crispy buffalo pumpkin pinto bean tacos

I needed a break from thinking about the holidays, so tacos it is. And it’s Tuesday, so why the hell not?

The story has been similar for the past few weeks: get up Monday morning with absolutely no clue what I feel like making that day, or any day. I do my larger grocery shop on Mondays so I can wipe out a couple days at least of recipe concepts. Lately, though, I’ve been scrambling. Flying by the seat of my pants and all that.

But tacos sounded good. Usually when I crave tacos, I don’t ignore that instinct; largely also because I don’t often crave much, the repetitive eater I am. Aaaand particularly at the present, since my diet has been all sorts of wonky and I had a bowl of granola and yogurt for dinner the other night. And wine. Great fucking combination, right?

So. A nice crispy batch of tacos felt right. I didn’t want to go to elaborate, too intense, and the buffalo pumpkin sauce from my pizza a couple weeks back spoke to me since I had everything around already. Lo and behold, a pinto bean taco was born amongst the creative ash.

Quick, tasty, and a nice reprieve from the autumnal diet of potatoes and stuffing us Americans will adopt come next week. Pantry staples, crisp shells, and a fucken cow’s worth of melted cheese. Don’t see anything controversial about that.

Punky Beans

A quick note: you can make crispy tortilla sells at home or buy them in a store. I usually get some yellow corn tortillas and make them myself, since I like the finished texture better and, well, it’s fun. The recipe card has my formula for foolproof shells, pretty much regardless of what brand of tortilla you use.

Now, to spill the beans on the beans. The cooking is pretty minimal; we’re basically just heating the beans and sauce together and incorporating a little fat by way of olive oil, for flavor.

Saute a diced onion in that aforementioned oil until nice and soft. Then, all the saucy components come in. First, your spices: smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Get those nice and toasty, then toss the beans around to incorporate all that goodness into your friendly legumes.

Wow, that sounded weird.

Next: pumpkin puree, buffalo sauce, a touch of honey, and a little beer or broth for moisture. Let all that simmer a little bit until thick and saucy.

The Taco Touch

…Is one of the most comforting of all comforts.

Grab your tortilla shells, whether you made or bought ’em. Stuff with the beans, then lots of shredded Mexican-blend cheese (usually cheddar and monterrey jack, amongst one or two other kinds).

Pop your tacos in the oven until melty and gooey. Doesn’t take long at all.

Topping your tacos is up to you. I almost always have green onions and cilantro around, and happened upon some feta in my fridge too. Cotija is traditional, though, so grab a block of that if you want. Ranch dressing is always a swell idea, or some sour cream/Greek yogurt. Go wild.

Also, as far as the buffalo sauce goes, you can definitely make some from scratch-ish, but honestly? It’s one of those condiments I buy because why go to the trouble. Store bought buffalo sauce is dope.

Happy Taco Tuesday-ing, friends!

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

Let’s give ’em something to taco bout:

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