Introducing mini Mexican cob loaf rolls: epic nacho-inspired bread bowls with spiced black beans, charred corn, fresh avocado and tortilla chips. Perfectly sized to kick off the party!
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
Just when you thought cob loaf couldn’t get any better – we made them mini. Now you get your very own individual bread bowl, no sharing required!
Most cob loaf recipes can be quite heavy, so we wanted to make a this Mexican flavour combo that leaves you feeling a little lighter and healthier.
Related: Chicken and Corn Cob Loaf / Supreme Pizza Cob Loaf
Making them ahead?
You can prep everything ahead of time, just don’t put it in cob loaf rolls until you’re ready to serve. Just quickly reheat the bean and tomato mix to save time before you pop it in the oven, then proceed with the recipe as usual – add those toppings and serve.
What is a Mexican Style Cob Loaf?
Cob loaf dip is traditionally a creamy spinach dip in a large bread loaf served at parties as a share plate. We wanted to push the envelope with today’s recipe – shrinking them down to single entree serves and having fun putting together Mexican flavours reminiscent of a Westernised nachos-style dish. The flavours are fresh, light with a punch of spice and zest.
These would work really well as an appetiser before serving up our Chicken Mole for your mains.
What You’ll Need
- Mexican Spice Mix – Sarah’s Mexican style spice seasoning is a perfect combo of paprika, cumin, chilli powder, cayenne, oregano, celery and garlic salt for maximum flavour easily made at home. Sub with 2 – 3 tsp of a pre-mix Mexican or taco seasoning if you prefer.
- Dinner Rolls – Look for some mini cob loaf style rolls such as crusty dinner rolls around 12 cm / 5 inches in diameter. They’re the perfect size for an individual portion.
- Corn – Canned or frozen corn works well. If you’re using frozen kernels, you’ll need around 3/4 cup.
- Black Beans – We use canned organic black beans, but you can sub for red kidney beans if you prefer. Just a nice soft bean that’s going to break down easily.
- Crushed Tomatoes – A can of crushed or diced tomatoes works well. We’ve also used fresh cherry tomatoes with a splash of passata or water for extra liquid.
- Mexican Cheese Mix – If you want to go super easy, grab a pre-shredded Mexican cheese mix. Otherwise, any cheese that’s nice and melty such as tasty, cheddar, colby and mozzerella work well.
- Avocado – Go freshly sliced avocado, or if it’s not in season you could buy premade guacamole or even avocado dip in a pinch.
- Salsa – Nothing beats a good, punchy salsa. We use local brand, Lucia’s, but use whatever you prefer. Same goes for spice level – mild or spicy is up to you and your guests.
- Tortilla Strips / Corn Chips – We are obsessed with tortilla strips at the moment. They’re the perfect length for dipping into these cobs and a little thicker than corn chips. But either work!
How to Make Mini Mexican Cob Loaf Rolls
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
- Slice off the tops of the 6 dinner rolls and pull out the insides, tearing them into large dipping pieces. Slice up the top lids into scoopable pieces as well.
For Sarah’s mexican style spice mix
- Pop your Hungarian paprika, ground cumin, celery salt, garlic salt, chilli powder, cayenne pepper and dried oregano into a small dish. Mix with a spoon until well combined.
For the cob filling
- Place your corn into a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook for around 5 – 10 minutes, until all the moisture evaporates and the kernels begin to slightly char around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (fan forced).
- In the same saucepan, add the rinsed black beans and cook for 5 – 10 minutes on medium heat until the moisture has evaporated and the beans become mushy. Add in your crushed tomatoes and Mexican spice mix, then stir until heated through (around 2-4 minutes). Optional: If you’re sauce is running a little dry, add ¼ cup of water and mix through.
- Switch off the heat and evenly distribute into your 6 mini cob loafs then top each with a sprinkle of the tasty cheese.
- Place them onto a tray and pop into the oven. Bake until the cheese has melted, around 3 minutes. Optional: You can lay the bread inside pieces out on a lined tray and place in the oven underneath the mini cob loaves to dry and crispen up for an alternative dipping experience.
- Now it’s time to layer up! Spoon in the sour cream, mild salsa, charred corn and avocado into the cobs.
- To serve, place a mini cob on each plate surrounded by the bread’s insides, and stick a few corn chips on the top to dip in as well.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Watch the Corn – Dry frying the corn adds such good flavour to your dish, but be careful as it can go from perfect to over burnt in 30 seconds! Cooking on a medium heat will help maintain that balance.
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
Best stored separate if you haven’t served them up yet. If there are leftovers, you could heat it up in the microwave or air-fryer for a couple of minutes, but the bread will be a little on the soggy side, so best eaten fresh. We don’t recommend freezing the cobs, although you can freeze any leftovers of the bean and tomato mix in an airtight container.
FAQs
If we ever have leftovers, we just let the bread dry out on the bench over a couple of days (or on your lowest setting in the oven until dried out). Once crispy and brittle, throw it in your food processor and blitz for 10-20 seconds for fresh breadcrumbs! Store in an airtight container in the cupboard and use as necessary as toppings for dishes like tuna mornay or chicken pasta bake.
Both! Well we love the bread base, bean mix and cheese warmed up in the oven, then the fresh cold toppings dolloped on top. It would also taste totally fine if it was cooled down or served cold.
Serving Ideas & Variations
- To Serve – Aside from extra bread and corn chips to dip, you may like to set the table with spoons to help dig into the bowls without making too much of a mess.
- Add Meat – We love adding some beef mince to the bean and tomato base if we want to make it more of a meal.
- Make it a Big Cob – You can serve this up in one big cob loaf like normal, it’s work just as well.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 6 dinner rolls approx 12 cm / 5 inches wide, round
For Sarah’s Mexican style spice mix
- 1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp celery salt
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp chilli powder we use Korean chilli flakes
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp oregano
For the filling
- 1 can corn 400 g / 14.1 oz, drained
- 1 can black beans 400 g / 14.1 oz, rinsed
- 1 can crushed tomatoes 400 g / 14.1 oz
- 1 ½ cups tasty cheese grated, sub cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
- 100 g sour cream 10.58 oz
- 100 g mild salsa 10.58 oz
- 1 avocado chopped, sub guacamole or avocado dip
- 100 g corn chips 6.17 oz
Instructions
- Slice off the tops of the 6 dinner rolls and pull out the insides, tearing them into large dipping pieces. Slice up the top lids into scoopable pieces as well.
For Sarah’s mexican style spice mix
- Pop your 1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp celery salt, ½ tsp garlic salt, ½ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp cayenne pepper and ½ tsp oregano into a small dish. Mix with a spoon until well combined.
For the cob filling
- Place your 1 can corn into a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook for around 5 – 10 minutes, until all the moisture evaporates and the kernels begin to slightly char around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (fan forced).
- In the same saucepan, add the rinsed 1 can black beans and cook for 5 – 10 minutes on medium heat until the moisture has evaporated and the beans become mushy. Add in your 1 can crushed tomatoes and Mexican spice mix, then stir until heated through (around 2-4 minutes). Optional: If you’re sauce is running a little dry, add ¼ cup of water and mix through.
- Switch off the heat and evenly distribute into your 6 mini cob loafs then top each with a sprinkle of the 1 ½ cups tasty cheese.
- Place them onto a tray and pop into the oven. Bake until the cheese has melted, around 3 minutes. Optional: You can lay the bread inside pieces out on a lined tray and place in the oven underneath the mini cob loaves to dry and crispen up for an alternative dipping experience.
- Now it’s time to layer up! Spoon in the 100 g sour cream, 100 g mild salsa, charred corn and 1 avocado into the cobs.
- To serve, place a mini cob on each plate surrounded by the bread’s insides, and stick a few 100 g corn chips on the top to dip in as well.
Video
Nutrition
2 Comments
Alex
02/02/2024 at 8:36 pmGreat I love it!
Wandercooks
05/02/2024 at 12:31 pmAww thanks heaps!