These delicious refried beans enchiladas are the perfect meatless meal. Made with refried pinto beans and fresh salsa verde, these homemade enchiladas are an effortless lunch that goes with almost anything!
Why You'll Love These Pinto Bean Enchiladas
Why You'll Love These Pinto Bean EnchiladasThis recipe for refried beans enchiladas is perfect for those days when you’re busy running errands and don’t have the time to cook a more complicated lunch or dinner.
Unfortunately for me, this seems to be my case more often than not!
Whether it’s because of more traffic, or poorer customer services in stores, things seem to take longer than they really should when running around town doing errands, and you end up getting home very late and with little time to prepare any food.
The easiest thing to do for some people is to stop by a fast-food restaurant and grab a meal to go to, but I’m always craving homemade food.
Thankfully my pantry is always stocked with a couple of perfect items for these kinds of situations! I am able to make quick meals like these easy quesadillas or these pinto enchiladas.
🌎 History Behind Refried Bean Enchiladas
Did you know that refried beans are popular in Tex-Mex cuisine? They are a fairly new type of food, introduced about 100 years ago in northern Mexico.
These are served as a dish for so many different Mexican dishes, like these enchiladas!
For this recipe, for example, I will be using HERDEZ™ Traditional Instant Refried Beans. However, you can use 2 cups of home-cooked beans. They’re made using pinto beans and a hint of salt to give them that home-cooked taste. The beans come in a small, sealed packet and are available in several flavors (I used the Traditional flavor).
I will also be using a cup of HERDEZ® Salsa Verde, which is made with just five simple ingredients: freshly harvested green tomatillos, savory onions, spicy Serrano peppers, salt, and fresh cilantro. And, of course, you can use your homemade salsa verde.
Couple these products with some corn tortillas (which I always have in my fridge), and this dish will be ready in a matter of minutes!
When making this recipe, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make enchiladas or enfrijoladas, so I combined the beans with the salsa to make these delicious bean enchiladas that are folded into triangles and topped with onions and slices of queso fresco.
Enchiladas like these, which are folded into triangles that look like a handkerchief, are common in the central states of Mexico, like Michoacán and Puebla. They can be found covered in a variety of different salsas.
🙋♀️ FAQ
Before I share my enchilada recipe, here are a few questions I've been asked about homemade pinto bean enchiladas.
How do you make enchiladas not soggy on the bottom?
The best way to prevent them from becoming soggy on the bottom is to use less sauce in the bottom of your dish (if you are baking them).
I fried my enchiladas in this recipe and they came out super crispy -just how I like them!
What is an authentic enchilada made of?
Traditionally, enchiladas were made of tortillas, chili pepper sauce, and some kind of shredded cooked meat.
Do enchiladas need to be covered or uncovered?
If you are going to bake your enchiladas, I suggest covering them with foil. That way, they won't burn on the top.
📋 Ingredients
These enchiladas are very delicious with wholesome ingredients and traditional Mexican spices.
Here is the list of ingredients you will need:
- HERDEZ™Traditional refried beans (or, make your own)
- HERDEZ® salsa verde, or homemade.
- Chicken broth (or warm water)
- Salt
- Vegetable oil
- Corn tortillas
- Queso fresco
- Mexican crema (or sour cream)
- White onion
Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!
🔪 Instructions
To make things easier for you, I will break down the directions for making pinto bean enchiladas into sections.
Cook the beans
- In a skillet, prepare the HERDEZ™ Traditional refried beans according to the package’s instructions.
- Add 1 cup of HERDEZ® salsa verde and 1 cup of chicken broth to the beans and mix.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend. Season with salt.
Lightly fry tortillas
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan and lightly fry each tortilla on both sides. Place them on a plate.
- Dip each tortilla into the bean mixture using a pair of kitchen tongs.
Fold the enchiladas
- Place the tortillas on a plate and fold them into quarters.
- Add a slice of queso fresco inside each tortilla.
- Garnish with Mexican crema and onion slices.
🍽 Side Dishes
If using the avocado and chorizo, top the enchiladas with them or serve them on the side. Serve the rest of the HERDEZ® Salsa Verde on the side and enjoy your pinto bean enchiladas!
📚 More Authentic Mexican Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for pinto bean enchiladas, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:
- Cream Enchiladas, also known as “Encremadas”
- Enchiladas Rojas
- Beef Tongue in Salsa Verde
- Swiss Green Enchiladas
- Tobasco Style Enchiladas
I hope you make these enchiladas! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment below and tell us all about it!
¡Buen provecho!
Mely
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Pinto Refried Beans Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 Pkg. HERDEZ™Traditional Refried Beans or 2 cups Homemade beans
- 1 cup of HERDEZ® Salsa Verde or 1 cup homemade salsa verde
- 1 cup of chicken broth or warm water
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 12 medium-size corn tortillas
- 8 oz. Queso Fresco cut into thin slices
- 4 tablespoons of Mexican Cream or Sour Cream
- ⅓ medium white onion sliced
OPTIONAL GARNISH:
- ½ medium-size avocado cut into slices (optional)
- 2 chorizo links cooked and crumbled (optional)
Instructions
- In a skillet, prepare the HERDEZ™ Traditional Refried Beans according to the package’s instructions.
- Add 1 cup of HERDEZ® salsa verde and 1 cup of chicken broth to the beans and mix. Cook for 4-5 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend. Season with salt.
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan and lightly fry each tortilla on both sides. Place them on a plate.
- Using a pair of kitchen tongs, dip each tortilla into the bean mixture.
- Place the tortillas on a plate and fold them into quarters.
- Add a slice of queso fresco inside each tortilla. Garnish with Mexican cream and onion slices.
Nola
I love Herdez products, but I've never tried the refried beans. This sounds like a tasty recipe, I'll give it a try.
HP
Love the simplicity! No baking? I thought all enchilada recipes ended with baking step.
Maggie
Love your recipes! I love enfrijoladas these are perfect for a vegan meal by replacing the broth and cheese of course . My family shamed me for trying to buy beans from a bag but a crock pot is the perfect way to make them without the fuss of watching over them.
Dave
Oh, no way. Make the refried from scratch like I was taught from a Mixtec. So much better. Sorry...... I'm a traditional only Gavacho who prefers everything Oaxacaqueno!!! lol
Amo tu blog y recetas!!
Claudia Phillips
Instant refried beans! Wow! Tomorrow I'm going to a local Mexican store to get these. Your recipe looks delicious and I'm going to try it. I'm a little confused, thought. Do you just dip the tortillas in the bean mixture? Doesn't most of the bean mixture come off? Can I put more inside the tortillas? I think I would like more beans and less tortilla.
mmartinez
Hello Claudia,
Yes, Instant beans, growing up my dad used to buy these type of beans. And yes, you add more beans to the tortillas when you served them. The beans taste really good!