Blue Masa Bean Cakes (Tlacoyos)
Oval cakes of blue corn masa, stuffed with smoky refried beans and griddle-cooked until lightly crisp, then piled high with tender nopales, crumbled cheese and fresh salsa. A pre-Hispanic street food that still rules Mexico City's markets.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Mix the dough
In a large bowl, mix the masa harina with the salt. Add the warm water little by little, kneading with your hands until you get a soft, smooth dough, like playdough, that does not crack at the edges. Mix in the oil, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes so the water fully hydrates the corn.
- 400 g blue masa harina
- 480 ml warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil or lard
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, holds together and a small ball doesn't crack when pressed flat
Cook the bean filling
Heat the lard in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the beans with a splash of their liquid, the and a pinch of salt, and mash them in the pan with a fork or potato masher. Keep stirring and frying for 8–10 minutes until the beans turn into a thick, dry-ish paste that holds its shape on a spoon; this is key, loose beans will leak and tear the tlacoyos later.
- 300 g cooked beans
- 2 tbsp lard or oil
- 1/4 chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 sprig
- to taste salt
✅ Done when: the mashed beans are thick enough to hold a mounded spoonful without spreading
Cook the nopales
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Shape and stuff the tlacoyos
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Griddle-cook
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Serve
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Mix the dough
In a large bowl, mix the masa harina with the salt. Add the warm water little by little, kneading with your hands until you get a soft, smooth dough, like playdough, that does not crack at the edges. Mix in the oil, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes so the water fully hydrates the corn.
- 400 g blue masa harina
- 480 ml warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil or lard
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, holds together and a small ball doesn't crack when pressed flat
Cook the bean filling
Heat the lard in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the beans with a splash of their liquid, the and a pinch of salt, and mash them in the pan with a fork or potato masher. Keep stirring and frying for 8–10 minutes until the beans turn into a thick, dry-ish paste that holds its shape on a spoon; this is key, loose beans will leak and tear the tlacoyos later.
- 300 g cooked beans
- 2 tbsp lard or oil
- 1/4 chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 sprig
- to taste salt
✅ Done when: the mashed beans are thick enough to hold a mounded spoonful without spreading
Cook the nopales
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Shape and stuff the tlacoyos
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Griddle-cook
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
The name tlacoyo comes from the Nahuatl tlahtlaoyoh, and the dish is thought to date back to Aztec times, when farming communities in the central highlands stuffed corn dough with beans or fava to make a filling, portable meal. Blue corn, prized for its flavour and the striking colour its anthocyanin pigments give the masa, has long been grown alongside white corn in these same valleys.
Tlacoyos remain a fixture of markets and street corners across central Mexico, especially around Mexico City, where chinampa farmers in areas like Milpa Alta and Xochimilco still grow much of the country's nopal, the cactus that so often tops this dish.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Tlacoyos are loved because they turn a handful of humble staples, corn, beans, nopal and cheese, into a complete, satisfying meal; the deep blue masa and bright green nopales make them one of the most photogenic antojitos in Mexico.
💡 Fun Fact
Blue corn gets its colour from anthocyanins, the same pigments that colour blueberries and purple cabbage, and many cooks believe its flavour is deeper and sweeter than white corn.
Central Mexican highlands (Mexico State, Puebla, Mexico City)
19.18°N, -99.02°W
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