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    Home » Most Recent

    What Can I Make With a Can of Beans? 12 Mexican Recipes

    November 4, 2022 By Patrick 6 Comments

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    Keep a few cans of beans in the pantry and you'll always have easy access to these 12 Mexican recipes. 

    And you're not allowed to have any guilt for using canned beans!  When you're loading up your beans with this much flavor then it doesn't matter if you're starting with canned or home-cooked beans. 

    I hope you find some new ideas in this list!  Keep an eye out for the Bean Tostadas as that is the one I get the most use out of lately. 

    Click the recipe name and it will take you to a page on this site where you can print out or take a pic of the free instructions. 

    Easy Mexican Bean Soup

    This is a great recipe for a soul-warming batch of Mexican Bean Soup.  It uses simple, healthy ingredients, and you can easily turn this into a meal by dipping some crispy, cheesy corn tortillas in it 🙂
     
    This is a trusty Mexican Bean Soup recipe that you can use with any type of bean -- but please try to make it with some stock that you trust as it makes a huge difference! I used homemade vegetable stock but chicken stock is an equally good choice. mexicanplease.com
     

    Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas

    You can make some awesome red sauce enchiladas with a simple mixture of beans, rice, and cheese.   I used both Anchos and Guajillos to make the enchilada sauce, but you'll get an equally good result when using all Ancho chiles so don't sweat the chile combo too much. 
     
    plate full of black bean enchiladas
     
     

    Awesome Refried Beans

    By now you're probably familiar with these Refried Beans, but I keep mentioning them because I get so much mileage out of them!  Infusing your beans with the smoky heat of chipotles is the key -- this gives them incredible flavor and will keep you coming back for more.  Keep some of these in the fridge and your life gets much simpler 🙂 
     
    This is a delicious, fiery version of Chicken Tinga. The key is to use both tomatoes and tomatillos, along with plenty of chipotles! mexicanplease.com
     
     

    Bean Tostadas with Avocado and Queso Fresco

    You can get wildly creative with Bean Tostadas for some quick, impromptu meals  -- especially if you've already got some refried beans in the fridge!  For this batch I topped with avocado, Queso Fresco, and freshly made Salsa.  Yum!
     
     
     

    Chile Verde Rice and Beans

    Chile Verde is a flavor explosion and you can serve it up with some plain ol' rice and beans for a quick, satisfying meal.  The key to the Chile Verde sauce is the roasted Poblano flavor, so try to add Poblanos to your grocery list if this meal sounds appealing.
     
    Keep some Chile Verde sauce in the fridge and you can whip up these Rice and Bean bowls in a matter of minutes. So good!! 
     

    Enfrijoladas

    Enfrijoladas are wildly versatile and once you get familiar with them you’ll find all sorts of ways to customize them to your liking.  Drench your tortillas in the chipotle-infused bean puree and then load them up how you see fit!  I used avocado bits, cheese, and Mexican Crema for this batch. 
    enfrijoladas recipe after baking with garnishes on plate
     

    Quick Bean Dip For Dinner

    I've been making this impromptu Bean Dip for dinner over the past couple weeks.  You can easily serve it up next to some chips, but I dip crispy, cheesy corn tortillas in it and that turns it into a meal for me.  Keep this easy recipe in mind for weeknights when nothing sounds good -- it's fast, easy, and wildly satisfying.
     
    Dipping some cheesy, crispy corn tortillas in the bean dip
     
     

    Spicy Bean and Egg Burritos

    Once you've got some Refried Beans in the house you can easily whip up these Spicy Bean and Egg Burritos.  This recipe makes 8 mini-sized burritos that I put on standby in the freezer for some quick, no-thinking-involved meals.
     
    Taking a bite of the breakfast burrito
     
     

    Spicy Black Bean Nachos

    Use a spicy black bean puree as the base of your Nachos and all is well in the world for a few minutes.  These are delicious even with just the beans and cheese, so you can consider everything else on top a bonus!  Dipping these in some Easy Guacamole is a good option too. 
     
     
     

    Black Bean and Guacamole Tostadas

    This is a quick meal that I make on a regular basis.  The bean-n-guac combo is awesome, and the fat from the avocados turns this into a filling meal for me.
     
    Serious reward to effort ratio here! We're crisping a corn tortilla and loading it up with spicy black bean puree and a refreshing guacamole. So good! mexicanplease.com
     

    Molletes

    Molletes are open faced bean and cheese sandwiches that can be made in a matter of minutes.  I usually put these in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up and then top with some freshly made Pico de Gallo.   And they are really, really good 🙂
     
    You probably already have all the ingredients you need for these Molletes (Mexican Bean and Cheese Sandwiches). Try them with some freshly made Pico de Gallo -- so good! mexicanplease.com
     
     

    Black Bean and Corn Salsa

    This versatile Black Bean and Corn Salsa will have you dreaming up all sorts of ways to consume it.  Lately I use it for taco salads -- simply add some chopped romaine, a drizzle of dressing, and dinner is served. 
     
    This wildly versatile Black Bean and Corn Salsa will have you dreaming up all sorts of ways to use it: tacos, salads, even wraps! I think it tastes best when the lime flavor is at the forefront so feel to add another squeeze! mexicanplease.com
     
     

    Easy Mexican Beans and Rice Soup

    This Mexican Beans and Rice Soup is new to the site and I'm really enjoying it lately.  It's super easy to make, and when everything is built from scratch it is tremendously satisfying.  Don't forget to roast those tomatoes! 
     
    This is a great recipe for a delicious batch of Mexican Beans and Rice Soup. Super easy to make, and tremendously satisfying.
     
     

    Spicy Black Bean Pizza

    Pizza?!  This is a crispy, thin crust pizza that relies on your familiar black bean puree and a thin layer of garlic oil to create a vegetarian delight that will have you re-thinking the true meaning of Pizza 🙂
     
    A crispy, thin crust pizza that relies on a delicious black bean puree and a thin layer of garlic oil to create a vegetarian delight. So good! mexicanplease.com
     
    Okay, I hope you found some ideas in this list!
     
    Just keep a few cans of beans in the pantry and you'll have plenty of quick meals to choose from!  By the way, I use chipotles to flavor the beans in most of these recipes -- click here if you want to see more about working with chipotles in adobo.
     
    Enjoy!!
     
    Want the latest recipe?  Click your favorite from these options and follow me:  Instagram,  Facebook,  Pinterest,  TikTok,  YouTube.
     
    This Vegetarian Red Pozole is the most recent post.  Does it look good?!
     
    This is a great Vegetarian Red Pozole recipe to keep in mind!  Be sure to add some savoriness to your Pozole -- I used some veggie stock with nutritional yeast, but you could also just add some fat to your broth to get a similar effect.

    Still hungry?!

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    Vegetarian Red Pozole »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sherry Hall

      February 23, 2023 at 4:36 am

      Any good ideas on some "add in ingredients" and/or how to "doctor" up some canned black beans and/or canned refried black beans to make them taste more like the ones I get at a Mexican (or tex mex) restaurant??

      Reply
      • Patrick

        February 24, 2023 at 4:29 pm

        Hey Sherry! Yeah here is the recipe I use for that:

        https://www.mexicanplease.com/make-refried-beans/

        Adding chipotles to refried beans is a gamechanger and it's the easiest way I have found to quickly load them up with flavor. Cheers.

        Reply
    2. julie

      January 04, 2023 at 9:50 pm

      I've made the enfriojoladas a few times now, yum. I look forward to trying a few more of these. I have a whole collection of dried beans, and I use them all in good time. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Patrick

        January 05, 2023 at 4:35 pm

        Thanks Julie! Hope you find some more keepers in this list...I'm getting tons of mileage from the tostadas and soups lately 🙂

        Reply
    3. Susan

      November 05, 2022 at 4:28 am

      I’d use pinto beans in all of these recipes
      They look great
      Especially the bean and egg burrito
      With salsa verde, bean and eggs are fantastic!!
      Mmmm

      Reply
      • Patrick

        November 07, 2022 at 11:35 am

        Thanks Susan!

        Reply

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    Hey, I'm Patrick! I spent 2 years living in Cozumel and got obsessed with Mexican food. I built this site to share all the recipes and techniques I've learned along the way. Read More…

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