Garnachas (Salbutes)
Belizean Garnachas Recipe – This classic dish from Belize is made with crispy tortillas loaded with black beans or shredded chicken (for Salbutes), plus lots of tasty toppings!
Garnachas vs Salbutes: What is the Difference?
This simple dish from Belize and Guatemala is similar to a Mexican tostada or slopes and features plenty of goodies loaded on top of crispy fried tortillas. However, instead of toppings like thick refried pinto beans and guacamole, classic Central American Garnachas feature thin refried black beans topped with a cabbage slaw and tangy queso fresco.
Salbutes are similar to Garnachas. However, instead of black beans, traditional Salubutes recipes include stewed chicken made with slow-cooked shredded chicken and red salsa. For this easy version you can use our slow cooker chicken taco meat recipe to replicate this, subbing red salsa for the green salsa.
Why We Love Salbutes
My daughter Ava spent three months in Belize this year living with two separate host families. Garnachas was one of the most common recipes they made at home, and are among her favorite dishes to make since she’s been back!
Although you can order Garnachas (and Salbutes, the chicken version) at restaurants, they are very simple to make at home in only 30 minutes, and they taste delicious!
Rustic and amazingly flavorful Garnachas always include four elements:
- A small fried corn tortilla, fried until crisp like a tostada.
- A smear of thin refried black beans.
- A simple slaw, usually made of finely shredded cabbage tossed with lime juice and salt.
- And a sprinkling of queso fresco.
There are variations, but this is the classic base.
Ingredients You Need
- Yellow corn tortillas – the tiny street taco size is best
- Vegetable oil – or other preferred high heat and neutral-flavored oil for frying
- Refried black beans – canned or homemade
- Vegetable broth – or chicken broth
- Cabbage slaw – look for “angel hair” slaw in the bags
- Lime juice – fresh, not bottled
- Queso fresco – or shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
- Pico de gallo – optional
Recipe Variations
- Make homemade corn tortillas for the most authentic version. Make them around 3 inches wide.
- You can also make homemade refried beans in the Instant Pot! Use our recipe subbing black beans for the pintos.
- Sometimes garnachas include sliced tomatoes, onions, habanero sauce, and even pickled vegetables. Here I added pico de gallo* to offer an easy store-bought fresh topping for the garnachas. However, in the most traditional versions, you would simply thinly slice the tomatoes and onions. Feel free to add whatever toppings you like!
*Ava approved my slight alteration. *wink*
How to Make Garnachas
First, place a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add the refried black beans and vegetable broth. Stir well to mix, then simmer until the black beans are thin, but spreadable, about 10 minutes.
Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet. Set a holding plate to the side and line it with paper towels.
Once the oil is hot, fry 3 to 4 tortillas at a time, until very crisp. Make sure to flip and fry on both sides. Then move them to the holding plate and repeat with the oil and additional tortillas.
Set out a medium mixing bowl. Add the cabbage slaw to the bowl; then drizzle lime juice over the top. Sprinkle generously with salt and toss.
Once the beans and tortillas are ready, assemble the Garnachas.
- Spread a tablespoon of thin refried black beans over the top of each crispy tortilla.
- Then top with a sprinkling of slaw…
- Add a sprinkling of pico de gallo…
- And a sprinkling of queso fresco.
Get the Complete (Printable) Garnachas Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
How to Make Salbutes with Chicken
The bulk of this recipe is the same. However, instead of the black bean layer we add shredded chicken to the fried tortillas.
The chicken taco meat can be made a day or so ahead of time, so assembling the Salbutes is a snap when ready to enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Like tostdas and sopes, Belizean Garnachas are scrumptious to enjoy with Fluffy Yellow Rice or Crispy Patatas Bravas. Or pair them with any of your favorite Mexican and Central American-inspired side dishes!
And of course, feel free to add other toppings! Serve with a bowl of cold and delicious homemade guacamole or taco dip, melty queso, and freshly made salsa.
They are also super tasty to eat on their own as a hearty snack.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make gluten-free Garnachas?
Many corn tortillas are naturally gluten-free, but be sure to check the label. All other ingredients should be gluten-free as well.
What other toppings can you put on Garnachas or Salbutes?
While this classic Garnachas recipe is a vegetarian dish made with black beans, you can certainly add other proteins you prefer! Try carne asada or ground beef, carnitas with pork, refried pinto beans, or even fluffy scrambled eggs.
How long do Garnachas last?
These are best served fresh, but if the tortillas are crispy enough, they will hold up for a couple of hours to serve at a Mexican-inspired potluck.
Looking for More Delicious Dishes from Mexico and Central America?
- Mole de Allo
- Roasted Vegetable Tostadas
- Red Tacos Jalisco (Quesabirria Tacos)
- Guatemalan Fiambre Salad
- Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Garnachas Recipe (Salbutes)
Ingredients
- 24 small yellow corn tortilla buy the tiniest “street taco” size
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 15 ounce can refried black beans
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 cups cabbage slaw look for “angel hair” slaw in bags
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 cup crumbled queso fresco
- 1 cup pico de gallo optional
- Salt
Instructions
- Set a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add the refried black beans and vegetable broth. Stir well to mix, then simmer until the black beans are thin, but spreadable, about 10 minutes.
- Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet. Set a holding plate to the side and line it with paper towels. Once the oil is hot, fry 3 to 4 tortillas at a time, until very crisp. Make sure to flip and fry on both sides. Then move them to the holding plate and repeat with the oil and additional tortillas.
- Set out a medium mixing bowl. Add the cabbage slaw to the bowl. Then drizzle lime juice over the top. Sprinkle generously with salt and toss.
- Once the beans and tortillas are ready, assemble the Garnachas. Spread a tablespoon of thin refried black beans over the top of each crispy tortilla. Then top with a sprinkling of slaw, a sprinkling of pico de gallo, and a sprinkling of queso fresco.
One slight correction to the information here, salbutes is not made with fried corn tortillas. What is called salbutes here is actually called tostadas (also spelled tostados depending on who you ask). Salbutes in Belize is actually a similar recipe made from fried masa (corn dough) and topped with pretty much the same things as tostadas. Regardless I love making and eating all three of them and was taught how while living in Corozal as a child.
The recipe looks good but it’s not authentic. This version should be re-named to Belizean Inspired.
Salbutes and Garnaches/garnachas are not the same thing, except for having diff toppings as you are portraying it. They are similar in that they are a tortilla with toppings but that is it. The tortilla that the salbutes is made on is softer than the hard fried corn tortilla that the garnaches/garnachas is made on. Salbutes topping is chicken and cabbage and onions. Garnaches/garnachas toppings are beans, cheese, onion sauce, and for some people ketchup or a tomato sauce.
You are absolutely correct my mother is from Belize and she used to make it with majority of time either salsa or like a spaghetti sauce and at times she would put shredded parmesan or grated Parmesan cheese on top for the base and that’s what me and my siblings grew up with as well as my cousins and everybody else that came from Belize.
I get highly offended when I see people come into my country, Belize and rewrite our recipes incorrectly.
Garnaches is nothing like Salbutes other than both are made from corn in 2 absolutely different method of preparation.
Furthermore Garnaches is made with an onion sauce not Cabbage sauce. Now if someone prefers cabbage over onion for whatever reason, then that is their preference but it does not change the authentic way of how it is made.
Secondly, queso fresco is not the authentic cheese to put on Garnaches, DUTCH CHEESE IS AKA RED BACK CHEESE.
I have had to correct or national dish where they called boil up as a national dish, they called our Sereh Hudut. And so many others that have been labeled or incorrectly made and called authentic there is nothing wrong with changing a recipe to suit somebody and call it another version of but don’t change it and call it authentic.
Hi Emjay,
I’m so sorry to offend you! Please understand, the method I shared is how my daughter was taught to make Garnaches while living in Belize… by two separate Belizean families. Of course, these families might have made their own tweaks to what is considered the most “authentic” method. They may have also made them with only the resources they had available to them in their villages. However, they were both making Garnaches via the method shown, and they were born and raised in Belize.
It is never our intention to misrepresent foods that originate in and are cherished by a certain culture/county. Yet please note, our readership is made up of 90-95% citizens of the United States. Therefore, we try to use ingredients, equipment, and methods that are available to the majority of our readers, so that the largest amount of people can successfully make an international recipe at home. This means there are times we slightly adjust an ingredient or method in the hopes it will help average cooks obtain ingredients and achieve good results.
We also sometimes add additional titles to a recipe (like Salbutes) because people unknowingly use these words interchangeably, and therefore search for recipes in the same way.
We hope you will offer grace to our method of sharing recipes, and trust that we only want more people to be able to experience the amazing dishes we love from locations around the globe.
These are so flavorful! Crispy, fresh, and delicious with all the toppings. I want to try the chicken version next time.
I love it!! Easy to make and really delicious!! Thank you for this recipe!
Super loved it! This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again!
So easy to make and loaded with flavor! Loved it!
I never knew that this recipe existed, but after trying it, I dont think that I can live without it! thank you for sharing this recipe
You forgot sweet ketchup