Mexico · Appetizers and Sandwiches · Vegetarian
Black Bean Tacos
Canned black beans cooked down with cumin, smoked paprika, garlic, and lime until thick and slightly smoky. Served in warm corn tortillas with avocado, pickled red onion, and sour cream. From tin to table in 15 minutes.
20 min 310 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌿Vegetarian🇲🇽Mexico★★★★★4.6· 5 reviews
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 2 cans black beans
- 1 small red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbsptomato paste
- 1.5 tspground cumin
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- ½ tspchili flakes or 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 3 tbsplime juice
- 1 tspsalt
- 8 small corn tortillas
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced or mashed
- 100 gsour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced and soaked in lime juice
- 2 tbspfresh cilantro or parsley
Method
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 4–5 minutes until soft.
- Add garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and chili flakes. Stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir another minute until it darkens slightly.
- Add drained beans. Use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to mash roughly a third of them — this releases starch and thickens the filling. Stir everything together.
- Cook 3–4 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and holds together. Add lime juice and adjust salt. The filling should be dry enough to hold in a taco without dripping.
- Warm tortillas: place them one at a time in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds per side, or wrap the whole stack in a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute.
- Assemble: spoon the bean filling onto each tortilla, add avocado, a spoonful of sour cream, quick-pickled onion, and cilantro. Serve immediately.
FAQ
Canned beans carry a lot of liquid. Drain and rinse them thoroughly before cooking. In the pan, mash roughly a third of them with the back of a wooden spoon — they release starch that thickens the whole filling. If it's still loose after mashing, cook uncovered for another 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has cooked off.
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Comments (1)
Presentation is half the battle with black bean tacos. I serve it on a wooden board rather than a plate — it's more inviting and signals to people that they should reach in and help themselves.