Tlayudas are a staple in Oaxacan cooking and these crunchy layered Mexican pizzas are super easy to make and absolutely delicious. With a crisp tostada base, garlicky refried black beans, flavorful ground beef and your favorite fresh toppings, tlayudas are one of my favorite comfort foods.
Let’s get started…
This is a super easy recipe and you can customize each element with your favorite flavors. The basic construction of a tlayuda starts with a tostada or a crispy fried corn tortilla base. You can certainly make your own by shallow frying corn tortillas in a half inch of canola oil or you can pick some up at your favorite grocery store. I love Aldi’s tostadas, but any tostada will work!
The next layer is refried beans. You can use store bought or homemade refried beans, black or red. Whatever you love. I love refried black beans and they are really easy to make at home by combining a 15 ounces can of black beans (including the liquid) with 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of cumin in a skillet and bring to a simmer.
Allow the beans to simmer for a few minutes to soften and then use the back of a spatula to smash them smooth. As soon as the beans have thickened a bit, take them off of the heat. They will continue to thicken more as they cool.
The next layer in your tlayudas is beef. You can use ground beef or thinly sliced steak. I am using my spicy ground beef today and just like everything else in this recipe, it is very straight forward to make.
Break up 1 pound of ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and mix to combine. Bring the meat up to a simmer and cook until browned and cooked through.
Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped pickled jalapeños, 1/2 cup of beef stock and some finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional) and mix to combine. Allow the beef to simmer uncovered until the liquid has all been absorbed and the beef begins to crisp slightly.
Once your refried beans and beef are cooked, it is time to assemble! I like to prep my toppings before I start building the tlayudas, so I shred some leafy green lettuce, crumble some queso fresco, slice up a few limes and grab some salsa, pickled red onions and sour cream.
These are my favorite toppings, but these are your tlayudas and you can top them with anything you love…
Add a layer of refried black beans onto your tostadas, top with ground beef and add your toppings…
I love spicy food, so I add a drizzle of spicy salsa over my ground beef and then add my lettuce, queso fresco and pickled red onions.
Everything works together so fabulously in this tlayuda. The tostadas crunch is a fantastic base to these flavors, plus you can pick the whole thing up making silverware completely unnecessary. The creaminess of the black beans is my favorite layer, but that ground beef comes in a close second. The lettuce and cilantro adds freshness and the pickled red onions add a tangy kick.
A bit of sour cream or crema adds a cool richness and a squeeze of fresh lime juice finishes everything off perfectly.
The next time you are craving Mexican flavors, try making yourself a few tlayudas. They may just become your new favorite quick lunch or weeknight dinner.
Enjoy my friends!
Tlayudas
Ingredients
Refried Black Beans
- 15 ounce can of black beans
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- a pinch of cumin
Spicy Ground Beef
- 16 ounces of ground beef
- 1/2 cup of beef stock
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos
- 1 tablespoons of dried onion flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teapsoon of chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Assembly
- 4 tostadas
- leafy green lettuce, shredded
- queso fresco, crumbled
- fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- salsa
- sour cream or crema
- lime wedges
Instructions
Make the refried black beans...
- Add a 15 ounces can of black beans (including the liquid), 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of cumin in a skillet over medium heat and bring to a simmer
- Allow the beans to simmer for a few minutes until they soften and then use the back of a spatula to smash the beans smooth
- Remove from the heat as soon as they begin to thicken
Make the spicy ground beef...
- Add the beef into a large skillet and season with 1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and mix to combine
- Place the skillet over medium heat and allow the beef to cook, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes or until it is cooked through
- Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped pickled jalapeños, 1/2 cup of beef stock and some finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional) and mix to combine
- Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and then remove from the heat
Assembly...
- Divide the refried black beans between 4 tostadas and top with ground beef
- Add your toppings and garnish with sour cream and lime wedges
