Quick Dinner: Pinto Bean Soup with Mini Pico Quesadillas

Crispy, cheesy quesadillas dipped in a freshly made Pinto Bean Soup?  Sold!

I make quick meals like this all the time.... I hope you get loads of ideas from it 🙂

I used some leftover Pico de Gallo from last week's Chicken Burritos and that made things even easier, but feel free to get creative with the insides of your crispy, cheesy delights.  

How To Make Pinto Bean Soup with Mini Pico Quesadillas

I also had exactly two slices of bacon in the fridge -- perfect!!

I put those in the oven along with two plum tomatoes:

The bacon will need about 20 minutes and that is close enough for the tomatoes 🙂

Meanwhile, get 1/2 small onion and 2 garlic cloves sweating in some oil over medium heat. 

Once the onion is starting to brown we'll add:

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Give the spices some time with the heat, stirring regularly, and then add the remaining ingredients:

1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups stock
1 chipotle in adobo  More info on chipotles in adobo

Bring this up to temp and then add it all to a blender along with the roasted tomatoes. 

Give it a whirl but be sure to use caution when blending hot liquids!  Then you can add it back to the soup pot. 

Take a final taste for seasoning.  I added another pinch of salt but keep in mind the exact salt level will depend on which stock you're using.  I used this homemade chicken stock. 

You can always add more heat by blending in another chipotle or by simply adding some of the adobo sauce to the pot. 

Once you're happy with the soup you can start working on the mini quesadillas.  Or crispy cheesy tacos, whatever you want to call them 🙂

I get loads of mileage out of these crispy cheesy delights, and they are wildly flexible so feel free to use what you have on hand.  

For this batch I started by dredging the corn tortillas in a smidge of the bacon drippings --  this will help them crisp up more readily, but you can consider this step optional. 

Then I loaded them with:

cheese
bacon
leftover Pico de Gallo

Once the tortillas warm up it's easy to fold them in half.

Give each side 1-2 minutes or until brown spots are forming on the underside.  Once these are done you can plate everything up!

I garnished the soup with Crema, cilantro, and a few drops of hot sauce, but all of those are optional. 

And yes, feel free to dip your crispy, cheesy delights in the soup 🙂

A quick, satisfying meal that tastes significantly better than my local takeout options.  Tough to beat that eh?

Enjoy 🙂

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Pinto Bean Soup with Mini Pico Quesadillas

Crispy, cheesy quesadillas dipped in a freshly made Pinto Bean Soup?  Sold!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 327kcal

Author: Mexican Please

Ingredients

For the Pinto Bean Soup:

• 1 can pinto beans (15 oz. size, drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 small onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 2 cups stock
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin (optional)
• 1 chipotle in adobo
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• olive oil

For the mini quesadillas:

• Pico de Gallo
• 1/2 cup cheese (I used Jack)
• 2 slices bacon (optional)
• 3-4 corn tortillas

Instructions

• I usually start by rinsing and de-stemming the tomatoes, then roasting them in the oven (400F). I also put 2 slices of bacon in the oven but you can consider that optional. The bacon will need around 20 minutes to fully cook. I usually just leave the tomatoes in until I need them.
• Roughly chop 1/2 small onion and get it sweating in some oil over medium heat along with 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves. I used a medium-sized soup pot for this recipe. Once the onion is starting to brown we'll add: 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cumin (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. I like giving these spices direct contact with the heat for a minute or so, stirring regularly. Add the remaining ingredients: 1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed), 2 cups stock, and 1 chipotle in adobo. I usually de-seed the chipotle but that is optional.
• Bring this mixture up to temp and add it all to a blender along with the roasted tomatoes. Give it a whirl but be sure to use caution when blending hot liquids! Add it back to the soup pot and give a final taste for seasoning. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch, but keep in mind the exact salt level will depend on which stock you're using. I used this homemade chicken stock.
• Once you're happy with the soup you can start building the mini quesadillas. I started by adding a smidge of the bacon drippings to a large skillet over medium heat and dredging the corn tortillas in it. This step will help the tortillas crisp up more readily but you can consider it optional. Each tortilla gets cheese, Pico de Gallo, and cooked bacon. Once the tortillas are warm you can fold them in half and cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until light brown spots are forming on the underside. Here's my awesome Pico de Gallo recipe.
• Once the mini quesadillas are done it's chow time! I garnished the soup with Crema, cilantro, and a few drops of hot sauce. Enjoy!

Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease