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Switch things up on Taco Tuesday with these Crispy Refried Bean Tacos! Creamy refried beans and cheese folded in a buttery flour tortilla, then pan-fried until ultra crispy. It’s the perfect weeknight meal when you’re short on time and fresh ingredients.

Crispy bean tacos on a serving plate garnished with freshly chopped cilantro.

Vegetarian and vegan tacos get a bad rap for being flavorless and made with expensive, hard to find ingredients. But not these tacos. These refried bean tacos are crispy, cheesy, and loaded with homemade refried beans that are as flavorful as it gets.

Plus, they’re as cheap as it gets – like my Potato Tacos, this easy recipe costs less than $5 and can feed the whole family. What tops a $5 dinner of bean and cheese tacos?

If you’re looking for more cheap taco recipes, check out these favorite tacos: Instant Pot Lentil Tacos, Vegan Carne Asada Tacos, Tempeh Walnut Taco Meat, and Hawaiian “Chicken” Tacos.

TABLE OF CONTENTS show

Why You’ll Love This $5 Dinner

Requires just a handful of ingredients. Nothing’s better than a quick weeknight dinner that you can make with just 4 ingredients, plus dipping sauces of choice.
Easy to customize. I’ve provided a few substitution options, but don’t be afraid to customize to your taste buds.
Naturally vegetarian tacos. My homemade refried beans recipes are naturally vegetarian (no lard!) and are suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets.

Ingredient Notes

Refried beans: I highly recommend making homemade refried beans – the flavor is significantly better compared to canned beans and makes a huge difference in recipes where refried beans are the star of the show. Both my Refried Pinto Beans and Refried Black Beans work well here! You could even use leftover Black Bean Soup as the refried bean mixture.
Flour tortillas: Use your favorite 6-inch flour tortillas. The more buttery and soft, the better and easier it will be to fold them.
Cheese: Any shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese of choice works well. We used vegan cheddar, but regular works great.
Oil: The best oil for frying these tacos is vegetable oil. It’s neutral in flavor, has a high smoke point, and is more affordable than avocado oil or olive oil.

Substitutions

Using canned refried beans: If you are using up canned refried beans, you’ll need about 6 cups or about 3 cans.
Corn tortillas: 6-inch corn tortillas will work, but you will need to warm the tortillas to make them pliable before filling and folding. Wrap the tortillas in a damp, clean tea towel and microwave for 1 minute. I do this in my Crispy Potato Tacos recipe and it works like a charm! You can also wrap them in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350F, or until warm and flexible.
Add ground beef: Take this refried bean taco recipe to the next level by adding regular or vegan ground beef. To do so, spread on the 1/2 cup of refried beans, then add 2-3 tablespoons of beef to one half. Top with cheese, then fold in half and press together.

How to Make Crispy Refried Black Bean Tacos

Cook the refried beans in advance. Homemade refried beans are a lot easier to work with when cooked and cooled in advance because they thicken up considerably as the beans cool. I recommend cooking the refried beans 1-2 days in advance and using cold from the refrigerator.

Black bean refried beans in instant pot.

Fill the tortillas. Add about 1/2 cup of refried beans to the center of each tortilla. Spread with a spoon to cover the entire tortilla, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2-inch around the edges. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese on one half, then fold in half, pressing gently to seal together.
Cook in hot oil until crispy. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Once hot, add the tacos, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Once crispy, transfer the tacos to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil then repeat the process until all the tacos are cooked.
Serve. Serve these crispy tacos immediately while warm and crispy with dipping sauce(s) of choice. Enjoy!

Crispy tacos garnished with fresh cilantro.

Serving Suggestions

These tacos are delicious on their own, but infinitely better with a delicious dipping sauce like your favorite salsa. Serve them for a quick and easy lunch, last minute weeknight dinner, or an afternoon snack. They can even make delicious breakfast tacos or a cheesy appetizer for game days, game nights, or hosting a crowd.

If you’re looking for a few ideas for dipping, check out these favorite dipping sauces:

Cilantro Lime Sauce for dipping refried bean tacos.

You can also serve the tacos with a knife and fork and load up the top of the tacos with your favorite taco toppings. Top with your favorites, like shredded romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce, coleslaw, fresh cilantro, avocado, fresh salsa like pico de gallo or corn salsa, chopped red onion, halved grape tomatoes, hot sauce, and more!

Refried bean tacos drizzled with cilantro lime sauce.

Storage Instructions

The crunchy taco shells are best enjoyed fresh for ultimate crispiness, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat leftovers in a hot, dry skillet or in the air fryer for a few minutes at 350F until crispy again!

How to Make these Tacos as Cheap as Possible

Freeze the excess refried beans. If you are making my homemade refried beans, you may have leftover beans. Freeze them in 1 cup or 2 cup servings for future meals. Or, incorporate them in the rest of your weekly meal plan and add them to these Vegan Burritos or this Enchilada Casserole, or spread them on a savory Vegan Torta!
Invest in a pressure cooker. Purchasing an Instant Pot was one of the best decisions I made in my frugal kitchen because it allows me to cook dried beans and grains from scratch in a fraction of the time for a fraction of the price.
Make your refried beans from scratch. Aside from being SO MUCH TASTIER, homemade beans are significantly cheaper. One can of store-bought refried beans costs anywhere from $1.50-$3.00 in 2023. One pound of dry black beans currently costs $1.44 at my local Walmart. One pound of dried black beans can make the equivalent of 4 canned cans of refried beans. This means when you make refried beans from scratch, you can make 4 cans of beans for the price of 1 store-bought!

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Bean tacos drizzled with cilantro lime sauce.

Crispy Refried Bean Tacos Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Cost: $4.58 per recipe / $1.15 per serving

Switch things up on Taco Tuesday with these Crispy Refried Bean Tacos! Creamy refried beans and cheese folded in a buttery flour tortilla, then pan-fried until ultra crispy. It's the perfect weeknight meal when you're short on time and fresh ingredients.

Ingredients

▢ 1 recipe Instant Pot Refried Black Beans ($1.86)
▢ 12 (6-inch) flour tortillas ($1.26)
▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese dairy-free or regular ($1.40)
▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil ($0.06)

Instructions

If using my homemade refried beans, cook the refried beans in advance (see note).
Add about ½ cup of refried black beans to the center of each tortilla. Spread with a spoon to cover the entire tortilla, leaving about ¼ to ½ inch around the edges.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on one half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and press gently to seal together.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Once hot, add the tacos, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Once crispy, transfer the tacos to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Repeat the process until all the tacos are cooked.
Serve with dipping sauce of choice. Enjoy!

Storage and Reheating Instructions

The crunchy taco shells are best enjoyed fresh for ultimate crispiness, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat leftovers in a hot, dry skillet or in the air fryer for a few minutes at 350F until crispy again!

Refried beans: You can use canned refried beans – you’ll need about 6 cups or about 3 cans. Or, if you don’t like black beans, try my Refried Pinto Beans recipe.
Corn tortillas: 6-inch corn tortillas will work, but you will need to warm the tortillas to make them pliable before filling and folding. Wrap the tortillas in a damp, clean tea towel and microwave for 1 minute. I do this in my Crispy Potato Tacos recipe and it works like a charm! You can also wrap them in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350F, or until warm and flexible.
Add ground beef: Take this refried bean taco recipe to the next level by adding regular or vegan ground beef. To do so, spread on the 1/2 cup of refried beans, then add 2-3 tablespoons of beef to one half. Top with cheese, then fold in half and press together.

Notes

Prep time does not include cooking the beans.
Cook the refried beans in advance. Homemade refried beans are a lot easier to work with when cooked and cooled in advance because they thicken up considerably as the beans cool. I recommend cooking the refried beans 1-2 days in advance and using cold from the refrigerator.
Freeze the excess refried beans. If you are making my homemade refried beans, you may have leftover beans. Freeze them in 1 cup or 2 cup servings for future meals. Or, incorporate them in the rest of your weekly meal plan and add them to these Vegan Burritos or this Enchilada Casserole, or spread them on a savory Vegan Torta!

Dipping Sauce Ideas:

Nutrition

Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.

Author Nicolette Wax

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican