Street Staple · Folded Tortilla

Baleada

Photo: Ronny Medina / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

One popular legend claims the dish's name comes from a vendor nicknamed 'la baleada' after she was wounded by a stray bullet — not from any ingredient at all.

A baleada is a thick, hand-pressed wheat flour tortilla folded over refried red beans, crumbled cheese, and a tangy cream called mantequilla. Vendors sell it plain (sencilla) or loaded with eggs, avocado, chorizo, or shredded chicken as a heartier 'completa.'

Why it's made this way: It emerged in the 1960s in the port city of La Ceiba as cheap, portable fuel for laborers during Honduras's banana-export boom, and that simplicity is exactly why it spread to become a nationwide staple.

Roughly what's in it

400kcal

12gprotein

50gcarbs

16gfat

Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.

Read it in context →

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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.