How to Make a Bean Tostada for Under $2 | Struggle Meals

Hot tip: buy your beans dried and in bulk to save major $! Today, Frankie Celenza (@frankiecooks) shows you how to make a crispy, crunchy refried pinto bean tostada for under $2.
REFRIED BEAN TOSTADA
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
For the beans:
12 ounces dried pinto beans
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
For the tostada:
4 cups refried beans
4 corn tortillas
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup sour cream
5 to 6 hot sauce packets
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Steps:
1. Add the beans to a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans. Place them in a medium sized pot and cover with water. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Drain.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and the onion, garlic and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Next add the beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Using the back of a fork or a potato masher, mash the beans adding water a couple tablespoons at a time while you mash.
4. For the tostada: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Place the tortillas directly on the oven rack and toast for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
6. Spread beans on the top of each tortilla and top with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese and hot sauce.
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[@Cortraption]

Slap that cheese on the beans before the veggies and it gets delightfully melty.

[@Janine.Najarian]

under the broiler, yeah

[@ali0g4]

The production value on these videos is insanely good. Hope you start getting the views you deserve soon!

[@kayladahl8311]

I found this bc of Hulu

[@tickledtoffee]

I hope so too. Awesome videos and recipes!

[@feliciagaffney1998]

This is a professional production company.

[@irenebeaumont9563]

Instead of water add the caldito from the beans and cook them a little more. I cook beans all the time, I'm from Mexico.

[@bellrose2659]

Thank you!!

[@tristamaye85]

So proud of this man! Emmy nominated going against the queens of daytime cooking! And these look delicious too.

[@suz0000]

Wow! Congrats to Frankie! Well deserved!

[@maritzaquiles1510]

As someone who is from South America I would have never thought to put tortillas in the oven to cook ! Love this healthier option.

[@scrambleddelusions]

At our local chain store they sell dried beans in the bag for 50 cents less per pound than in bulk. It pays to check. Thanks Frankie!

[@garlicgirl3149]

I wonder if you could do a struggle meal series with same ingredient but how different cultures use it. Pinto beans in Mexican and African American or rice and Mexican, Indian Chinese cultures. Each has a way to eat it cheaply but a tasty way.😋😃

[@ninjaeris131]

Proving you learn something new everyday, because I for sure never knew that Spanish fact about refried beans!

[@LaundryFaerie]

MY WORK HERE IS DONE.

[@suz0000]

I always wondered why they were called refried!

[@sandybo9937]

I was making salsa a few years ago and while chopping up a jalapino I some how must have scratched my nose some juice got inside my nose and boy did that burn, watery eyes the whole bit. The only way I could stop the burn was to put a small chuck of ice up my nose. Lesson learned. You are a good teacher, simple and direct. Many blessing

[@Gabsterzzz23]

Queso fresco or Cotija cheese will make it 10 times better compared to cheddar cheese.

[@Mickey_McD]

Cheddar has more flavor.

[@melissacomer8404]

I love Cotija cheese. Have it in the fridge now. It really adds a lot of authentic flavor to tostadas.

[@melissacomer8404]

@@Mickey_McD Try the Cotija cheese. It really is vert tasty on tostadas. Don't knock it until you try it. Then give a review.

[@Janine.Najarian]

@@Mickey_McD its one note and too overpowering

[@BillMcHale]

The only thought is, what is the price for Cotija or Queso Fresco?

[@BrownEyedGirl331]

A staple of my vegetarian diet, tostadas! Beans are a miracle food.

[@judee5370]

Congratulations on the nomination!! 🔥

[@jennajackson6146]

Favorite channel

[@kathybennett4335]

We love refried beans at my house. This will be a definite try.

[@prisillaspace]

My abuela’s favorite, she called them chalupas 😊😋💐💖✌️

[@TheaCastles]

You honestly deserve more views. Keep on bringing the content, the views will come. In the meantime, you have many loyal fans.

[@shivrajchaudhary5752]

You did amazingly.

[@beasttitanofficial3768]

When he looks at the camera while chopping up garlic I always have a mini heart attack

[@elmahenderson9089]

This looks awesome!! I know what’s for dinner tonight!

[@johnbc]

Bean Tostada. Yum! Thank you, Frankie!

[@lucascady4992]

Love the idea of delicious struggle meals!!

[@hlegler]

This series....i seriously can't get enough.

[@hollyhrywnak2478]

I made these today and it's delicious!!

[@barbarafleury4676]

WOW ‼ 😍

[@shannonhudgins]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your videos. I can always depend on your videos to give me ideas, and not have to worry about needing special equipment.

[@dalehiller1386]

Thanks for great attitude n money saving excellence 😎😀👍

[@superash4u578]

What a good idea

[@Ek3abood]

Frankieeeeee Love You’re show man you deserve no less than a Million views

[@nicoletierheimer3546]

Great recipe! I use my instant pot to cook beans and works every time

[@jflores85]

Been eating alot of these during quarantine. Some days with frijoles negros but I use prepackaged tostadas and home made salsa.

[@flyinyeti]

Frankie id just like to say thank you to you ive watched yiur cooking shiw for awhile now. Struggling with weight for many years i went from 117kilos to 106 kilos because i implemented alot of your easy to follow cooking shows espically your eggplant norma i think you called it i used lentil based or chickpea based pasta wuth homemade pasta sauce bacause of your videos yesterday i slow cooked your brown lentil soup and it came out awesome just wanted to let you know how much you're helping and encouraging people

[@shannondewit6953]

Someone needs to get this guy a tv show! Frankie is awesome :- D

[@caribaez5711]

El hambre es hambre 😌

[@WilletteB]

I love pinto beans. I could eat like this every day. You have a great channel, Frankie. You have helped me stretch several meals and my budget. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

[@HeavymetalHylian]

we always put the beans on the tostada and the cheese and then put it under the broiler till the cheese browned just a little bit

[@sarasunshine883]

In South Texas, these are called "chalupas." Almost everything in South Texas is called something different than in the rest of the boarderlands, lol. Also, you melt the cheese on top of the beans before adding toppings.

[@terrortara6994]

❤️❤️❤️

[@annic7995]

I kame prepared. 🍽🍵

[@allistrata]

From now on, I'm calling it the chubby setting.

[@jflores85]

Chicano approved 👍

[@7camscdan249]

Inquiring minds want to know how high did you sett the oven temperature for? Thx and yep, I’ve subbed to your channel. Cheers!

[@randyglynn3849]

By adding a bit of liquid (hot sauce, water, etc) to the sour cream, you can drizzle it on (maybe using less sour cream = more struggle savings)

[@marymcwatters7606]

It's called a tostada there delicious, I put all kinds of things on mine

[@sunyoon1031]

Not gonna lie, thought you were a Snapchat exclusive 😅 really glad you have a KZbin tho!

[@ACLionheart]

If you pop some rice on there too you'll have a complete protien. Oh and cook the rice in stock! The tomato and chicken bullion cubes from the Hispanic aisle are the best for quick and cheap taco rice.

[@joseapar]

One of my favorite recipes! A large can of pintos is not that expensive, so start with that, a dollar well spent saving you a ton of time. Additionally you can use the bean juice to adjust the consistency of the beans instead of water, so you get more bean flavor. The traditional frijoles fritos recipe calls for a very well cooked onion. The onion should be browned not just soft. And well just get tostadas. They are right next to the tortillas and again the cost is very minimal. Using the can of beans and the pre made tostadas would still keep this recipe at under $3 per serving but save you a ton of time on this recipe.

[@Kathy-Carr]

Y U M!

[@madiantin]

Huh. Just so happens I'm watching this while eating a bean tostada. I love them. To mash the beans creamier: Put about 3/4 of them in the blender. Stick them in a bowl with the other 1/4. Then add cheese and sour cream to the beans. OH MYLANTA I could eat it with a spoon. So good.

[@nicolepoole3501]

Cheese FIRST!! Melts on the beans/meat then add tomato, lettuce, etc…😊

[@selenamoreno7689]

Not gonna lie...when you said yo add some oil or water my brain went off and started screaming USE THE BEAN LIQUID YOURE NEXT TO IT AND ITLL PRESERVE THE FLAVOR

[@ShijiruP]

Latinos whatching these with freezed cooked frijolitos in the fridge (in an ice cream bowl) Also, we actually mash them before frying them 🤔 this method is news to me

[@thomasbeebe-wurzer3061]

My wife's cousins are from Mexico city and I've seen them mash them while frying them. I guess everyone just does them differently.

[@caiofavero7311]

in Brazil we mash before to... kkkkkk and beans in an ice cream bowl is a classic! kkkk

[@ladywytch129]

My friends' families did it both ways (I lived in a wonderfully diverse neighborhood as a child!) I think it all depends on how your grandmother did it, lol!

[@ShijiruP]

@@thomasbeebe-wurzer3061 in El Salvador (and in Guatemala and Costa Rica) we first boil them and after we mash them.

[@thomasbeebe-wurzer3061]

@@ShijiruP my wife's cousins boil them first and then mash them while cooking them in a pan.

[@ar223600]

Save your bacon grease and fry your beans, so yummy

[@citogal]

If you soak beans with some baking soda, it will help reduce gas later.

[@jcast9495]

Spread the sour cream on the tosdata first.

[@annic7995]

Put cheese direktly on beans, so cheese melts and does not fall of tostada.

[@cyoohoos]

You should also pick through your dried beans. Small rocks may be in there. Not nice to bite down on

[@citogal]

Chubby setting. LOL!

[@justalurkr]

If you put another tortilla on top, is it a sandwich?

[@youurhighhness]

I’m trying to figure out where he get these prices or goes shopping at because sour cream is not 84 cents 🤨

[@broccolibubbly7292]

Because he used like a tablespoon of sour cream and not the whole container. The price is per serving, not the total cost of the ingredients.

[@kelleep535]

How long do you have to simmer the beans?

[@thomasbeebe-wurzer3061]

Until they're done lol

[@ali0g4]

It says in the description of the video, 3-4 minutes.

[@kelleep535]

@@ali0g4 thank you!

[@zairasancheznavarro5094]

You actually have to cook them for about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on how much you’re cooking. They need to hydrate and soften before you can do anything with them. Also, some grains won’t soften if you add salt at the beginning so just make sure you add it after you’ve made sure they’re already soft which you can check by simply taking a bean out of the pot and squeezing it. Beans grow in size once they’re cooked so make sure to put plenty of water, which won’t go to waste because you can use it instead of plain water once you make your refried beans.

[@michellesaari2263]

If you make them from totally dry 2 and 1/2 hours. If you soak them overnight I think it's about 1 or 1 and 1/2 hours. The ones he made were pretty dry so add a little warm bean liquid if needed. Definitely put the cheese on top of the beans before the lettuce and tomato so the cheese melts. You can always add a sliver more cheese on top for looks

[@huggledemon32]

Love these videos but I personally can’t stand beans so many of these ideas don’t work for me!- any other shelf staple ideas?

[@neosori6236]

Lentils, green beans and or quinoa (?)

[@bsfatboy]

I won’t be as fresh but, a been tostada at del taco is $1.29

[@mexico53ify]

My Mexican friend calls the tostada the Mexicans' revenge for the Australian meat pie! which also can be very oozy and spill!

[@madlilpony2768]

who puts cheese on top

[@DB-xo6xh]

$0.09 for the onion??? Onions are pricier for me!

[@msminmichigan]

I'm not Mexican but if I were my Mexican grandma would be rolling over in her grave if I made those Gringo beans.