Name: How To Make Mexican Molletes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 pound dried pinto beans; 1/4 cup sunflower oil or other neutral-flavored oil; 1 small white onion, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried epazote or oregano; 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and trimmed; 2 large tomatoes, quartered; 1 tablespoon sunflower oil; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream; 2 Mexican bolillo rolls, cut in half; 4 tablespoons softened butter; 2 cups shredded aged white cheddar cheese; 2 cups Pico de Gallo

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Mexican Molletes are an open faced sandwich layered with refried beans, melted cheese, and fresh pico de gallo. This no-fuss, vegetarian meal is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner and is extra good with a dollop of roasted garlic-tomato crema on top!

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I’m guessing most of you are in a state of deep chill. Am I right? It is February after all and the thrill of that first snow is long gone. All that’s left now if just waiting until winter is over.

What better time to cozy up to a new favorite recipe? For some of you, this might be more like an old friend. Any way you look at it, Molletes are the comforting open face sandwich we all need right about now.

And if molletes seem as exciting as yet another day spent inside the house, I’m spicing things up with a roasted garlic and tomato crema to spoon on top. Have I got your attention now?

what are mexican molletes?

A Mexican mollete sitting on a white plate with a bowl of roasted garlic-tomato crema sitting on the plate next to it.

If you are unfamiliar, Mexican molletes {pronounced mo-yet-tes} start with a buttered and toasted bolillo roll.

This crispy on the outside, soft on the inside bun gets topped with refried beans and cheese and goes into the oven until the cheese has melted.

You can absolutely eat it just like this, but it is even better with a spoonful of fresh Pico de Gallo and a dollop of crema on top.

Let’s break it down!

first, a note about the refried beans

A bowl of refried beans sitting on a table next to a baking sheet of bolillo rolls, shredded cheese, Pico de Gallo and a pink napkin.

To make the refried beans from scratch takes some planning because you’ll have to soak the dried pinto beans overnight then cook them for a few hours the next day.

A couple different ways to get around this would be to cook the beans in an Instant Pot. You can do this from dried beans without soaking them first and they cook in about 30 minutes. I don’t have a recipe for this yet on my site, but this one from Everyday Latina is good.

The less tasty but quicker option would be to use canned refried beans. I’m not a huge fan of canned refried beans but these beans that come in a package instead of a can have less of a metallic taste.

If you want to make them the traditional way, check out the recipe below.

next, a chat about roasted garlic-tomato crema

Two molletes on a white plate with a bowl of roasted garlic crema sitting on the plate with a spoon in the bowl.

This crema is absolutely optional, but let me tell you, you will not regret the time it takes to make it.

The base is Mexican crema, which is like American sour cream but thinner in consistency and more emphasis on the cream and less on the sour. If you can’t find it, you can substitute sour cream.

To that we add roasted garlic and tomatoes for an incredible sauce that you will put on everything from these molletes to baked potatoes, flautas, tacos, and more.

what else we need to make the molletes

Mexican molletes sitting on a white plate with a small bowl of tomato crema sitting on the plate.

Once you have your beans and crema made the rest is pretty simple. Here’s what else you’ll need:

Bolillo bread rolls. These Mexican rolls have a crisp crust and a soft center making them perfect for molletes. Bolillo rolls can be found at any Latin market or Panaderia. You could also use a baguette, cut into 4 pieces and each piece cut in half.
Refried beans. Use the recipe below for refried pinto beans or you could use black beans instead.
Cheese. I love topping my molletes with aged white cheddar cheese because it has a luscious tang. A more traditional cheese would be Oaxaca cheese or Chihuahua cheese.
The toppings. The finishing touch on a mollete is—like any good Mexican food recipe—the garnishes! A spoonful of fresh Pico de Gallo, Mexican crema, or a sprinkling of Cotija cheese are all good, but the Roasted Garlic-Tomato Crema that we’ve got going on here is next level.

so how do we make it?

A mollete topped with Pico de Gallo and tomato crema sitting on a white plate with a bowl of crema sitting on the plate behind it.

The beauty of this molletes recipe is it is easy! Like ready in 10 minutes easy.

If you made the beans earlier, make sure they are warm before layering them on your mollete. To rewarm them, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the refried beans and cook until warm, about 15 minutes.

Next, cut the rolls in half, and spread butter over the cut sides of the roll. Lay the rolls, buttered-side up on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted in a 425°F oven.

Once the outside of the rolls turns golden brown, spread with refried beans and top with cheese. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted.

Top with about 1/4 cup of Pico de Gallo and a spoonful of Roasted Tomato-Garlic Crema.

more easy mexican recipes to try!

instant dinner success

If you keep the key elements for molletes of refried beans and cheese in your fridge you can have a plant-powered Mexican dinner (or breakfast or lunch) ready in about 10 minutes! Please let me know if you make it by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) !

How To Make Mexican Molletes

Yield: 2-4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the refried beans:

1 pound dried pinto beans
1/4 cup sunflower oil or other neutral-flavored oil
1 small white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried epazote or oregano

For the roasted garlic-tomato crema:

1 head garlic, cloves peeled and trimmed
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream

For the molletes:

2 Mexican bolillo rolls, cut in half
4 tablespoons softened butter
2 cups shredded aged white cheddar cheese
2 cups Pico de Gallo

Instructions

For the refried beans:
Soak beans. Rinse the dried beans in a colander and remove any pieces of dirt or rocks. Place in a large container and cover with water by about 2 inches. Let soak on the counter overnight.
Cook beans. The next day, drain the soaked beans through a colander, give another rinse and place in a large pot. Cover with fresh water by about 4-5 inches and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and skim off any foam that has come to the surface with a ladle. Let cook until tender, about 2 hours.
Fry the beans. Heat the 1/4 cup of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once shimmering add the onions, garlic, and teaspoon of salt, and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the cumin and epazote and stir to toast in the oil briefly.
Add a cupful of beans (with their cooking liquid) at a time (using only about 5 cups of beans total), and mash with a potato masher. Let them cook until thick for about 8 to 10 minutes, and continue mashing and stirring, until they have achieved a thick puree consistency and are somewhat pasty looking. If you want super smooth beans, transfer this mixture to a blender and blend until very smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed.
For the roasted garlic-tomato crema:
Roast the veggies. Heat oven to 375°F. Combine garlic cloves and tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss to coat well. Roast until very soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
Puree with crema. Transfer roasted veggies to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Add the crema and puree until smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed.
For the molletes.
Toast the bread. Heat oven to 425°F. Butter each cut-side of the rolls and lay them butter-side up on a baking sheet. Toast until golden on the outside and still soft in the middle, about 5 minutes.
Top with beans and cheese. Spread 1/4 cup refried beans on each half of the rolls and top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on each. Return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, another 5-10 minutes.
Top with garnishes. Top each half with Pico de Gallo and a dollop of roasted garlic-tomato crema and dig in!

Notes

Refried beans can be made several days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. It is best however to cook the whole beans, then refry them when you are ready to make the molletes. Any leftover cooked beans will keep in the fridge for up to a week or 3 months in the freezer.

The Roasted Garlic Tomato Crema will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1044Total Fat: 71gSaturated Fat: 31gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 1254mgCarbohydrates: 73gFiber: 13gSugar: 8gProtein: 33g

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