Pan crisped sharp cheddar cheese and corn tortilla topped with spicy black beans, egg, and avocado.
I’m struggling to find the perfect way to describe this dish, the melding of texture and flavor, the balance between sharp and smooth, acid, heat and creamy cool. The combination is classic for a reason but there was something about adding the pan fried cheese, tossed with a bit of cilantro, and its salty savory crunch that threw this into I’m talking to myself about how good this is territory.
Now that I know I don’t have to presoak beans the I don’t know what to have for dinner (or lunch or breakfast) days have gotten easier. Black beans, water, salt and spices to taste and in two (or fewer) unattended hours later a pot of beans to last for days. And for this week only I have the added bonus of eating just like Gwyneth Paltrow on food stamps– except I would never buy corn and tomatoes out of season, expensive and bland. Next week she’ll move on and we will still be having beans and rice. Thank goodness I like beans and rice and thank goodness I have a budget that, while no means extravagant, allows for sharp cheddar and pico de gallo.
Crispy Cheesy Black Bean Breakfast
ingredients
- One egg
- One corn tortilla
- About ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 T rough chopped cilantro
- ½ cup cooked black beans seasoned with chili powder and cumin-warm
- ¼-1/2 avocado
- 2 T salsa or pico de gallo of choice
directions
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium low heat.
- Coat the corn tortilla lightly with oil of your choice
- Sprinkle half the cheese into an approximately 5 inch circle in the pan
- Add the corn tortilla leaving half the cheese exposed
- Top the tortilla with the black beans, putting enough of an indent in the top of the beans to hold the egg. Add the egg and cover the pan. Cook until the egg is almost to your desired doneness topping with the remaining cheese about two minutes before removing from the heat- about 7-8 minutes total for the whites to be cooked through and the yolk to remain runny.
- Starting with the cheesy bit remove from the pan with a large spatula.
- Top with avocado and pico de gallo

Crispy Cheesy Black Bean Breakfast (or lunch, or dinner)
Ingredients
- One egg
- One corn tortilla
- About ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 T rough chopped cilantro
- ½ cup cooked black beans seasoned with chili powder and cumin-warm
- ¼-1/2 avocado
- 2 T salsa or pico de gallo of choice.
Instructions
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium low heat.
- Coat the corn tortilla lightly with oil of your choice
- Sprinkle half the cheese into an approximately 5 inch circle in the pan
- Add the corn tortilla leaving half the cheese exposed
- Top the tortilla with the black beans, putting enough of an indent in the top of the beans to hold the egg. Add the egg and cover the pan. Cook until the egg is almost to your desired doneness topping with the remaining cheese about two minutes before removing from the heat- about 7-8 minutes total for the whites to be cooked through and the yolk to remain runny.
- Starting with the cheesy bit remove from the pan with a large spatula.
- Top with avocado and pico de gallo
Woww, love the contrast between the black beans and the egg. Looks very appetizing
Thanks so much! I do love it when a dish turns out on the plate how I imagined it in my head 😉
I’ve never actually have cooked black beans before.. so they definitely are something I need to make. I wouldn’t mind this dish any time of day actually too!