puree; simmer for about 3 minutes and season with salt if needed. Set aside and keep warm.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a skillet and fry briefly each tortilla, one by one on both sides. Drain and place in a warm plate. (This step is done quickly). Cover with an aluminum foil if you wish to do so.
- Now you have two options here to assembly the Enfrijoladas:
Option one:
- You can immerse each tortilla in the bean puree; transfer to a plate and spread some of the chicken or chorizo and fold in half. Overlap each tortilla, spoon some cream, sprinkle crumble cheese and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro.
Option two:
- Spread a thin coat of the bean puree across the center of each tortilla and add the filling of your choice; fold the tortilla in half and place 2 in each plate; pour some of the bean purees over the tortillas. Garnish a spoon of cream, some sprinkles of cheese, chopped onion and cilantro. Serve Immediately.
Notes
I am happy that you stopped by and would love to hear your questions and comments.
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
More recipes:
Yucatan Fried Beans
Dirty Beans Dip
Mely, qué ricas, se ven deliciosas, fíjate que después de volver a Italia no he cocinado mucho de mexicano, pero éstas se me antojan un chorro!
Me gusta mucho como cocinas las salsas y los frijoles (tambien en otras recetas) se ve todo sabrosisimisimo.
Un abrazo!
Oh my goodness Mely,
You have got me drooling, I would just love this dish. I can almost taste it, great recipe! My very best wishes to you and your family for a blessed Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again real soon!
Miz Helen
Mely, qué antojo! Yo también las haga así pero con chipotle. Y a veces las he hecho con frijoles claros (peruanos) y quedan muy ricas. Y a veces con un poco de pipián molido del que venden las paisanitas.
Besos
I will need to try this. I have dipped plenty tortillas in enchilada sauce, but I know I would love this.
Thanks!
Hi, Taste of Beirut and Bibberche:
The avocado leaves give a slight anise aroma to the beans, soups, stew and baked meats. It is used in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Central Mexico.
You can find them dry at Hispanic stores and if you find fresh ones just make sure they are free of pesticides.
Thanks fro your comments,
Mely
Hola Nora,
Ya me las imagino con chile chipotle, ricas, ricas.
Thanks all for your kind comments.
Hugs,
Mely
Hi Mely! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. The roll recipe made two full cookie sheets of rolls. I am estimating that there were close to thirty rolls on each sheet. I hope you enjoy them! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Candace
Delicious and gorgeous as usual, Mely! Estas enfrijoladas si que te quedaron para re-chuparse los dedos 🙂 Espero que pases un hermoso Thanksgiving Day junto a tu familia!
HUGS <3
This sounds delicious and full of flavor. I don't think I've ever seen avocado leaves, but then again I probably wasn't looking. I will be keeping my eyes open wide now for them since we're in Florida.
Sam
Hi Mely. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and hope you are well. I love your enfrijoladas, looks so good. Thank you for stopping by my blog. Take care.
enfrijoladas are our go to dinner during lent!! thank you for sharing!!
Mely,
Ya me antojaste otra vez, tus enfrijoladas tan ricas! Mmm
Mi ama las hace con pinto beans.
Espero que te las pasaste bien en dia de gracias cont familia.
Besos
Wow! Very simple. I am going to make this soon:) Hope you are doing well.
Hello Vanessa,
I am doing fine, thanks for visiting. I enjoy looking at the pictures of Lucas.
Be good. 🙂
I must give This Recipe a try, I love all Things Mexican Food! Thank you!
Me gusta tu receta. Hoy lo hice en mi cas para cenar y a mi seposo le encanto. Gracias por compartir tu receta.
Hola Marilyn,
Que gusto que les haya gustado. Saludos y muchas gracias por probar la receta.
I made these as a brunch meal for my spouse who was hungry and didn’t want eggs. So I looked through your website saw this. I had all the ingredients so I told myself why not?! For anyone reading this and wondering if you should make this recipe. You totally should!!! Its worth it and so deliciously simple. It took no time all at to prepare this and serve it on the dinner table. It was delicious and my spouse devoured the whole plate of food. I will be making again. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Maria,
Thank you for trying the enfrijoladas recipe. You can also stuff the tortillas with cooked chorizo or shredded chicken. Glad to know your husband like them. Happy cooking!
Hola Mely! Me gusta tu receta! Muy delicioso! Tengo una pregunta por favor. (And this is where my Spanish ends haha!) If i make extra can i freeze it? Or will the tortillas fall apart when thawed and reheated (I always use corn tortillas when I make it)? Thanks and keep sharing your recipes!
Hello Nicia,
The tortillas, depending on the brands, will break apart, but not too much.