Enfrijoladas de jamón

Enchiladas with bean sauce and ham straight from the childhood kitchen of our photographer Andrés.

Jun 23, 2025

Andrés our photographer shares his childhood memories with this dish. Enjoy!

Enfrijoladas de jamón (enchiladas with bean sauce and ham) take me back to my childhood. The kitchen wasn’t just the most important room in the house where my mother cooked delicious meals but also where she made memories.

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I grew up in the state of Morelos which borders Mexico City, and the States of México, Puebla, and Guerrero in the center of the country. In my house, my mother almost always cooked for us.

Trips to restaurants were reserved for weekends and special occasions. There is one dish in particular that my mother made for us when she was short on time to prepare a more elaborate dish, enfrijoladas de jamón.

The ingredients for this dish were almost always on hand. There was always ham which my mother used to prepare my sandwiches for school or serve us a light dinner. And, there were always beans that hadn’t been eaten the day before which became the base for this dish.

This dish is a small story from my childhood, in which I ate delicious home-cooked food prepared by the marvelous, magical hands of my mother. I have memories of all her dishes but this one has a special place in my heart. Perhaps, because it’s such a simple dish it has such lasting memories.

Ingredients for Ham Enchiladas with Bean Sauce

16 corn tortillas
8 slices ham
3 cups cooked beans with some of their cooking liquid - homemade or canned beans work great
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 lb panela cheese or queso fresco
1 cup cup Mexican “crema” or sour cream
1 tsp salt + to taste

Ingredients to make enchiladas with bean sauce, enfrijoladas

Making the Bean Sauce

The sauce couldn't be easier. Blend the beans with a little bit of the liquid they were cooked in with the chicken stock until smooth. Aim for the consistency of gravy.

Once you have blended the beans, pour them into a frying pan over medium-low heat.

Cook for 20 minutes until the sauce has darkened and is slightly thicker like in the photo below. If the sauce thickens too much, just add a little water until you get the desired consistency.

Before moving on, adjust the salt to taste.

Preparing the Enfrijoladas

You need to lightly fry the corn tortillas in hot oil to seal them so that they don't absorb the bean sauce and so that they become pliable so that you can fold them without breaking them. Fry for about 10 seconds on each side. Don’t skip this step. It’s important for the flavor and texture of the dish.

Fry all of the tortillas before assembling the enfrijoladas. Drain them on paper towels.

To assemble the enfrijoladas, place the tortillas on the plate you will serve them on. Then add 1/2 slice of ham to each tortilla.

Fold the tortillas with ham in half and space them evenly on the plate. Three enfrijoladas per person is a good serving size, four if you are really hungry.