Street FoodEasyFree

Bean Gorditas

Name: Bean Gorditas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 100 ml Sour cream; 300 g Refried beans; 100 g Shredded lettuce; 50 g Pork lard; 100 g Crumbled fresh cheese; 1 tsp Salt; 100 ml Salsa roja; 500 g Corn dough

4.0(1 rating)

40 min (20 prep + 20 cook) Easy 8 servings Nacional

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: Mar 24, 2026 · Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Thick corn dough patties filled with refried beans, cooked on a griddle.

About this recipe

Thick corn dough patties filled with refried beans, cooked on a griddle or fried until golden. Served open or closed with salsa, sour cream, lettuce and crumbled fresh cheese. A humble, nutritious and delicious Mexican street food found in markets across the country.

History & Origin

Bean gorditas are one of Mexico's oldest and most widespread street foods, with a history reaching directly into the pre-Hispanic era when Mesoamerican women prepared thick maize tortillas to feed their families. The name "gordita" comes from their thickness: they are fatter than conventional tortillas, which allows them to be filled with different stews and ingredients. The bean version is perhaps the most popular and democratic of all, since refried beans have been the staple food of the Mexican people for millennia. In each region of Mexico gorditas adopt their own characteristics: in the north they are made larger and often fried in lard, in the centre they are smaller and cooked on a griddle, whilst in states like San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas they reach almost mythical status with variants like oven-baked gorditas. The preparation is simple but requires manual skill: a ball of dough is formed, slightly flattened, filled with refried beans and sealed before cooking. Bean gorditas are the favorite breakfast at popular markets across Mexico, where gordita makers prepare them to order on enormous clay or metal griddles.

Estimated cost

$5.44

Total cost

$0.68

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on US supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

320

Calories

10g

Protein

42g

Carbohydrates

12g

Fat

Fiber

480mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Prepare the filling: heat a tablespoon of lard in a skillet and fry the refried beans for 5 minutes, mashing with a fork until you have a thick paste. Set aside.
💡 If the beans are very dry, add a little bean stock or water.
2
Prepare the dough: mixture the corn dough with the lard, salt and a little water warm until you get a dough soft and manejable that not pegue in the hands.
3
Shape into small balls of dough of the size of a pelota of golf. Aplana each a formando a disc thick of some 10 cm of diameter.
4
Place a generous tablespoon of refried beans in the centre of each disc. Close the dough over the filling to form a sealed gordita, flattening slightly.
💡 Seal the edges well so it does not open while cooking.
5
Heat a comal (flat griddle) over medium heat. Cook the gorditas 4-5 minutes on each side until it formen spots doradas and the dough it is cooked.
💡 If you prefer gorditas fritas, fríelas in oil hot 3 minutes for lado.
6
Abre each gordita for a costado with a knife for formar a bolsillo. Fill with shredded lettuce, cream, crumbled fresh cheese and red sauce or green to taste.

Have you tried this recipe?

Tell us how it turned out. Your feedback helps other cooks.

Leave a review

Rate this recipe

Edmond Bojalil

Founder, Recetas Mexas

Mexican from Puebla, IT professional and foodie. Author of 1000+ authentic Mexican recipes adapted for home kitchens worldwide. Based in Madrid since 2018.