Cheesy Kidney Bean Tacos
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!
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
Notes
Nutritional information is for the beans and tortillas only, it does not include any toppings.
Salt and pepper: You want to be fairly generous with the salt if your canned beans are not salted - which will be the case if you are in the UK. In the US, canned beans often have more salt added to them - unless labelled as low sodium (which would be on par with UK cans) so you'd want to hold back on the added salt.
Cheese: The texture will be different with cheese you grate off the block and cheese you buy pre-grated and bagged. Cheese grated off the block will melt into the beans more and add richness. Bagged cheese might be a little stickier and stringier within the beans.
Chili powder / smoked paprika: I use 1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and it's mild. For the mildest possible result, just use 1.5 teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika and no chili powder. This recipe assumes your chili powder is just ground chili - if yours is a blend which is common in the US (which might include cumin, fillers, etc) you might need more to get the flavor right.
Calories: 327kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Sodium: 292mg, Potassium: 468mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 386IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 115mg, Iron: 3mg