Sopes de Picadillo are deliciously crispy-golden sopes, topped with perfectly creamy refried beans and savory picadillo. This hearty, comforting Mexican dish has incredible flavor and is perfect for lunch, dinner, or gatherings.
Today's recipe combines three of my mom's specialties: sopes, frijoles refritos, and picadillo. Each part of this dish holds a special place in my heart and my taste buds.
The first part, a sope, is a thick, fried tortilla with a pinched rim around the edge that helps keep toppings in place. The second part consists of a layer of homemade, creamy refried beans.
Then, the sopes are topped with picadillo, a flavorful mixture of ground beef, vegetables and spices. Finally everything is topped off with an assortment of garnishes such as crumbled cheese, salsa, or sour cream.
It is a great meal that's great for lunch, dinner, or even parties. Let me show you how to make them.
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What is a Sope?
A sope (pronounced soh-peh) is a traditional Mexican dish similar to a thick tortilla, but with a pinched border.
They are easy to make and require masa harina and water to form a dough. The dough is then shaped into small, thick discs with short, raised ridges. They are then slightly cooked on a comal (griddle), then shallow-fried until golden, and finally topped with a variety of savory ingredients.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Amazing Flavor: In this recipe, crispy sopes are topped with a delicious combination of refried beans and picadillo creating a rich and satisfying flavor.
- Texture Contrast: An amazing texture variation with the sopes, that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the creamy refried beans, and the tender, savory mixture of meat and vegetables.
- Hearty and Nourishing: Just one of these sopes includes protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, making this recipe hearty, filling, and nutritious.
- Comfort Food: Sopes are a traditional Mexican dish that is considered comfort food by many, and this recipe is even more so with the added combination of all the warm, hearty ingredients.
The Ingredients
- Sopes: Sopes are the vehicles that will hold the rest of the ingredients in this recipe. Pre-made sopes can be store-bought, however homemade ones have a fresh flavor and texture that you can't get from store-bought ones. Besides, homemade sopes require only masa harina, water, and salt and are easy to make following my Mexican Sopes Recipe.
- Refried Beans: The sopes are first layered with refried beans. To achieve perfect refried beans, homemade pinto beans are mashed and fried in a pan with a little oil until they reach a creamy consistency.
- Picadillo: The next component of these sopes is picadillo, a flavorful mixture of ground beef, diced potatoes, and carrots that are coated in a tomato-based sauce.
- Toppings: It is easy to customize the toppings based on your preference. Some common toppings for these sopes include shredded lettuce, crumbled or shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, salsa, and sour cream.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
Refried black beans or Peruvian beans (also known as Mayocoba beans) can be used in place of refried pinto beans.
Ground beef is typically used to make picadillo, but ground turkey or chicken can also be used.
How to Make Picadillo Sopes
1. Prepare Picadillo
- Brown ground beef in a cast-iron skillet or pan, add diced onion, garlic and tomato. Season with salt, pepper and cumin.
- Add diced potatoes, carrots, broth and water and cook until fork-tender.
- Mix in tomato sauce and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cover, remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Prepare Refried Beans
- Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat, add cooked pinto beans and their liquid.
- Simmer and mash with a potato masher until smooth and creamy.
- Mix a bit more oil into the beans and cook until beans are slightly thickened and they no longer stick to the pan.
- Cover, remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Prepare Sopes
- Add the masa harina and salt to a mixing bowl. Add warm water and knead the dough until it is pliable and moist.
- Divide the dough into golf-ball sized portions and use a tortilla press (or bottom of a plate) to create thick tortillas.
- Cook the tortillas on a hot comal or skillet, remove from heat and pinch all around the edges to create short raised ridges.
- Shallow fry the sopes in oil in a large frying pan or cast-iron skillet until golden-brown and crispy on both sides.
4. Assemble Sopes
- Spread a spoonful of the refried beans on each sope.
- Top the beans with a couple of spoonfuls of the picadillo.
- Garnish with desired toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa. I chose to top mine with crumbled queso fresco and sautéed jalapeño slices.
- Serve.
How to Serve
Once assembled, serve these right away as the toppings will make the dough soggy and the sopes will fall apart.
These sopes make a delicious, hearty meal that is great for lunch or dinner. I recommend serving them with one of the following salsas and side dishes for an even heartier and satisfying meal:
- Salsas: Serrano Salsa, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Chile de Arbol, or Salsa Verde Taquera
- Side Dishes: Mexican White Rice with Corn, 4-Ingredient Guacamole, or Arroz Rojo
How to Store and Reheat
Store the individual components separately by doing the following:
- To store the sope shells, wait until they are completely cool. Then store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container lined with a paper towel for up to 2 days.
- The picadillo and beans can also be stored in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for 4 days.
When reheating:
- Bake the sope shells at 350°F for about 5 minutes, or until warmed through and slightly crispy. You can also place the sopes on a dry skillet or comal and warm for about 2-3 minutes on each side until heated through.
- The meat mixture can be reheated in a pan over medium heat until warmed through or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- The beans can also be reheated in a small pan on medium heat. Mix in a few tablespoons of water to rehydrate the beans if they have dried out.
Tips and Variations
- For a speedier process, make the picadillo and refried beans ahead of time. You can store them in airtight containers in the refrigerator and reheat when ready to use.
- If you have leftover assembled sopes you can wrap them individually in plastic wrap or foil and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Then, reheat them in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Just note that the sope shells will be a bit flimsier and could easily break.
- Serve with a variety of garnishes and allow each person to customize their sopes.
- This is a great party food. Simply, place all of the different components on various platters and allow people to assemble and garnish their own sopes.
FAQ
Yes, however, the flavor and texture of homemade are far superior. If you do use store-bought, just be sure to warm them up and you can even fry them in a little bit of oil to get them crispy.
You can freeze the sope shells without any of the toppings, as once assembled the toppings will alter the texture and flavor. To freeze the shells, place a piece of parchment paper between each sope to prevent them from sticking. Stack them in an airtight container or a freezer-safe plastic bag for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Yes, although refried beans are a common base for sopes, you could replace them with guacamole, sour cream, or only use the picadillo.
Yes, corn is naturally gluten-free as are all the ingredients used to make the beans and picadillo. Just be sure to check that your masa-harina and any other ingredients are certified gluten-free or haven't been cross-contaminated.
I hope you enjoy! If you try this recipe, please leave me a comment with a star rating below. Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest to stay in touch, and don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter.
Recipe
Sopes de Picadillo
Equipment
- cast-iron skillet or pan
- Comal or flat griddle
- Tortilla press or a plate or heavy, flat-bottomed pan
- Frying pan
- Tongs
Ingredients
Picadillo
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ white onion, diced
- 2 diced garlic cloves
- 1 diced Roma tomato
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into ¼" cubes
- 3 carrots, diced into ¼" cubes
- ½ cup hot water
- ½ cup chicken or beef broth
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
Sope Shells
- 2 cups masa harina
- 2 cups warm water
- pinch of salt (optional)
- oil for frying
Beans
- 3 cups warm refried beans
Garnishes
Instructions
Prepare Picadillo
- Brown ground beef in a cast-iron skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the meat.
- When almost completely browned, add onion and garlic and let them cook until translucent and aromatic, add tomatoes and cook for another minute.
- Season with salt, pepper and cumin and add diced potatoes, carrots, broth and water and mix together. Turn heat to medium-low, cover and allow the liquid to cook down for about 8-10 minutes.
- Once most of the liquid is consumed, test the potatoes with a fork. If they are fork-tender move onto the next step, if not, cover and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in the tomato sauce, cook for another minute and turn off heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Cover, remove from heat, and set aside.
Prepare Sopes
- Add the masa harina and salt to a mixing bowl. Add warm water and knead the dough until it is pliable and moist, but not sticky.
- Line both sides of a tortilla press (or the bottom of a plate) with two sheets of plastic (like from a ziplock bag) or parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into golf-ball sized portions and use the tortilla press (or bottom of a plate) to create thick tortillas, about ¼"- ½" thick and about 4" - 4 ½" in diameter.
- Cook the tortillas on a hot comal or skillet, remove from heat and pinch all around the edges to create short raised ridges.
- In a medium to large frying pan or cast-iron skillet, pour in enough cooking oil to cover the bottom of the pan with about ¼ inch of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, gently place 2-3 sope shells into the hot oil. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until they turn golden-brown and crispy.
- Place the fried sopes on a paper towel-lined plate or wire cooling rack to drain any excess oil.
Assemble Sopes
- Spread a spoonful of the refried beans on each sope.
- Top the beans with a couple of spoonfuls of the picadillo.
- Garnish with desired toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded or crumbled cheese, avocado, sour cream, salsa or sautéed jalapeño slices.
- Serve immediately.
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