A quick and easy recipe for kidney bean tacos made with staple ingredients. The canned beans are transformed into super flavorful, creamy, cheesy refried beans which make a delicious taco filling with your favorite toppings. This is a simple, cheap and versatile protein packed vegetarian dinner that is easy to love!
Introducing my Cheesy Bean Tacos of Dreams
I’m very proud of what we have managed to do with a can of kidney beans right here. Like all the best tacos, this is one of those perfect scenarios where a bunch of easy, humble ingredients get thrown together and are a million times greater than the sum of their parts.
When I set out to turn a can of kidney beans into a great vegetarian taco filling, I tried a few different ideas but eventually settled on cooking them refried bean style. So they have that mashed and creamy texture; HOWEVER, they are much more flavorful than the usual refried beans you would make into a side dish. Since they’re the main event, we need them to be a little more than that. Adding lots of spices and a big ol’ handful of cheese gets us there – they are EPIC.
Ingredients: What You Need + What You Can Swap
This recipe is cheap, pantry friendly and flexible. Let’s discuss…
- I use kidney beans for this recipe, but you could actually use any beans – this recipe will work much the same with pinto or black beans. If you are based in the US, you may want to use low sodium beans because we are not going to drain them (more on that later) and you may prefer to add the salt back in to your tastes. In the UK, canned beans are not heavily salted so don’t worry about that.
- I much prefer corn tortillas for a simple taco recipe like this one, due to the flavor, but flour or hard shells will work fine!
- I use red onion because I like to keep some of it back to use for the topping, but a brown or white onion is great too.
- I use a little apple cider vinegar in the beans to add an acid component to the flavor but you could squeeze in some lime juice instead.
- I used cheddar cheese grated off the block for today, but I have also tested this with pre-grated bagged cheese and it works fine. You do get a different texture with the bagged stuff – it might not be as creamy, there may be more obviously stringy cheesy bits. It’s not bad, it just won’t necessarily match my pictures.
- Let’s talk toppings. As you can see, I’ve stuck to some fairly classic toppings: salsa, red onion, avocado, sour cream, lime wedges and cilantro (fresh coriander). But you can raid your fridge and use whatever you have. Diced cherry tomatoes or hot sauce are great swaps for salsa. Thinly sliced cabbage or slaw works well instead of lettuce. Black olives are always a welcome addition. Chives work well too. Etc.
How to give your beans a rich, creamy texture
The trick is this: don’t drain the canned beans! The liquid in the can is the liquid the beans were cooked in. It’s starchy and creamy and when you mash it all in with the beans it makes the perfect texture. It is much closer to what you’d expect if you’d cooked the beans from dried.
It may feel weird at first (it did to me) but trust me! If you can, just err on the side of the higher quality brands for this recipe.
How to control the spice levels of your beans
This recipe calls for 1.5 teaspoons of chili powder and/or smoked paprika. I usually use 1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder + 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and it’s flavorful but mild.
For the mildest possible result, just use 1.5 teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika and no chili powder.
Your choice of chili powder will dictate how spicy this ends up being and you need to know what you’re working with.
- In the UK: supermarkets don’t have much selection of chili powders and they tend to be highly concentrated, just ground chili, which can give a lot of heat from 1 teaspoon. That’s why I prefer to mix UK chili powder with smoked paprika.
- In the US: you often get chili powder which is a blend with different types of chilis + other spices such as cumin + fillers, and these are very mild, so you could thrown in several teaspoons of chili powder and it still wouldn’t be hot, just super flavorful. If that’s what you’re working with, taste as you go and add more if you find it too bland.
You can also increase the heat with chili flakes, chopped fresh chilis, chopped jarred or canned chilis.
More Easy Bean Taco Recipes
Cheesy Kidney Bean Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for cooking
- 10-12 corn or flour tortillas, 5-6 inch size
- 14 oz (400 g) can of kidney beans, don't drain – we are using the liquid
- ½ medium – large red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5 tsp chili powder, smoked paprika or a bit of each
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 0.5 tsp ground coriander
- salt and pepper, to taste – see notes
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup (60 g) cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend, see notes
- Toppings of choice: finely diced red onion, lime wedges, salsa, avocado, sour cream, chopped lettuce, chopped cilantro, etc
Instructions
- Soften the onion and garlic. In a large pan, heat a little oil over a medium heat and saute your onion until soft. Add the garlic and saute for another minute until that has softened and released its fragrance.2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 medium – large red onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Next, you will add the spices to the pan, but first make sure your can of kidney beans is open and ready because we don't want the spices on the heat too long. Add all of the spices to the pan and another small pour of oil if there isn't enough residual oil to bring all of the spices in. Saute for a few seconds, just until the fragrance "blooms" but don't let it cook any longer than that.1.5 tsp chili powder, smoked paprika or a bit of each, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 0.5 tsp ground coriander
- Add the canned kidney beans (liquid and all!) into the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste, then cover and simmer on a low heat.Let the beans simmer while you prepare the toppings, warm the tortillas and get the table ready.14 oz can of kidney beans, salt and pepper
- Mash the beans. Once you're ready to eat, open the pan and stir in the vinegar. Take the pan off the heat and mash the beans with a potato masher until they're your preferred texture. If you have a nonstick pan, you can mash beans up against a wooden spoon to protect the coating. Alternatively, you can use a blender if you need to.1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Finally, add the cheese and stir through over a very low heat until it's melted through. Assess the texture – if the beans are too dry, add a little water or vegetable stock.1/2 cup cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend
- Serve! Spoon the beans over tortillas, add your toppings and dive right in!10-12 corn or flour tortillas
