These mini taco bites are an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer made with refried beans, cheese, and simple toppings. They're baked until melty, then finished with classic taco-style garnishes for a fun, meatless option that's perfect for parties.
What's great about this recipe
Great meatless option: Made with refried beans and cheese, these bites are a satisfying without the need for meat.
Easy to customize: Top them with sour cream, tomatoes, black olives, green onions, or whatever you like.
Perfect party food: Bite-sized, easy to serve, and always one of the first things to disappear.
Simple shortcut: Scoop-shaped tortilla chips make adorable mini taco shells and are easy to find in the chip aisle.
Ingredients you'll need
Tortilla chips - Scoop-shaped tortilla chips work best since they mimic little taco shells and hold the fillings well.
Refried beans - Use canned refried beans for convenience or homemade if you prefer. Choose vegetarian refried beans to keep the recipe meatless.
Cheese - Cheddar jack is used here, but cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, or a taco blend all work well.
Toppings - Sour cream, diced tomatoes, black olives, and green onions keep things classic. Feel free to customize with your favorite taco toppings.
📖 See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
How to make mini taco bites
Preheat the oven to 300°F
Arrange the tortilla scoop chips on a large baking sheet or a couple of smaller ones.
Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to add about ½ - ¾ teaspoon of refried beans in each tortilla
Top the refried beans with a pinch of cheese.
Bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Top each chip with a dollop of sour cream, followed by tomatoes, black olives, and green onions. For easier assembly, work in an assembly-line style, adding one topping at a time.
Arrange the taco bites on a serving board, tray, or platter. Serve and enjoy!
Makes about 50 pieces.
Recipe tips and notes
- Finely shredded cheese works best since the scoop chips are small.
- For easy dispensing, look for sour cream in a squeezable container. If that's not available, use a plastic squeeze bottle or transfer the sour cream to a zip-top bag and snip off a small corner.
- You'll likely find a few broken scoop chips in the bag. Set those aside for another use, like serving them with beef and bean chili.
Substitutions and variations
These are made with refried beans. Use traditional refried pinto beans or refried black beans. Both work well.
For a heartier option, add beef. The meat from our ground beef tacos recipe makes a quick, easy filling.
Toppings are easy to customize. Stick with the basics or mix things up with options like guacamole, diced white or red onion, shredded lettuce, garden fresh salsa, corn, sliced jalapeños, restaurant style salsa, or chopped cilantro.
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📖 Recipe
Mini Taco Bites
Ingredients
- 1 (10 ounce) Bag Scoop Shape Tortilla Chips (about 50 whole chips/half a bag)
- 16 ounces Refried Beans use canned or homemade refried beans
- ½ cup Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese finely shredded works best if available
- ¼ cup Sour Cream
- 2 medium Tomatoes seeded, flesh removed, and diced small
- ¼ cup Black Olives sliced or chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons Green Onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F
- Arrange the tortilla scoop chips on a large baking sheet. Using a small scoop or spoon add about ½ - ¾ teaspoon of refried beans in each tortilla chip. Leave enough room for the toppings.
- Top the refried beans with a pinch of cheese.
- Bake the tortilla chips for about 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Finally, top each chip with a dollop of sour cream, a few tomato pieces, black olives, and green onions.
- Arrange the mini taco bites on a serving tray, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Stir the refried beans well just before using to loosen them and make them easier to work with.
- A small cookie scoop makes dispensing the refried beans a snap.
- Purchase the sour cream in a squeezable container for easy dispensing. You can also use a plastic squeeze bottle or add the sour cream to a zip top bag and cut off a small piece of the corner.
- The quickest way to garnish the chips is to do it assembly-line style. First, dot each chip with the sour cream, then the tomatoes, and so on.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Deborah
Can you make these a day ahead?
Elizabeth
Hi Deborah, No they will get soggy. You can prep the ingredients (shred the cheese, prepare refried beans, slice toppings, etc.) and keep them in the refrigerator overnight.
M
What is the best way to keep these hot while transpoting to some place else (like a friend’s house)?
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Great question! These mini taco bites are tricky to keep hot when transporting. The tortilla scoops don’t hold heat well, and since the filling is light and they only bake a few minutes to melt the cheese, they cool down quickly. They’re also a bit delicate and can crack or tip over during transport.
The best option is to transport them unassembled. Warm the scoops with the beans and cheese at your destination, then add the cold toppings right before serving. That keeps them warm, intact, and looking their best.
Shreya
How long can they stay without getting soggy?
Elizabeth
Hi Shreya,
They hold up for a while. The refried beans are not saucy so they don't soak through like taco meat would.
Nicole
How many chips are a serving size?
Elizabeth
Hi Nicole,
A serving is 5 chips.