Mexican molletes

Breakfast (or any meal, to be honest) can hardly get more comforting than this easy and delicious Mexican creation. Molletes loads cheese, beans and salsa fresca (pico de gallo) on bread and is as tasty as it sounds.

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When I first went to Mexico years ago, my parents came to visit at the end and we spend a few days based in Mexico City, seeing the sights there and going out of town on day trips. We packed a lot in to a few short days and there were so many great things we saw.

We also had some delicious Mexican food, including chicken mole and ice creams/sorbets such as mango paletas and watermelon sorbet.

I particularly remember some delicious breakfasts, which before then had never really been my thing. Since childhood, I was lucky if I had as much as a banana or slice of toast, apart from the occasional eggs and bacon if we had them on the weekends.

In Mexico, though, I discovered the delights of chilaquiles verdes, huevos rancheros and molletes.

What are molletes?

As with a few things, this depends which continent you are on. In Spain, a mollete is a type of bread roll, while in Mexico it is a breakfast sandwich. No doubt the latter evolved from the former, but became something quite different.

A Mexican mollete is simply an opened up bread roll topped with refried beans, cheese and pico de gallo (also known as salsa fresca). You could say it's like a Mexican beans on toast crossed with grilled cheese.

Sandwiches are pretty popular in Mexican cuisine as a lunch or snack, like a chorizo torta. Many have lots of toppings, but the simplicity of molletes makes them perfect for a quick breakfast. Though that said, they also make a great snack any time (think game day or after school!)

What kind of bread should you use?

The pan mollete bread from Southern Spain that it takes it's name from is a little different than what you traditionally use here. An Andalucian mollete is a round bread roll that is also popular for breakfast, but there you typically just toast and drizzle the bread with olive oil.

For the Mexican dish, you typically use bolillos, which are small French baguette-style rolls. They have a distinctive shape with pointed ends and a rounder middle.

If you can't find them, you can use mini-baguettes, or country-style rolls. Really, almost any white rolls that aren't too dense or too full of holes.

Choosing your toppings

In terms of the refried beans (frijoles refritos), you can use either the pinto bean or black bean version. Store-bought is fine for speed, but they are also really easy to make from scratch yourself - try my refried black bean recipe (also works for pinto beans).

Refried beans can also be very easily re-heated, so they are ideal to make to go with a meal, then use leftovers in this for breakfast a day or two later (or vice versa). You simply reheat them in a skillet over medium heat, adding a little water or stock if needed if they become too dry.

On cheese, you have a few choices - Mexican Oaxaca cheese is the more traditional authentic Mexican choice (it's a firm, meltable cheese similar to a dry mozzarella), but you could also use monterey jack or mozzarella. Cheddar could work, too.

Shredded cheese is easiest to stack on top of the beans, but I highly recommend grating yourself rather than using pre-shredded which has added anti-caking agent.

Molletes might not be as well known as some other Mexican dishes, but I think it might just be because it's so simple, it's kind of a national secret comfort food. Who knows, but it's definitely one cheesy sandwich you want to try!

Looking for more international breakfast ideas? Try these:

• Menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs)
• Swiss Bircher muesli
• Huevos a la flamenca (Spanish flamenco eggs, with chorizo and ham)
• Champorado (Filipino chocolate rice porridge)
• Syrniki (Ukrainian/Russian sweet cheese pancakes)
• Plus get more breakfast recipes and Mexican recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This post was first shared in April 2018 and has been updated, primarily with new photos.

Are you a grilled cheese fan? Try these other ideas on the theme:

• Bacon Brie Paninis by Bear & Bug Eats
• Butter Poached Lobster and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Cajun Tuna Grilled Cheese by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Grilled Cheese and Pepper Sandwiches by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Grilled Guacamole and Cheese by Palatable Pastime
• Open-Faced Grilled Caprese by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pear and Taleggio Grilled Cheese by The Redhead Baker
• Three Cheese Bacon and Jalapeno Grilled Cheese by Daily Dish Recipes

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