Grilled Cheese and Bean Heroes

Name: Grilled Cheese and Bean Heroes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Ingredients: 4 teleras, bolillos, Portuguese buns, or baguettes (cut into 5- to 6-inch pieces); 2 cups refried beans (homemade or store-bought); 2 cups (about 8 ounces) shredded Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella, Monterrey Jack or mild cheddar; Traditional pico de gallo (or other salsa of your choice); Mexican-style chorizo (crumbled and fried); Crisped bacon; Turkey or ham; Sautéed mushrooms; Sliced avocado

Molletes

Recipe Yield

4 to 6 servings

Cooking time

13 minutes

Rate this recipe

4.80 from 5 votes

Ingredients

4 teleras, bolillos, Portuguese buns, or baguettes cut into 5- to 6-inch pieces
2 cups refried beans homemade or store-bought
2 cups (about 8 ounces) shredded Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella, Monterrey Jack or mild cheddar
Traditional pico de gallo or other salsa of your choice

Optional extra toppings:

Mexican-style chorizo crumbled and fried
Crisped bacon
Turkey or ham
Sautéed mushrooms
Sliced avocado

To Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the bread in half lengthwise. Spread each piece with 3 to 4 tablespoons of refried beans and top with 3 to 4 tablespoons of grated cheese. Arrange the molletes on a baking sheet as you make them. If you want to add more toppings like ham, turkey, bacon or chorizo, sprinkle them on top of the cheese.
When they are all assembled, bake until the cheese has melted and the bread has a nice toasted crust on the bottom and around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Eat while hot. Serve with pico de gallo, or your favorite salsa, on the side.

Comments

47comments inGrilled Cheese and Bean Heroes

Marilee H.

Aug 26

I was first introduced to really tasty re-fried beans when I was a child living with my family in the Washington DC suburbs. We would drive into downtown once a month or so from Bethesda, to eat at a what we called foreign restaurants. There was a favorite Mexican restaurant my parents liked, but sorry, I don’t remember the name as this was 65 years ago! I’m 80 now. Anyway, I recall as if yesterday we were served a hot platter of refried beans with cheese melting on top. One bite and I knew I’d found my favorite food. My mother told me I’d tried some Mexican food as a toddler living in south Texas for 2 years, but I don’t remember. In any case, I’ve been eating frijoles refritos ever since.

Today, there are Mexican and Southwestern restaurants almost anywhere one goes in the USA, including to our surprise, in a small town in central Alabama where my grandson just started college. One would think that town of less than 20,000 would have more simple American and southern food places, but no, there are 5 Mexican type restaurants in town, more than in his home community of 65,000 here in Florida. He’s in heaven, as he loves nothing better.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  Thanks for sharing Marilee, makes me really happy to confirm that these days you can find excellent Mexican food everywhere, yay!
  
Denise Hurst

Aug 24

Dear Patti:
Thanks for sending me your delicious recipes and I am glad they are in English. Since you are a fabulous cook, I will be trying these wonderful receips very soon, but there are some things that I cannot eat since I have diabetes and Kidney problems. Thanks again Denise Hurst

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  Thanks to you for following Denise, glad you enjoy my recipes. Take care of yourself 😉
  
Betty Izquierdo

Aug 24

Easy, fast, and delicious
Good for a last minute snack

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  Absolutely! So glad you liked this recipe Betty 😉
  
Johna Wrzosek

Aug 24

I always thought beans were always Pinto. Also for refried beans, do you add a little milk when frying. We always do.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  I don’t but sounds like a great idea for creaminess Johna 😉
  
Carolyn

Aug 24

I love your recipes. I will injoy your email. 💕

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  Thanks so much for following Carolyn, un abrazo!
  
Donald Williams

Aug 24

That is what on the menu tomorrow night, Thank you Pati, I do appreciate all of your recipes, and kindness sharing all of the ideas that you help me/all of us with ,
God Bless You ❤️

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 04
  
  Thanks so much Donald, I hope you enjoyed the molletes, yum!
  
Guadalupe Nypaver

Feb 26

/this molletes are very similar to the ones I used to order at Sanborn’s after a long day at work are the Latinamerican Tower downtown Mexico City.
Delicious. Thanks Pati. Great memories.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 07
  
  Si! Love molletes from Sanborn’s Guadalupe, hope you will like these ones as well 😉
  
Mark

Sep 14

Winner winner mollettes dinner!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 16
  
  😄
  
Yolanda Ferrer

Sep 14

I love these molletes on “bolillo bread. Or I make a large French bread loaf and share. Great recipe Pati.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 16
  
  These are perfect for sharing….thank you, Yolanda!
  
William Theroux

Jan 04

My name is Bill. I have watched ur show since u started. Love your recipes. I just found ur web site, now we can try them out. I’m from Colorado and love Mexican food. Looking forward to trying them out🌶

1. Pati
  
  Jan 07
  
  Thanks for giving the recipes a try, Bill!
  
Gretchen

May 28

Hi Patti!
I made this today for dinner and paired it with a green salad. So delicious! My son Ioved it!

1. Pati
  
  Jun 01
  
  Yay! I’m so glad your son and you loved it!
  
DianaQ

Jan 02

Los molletes son de lo mejor! Por pura curiosidad, porque les llamaron “Heroes” en ingles? No entiendo, jaja.

Terrianne

Mar 30

I love refried beans. I’m cooking pintos now for refried beans and I’m going to make homemade Bahn mi especially for this recipe. My nearly 4 yr. old doesn’t like refried beans on store-bought flour tortillas, but I think he would really enjoy them this way. Thank you.

Tammy

Feb 22

I made these appetizers with mini bagels and monterrey jack cheese. I also smashed my own black beans for the refried bean part of it. Delicious

1. Pati
  
  Feb 23
  
  Great idea, Tammy!
  
Alex

Oct 16

In Mexico we call this Molletes.

1. Pati
  
  Oct 16
  
  Yes, Molletes!
  
Melissa

May 11

I wonder if we can make this into a Mexican style Philly cheese.At fist glance that’s what I thought it was!looks delicious

1. Pati
  
  May 11
  
  Of course you can!
  
Lydia

May 04

Hi Pati, I justed watched the episode with you and your three boys, I can’t wait to cook the recipes especially the mexican cheesecake! All of your boys are handsome, JuJu is a little cutie! I see a future chef in him! I am aTex-Mex Latina, I always watch your show for authentic mexican recipes!! Sus recetas miren tan sabrosas! I will be purchasing your cookbook!

1. Pati
  
  May 04
  
  Gracias Lydia!!! For watching the show and getting the cookbook! I will pass on what you said to Juju…. 🙂
  
Eric

Apr 24

Me encanta el programa. Me trae muchos recuerdos de mi estancia en Cuernavaca, México, donde viví por casi dos años. Espero poder cocinar muy bien alún día.

I love the program. It brings back a lot of memories of my time in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where I lived for almost two years. I hope to able to cook very well one day.

1. Pati
  
  Apr 25
  
  Of course you will and of course you can!
  
Lesa Bird

Apr 24

Hi Pati, I cannot begin to tell you how much I love your show. I just watched the episode with your three favorite boys and it is by far my most favorite. I can’t wait to make all the dishes in that episode especially the cheesecake. I’ve never had Mexican cheesecake before. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.

1. Pati
  
  Apr 25
  
  Thank you for watching Lesa, and thank you for trying the recipes.
  
Juliet Valdez

Mar 16

Pati, me fascina to programa!! Me gustaria ser tu vecina! 🙂 I do have a question, however. I’m curious about why you translate the names of the dishes to English instead of leaving them with their Spanish names or a reference to both. I love that your introducing so many in the world to our culture. Shouldn’t that include the language when related to the food?

1. Pati
  
  Mar 16
  
  Yes! I include their names in Spanish and English, whenever I can.
  
Michelle

Feb 22

Correct email addy

1. Pati
  
  Feb 23
  
  Gotcha!
  
Michelle

Feb 22

Hola Pati! Thank you for the wonderful recipes. I modified the Alphabet sopa by adding chicken. My family loved it! Your personality really comes through on your show and it’s so very welcoming!

melissa

Jan 31

Hello Pati, I just wanted to say I’m excited to try your delicious snack. What better place to try it out then Super Bowl Sunday! Thanks again. Your show and food are great.

1. Pati
  
  Feb 01
  
  Gracias Melissa!!
  
  1. Tanya
    
    Nov 04
    
    Pati, Buenos dias. I absolutely adore when you cook with your boys, especially JuJu. And the JuJu show is out of this world. We are missing your husband. Will you please cook with him, we would love to see your interaction with him or even the whole family. I can’t wait to make the alphabet soup and the Molletes, my husband loves beans so I will have to make this for him. Keep up the good work, muchas gracias.
    
    1. Pati
      
      Nov 05
      
      Hola Tanya, Thank you so much for your comments! Keep watching…I have one with my husband.
      
diane

Jan 26

Thank you for all your recipes. The ABC soup was wonderful. I now have a new favorite soup. Do you have a cookbook? Your wonderful.

1. Pati
  
  Jan 29
  
  Hi Diane, thank you for your message and for trying the soup! Yes, I have a cookbook, more info here: http://patijinich.com/pati_2020/book/

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