Refried Beans – chunky, smooth, and delicious bean dish cooked, mashed, and served as a delightful side dish to tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and dips. You can’t go wrong with these refried beans!
I have always been a Bean Lover ever since when I was young. From stews, soups to salads – I do appreciate the full glory of beans. They’re best served with plantains and rice and even more enjoyable on their own like my recent Homemade Baked Beans.
I thought that’d be it, but boy, never had I been so impressed than when I first had these refried beans that go perfectly with almost anything.
What are refried beans?
Refried beans, or frijoles refritos in Spanish, is a dish made with cooked beans, then sauteed with a couple of spices and seasonings and added with water before it’s mashed thoroughly.
They’re like the Mexican counterpart of Mashed Potatoes. Smooth, creamy, flavorful, and addictive side dish perfect with any Mexican meals (burritos, enchiladas, tacos, etc.), rice or as a snack dip.
Are refried beans healthy?
Pinto beans and other beans are healthy in their nature. It’s packed with nutrients, primarily with fiber and protein, that benefit weight management. And they’re a great source of plant-based protein! Additionally, it keeps you satisfied for quite a long time which helps you not to overeat.
However, when pinto beans are cooked with saturated fat, like that of lard and bacon, it becomes unhealthy. So if you want to err on the side of caution, by all means, use vegetable oil or unsaturated fats to sauté the beans.
Canned Refried Beans
What if I use canned pinto beans?
You can always use canned pinto beans. First, you have to carefully drain the liquid before putting the beans in a pot and adding water. But just a heads up though, cooked dried beans have more earthy and layered flavors, making it a favorite choice.
Uses of Refried Beans
Refried beans are a healthy side dish alongside this Mexican Rice here or as a great replacement for whole beans in your favorite Burritos and Tacos. It also makes a great snack on its own or as a dip to chips or Flatbread. It’s amazingly versatile!
And the flavors are on point. It’s slightly sweet, earthy, buttery, minty, and fresh with a little heat. Not to mention the appetizing bacon drippings used in cooking these beans. It has layers of great flavors for a side dish!
Never think you’ve had enough with beans until you try this super easy and versatile side dish refried beans. It never hurts to try a new dish. 😉
Enjoy!
How to Make Refried Beans
- Prep the beans: Rinse dry pinto beans and pick through and discard any foreign object. Skip this step if you get good quality packaged pinto beans.
- Soak in cold water: Add beans to a large pot covering 3-4 inches of cold water. Cover and let sit on the counter for about 8 hours or preferably overnight.
- Drain and rinse. Once beans are soft, drain and rinse. Transfer to a dutch oven. Cover the beans with 1-2 inches of water. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook beans until tender about 60 minutes or more. If using a pressure cooker, follow instructions for cooking beans in your manual. It takes roughly between 8 to 12 minutes to cook.
- Saute. Heat lard or bacon drippings in a heavy skillet over medium heat, then add finely diced onions, garlic, cumin, and chili pepper. Saute for about 3 minutes or until onions are wilted.
- Add beans and salt. Stir in pinto beans, and salt to taste. Continue stirring until beans are fully combined with other ingredients and heated through.
- Add water: Add about a 1/4 cup of water, or use water from the cooked beans and mash with a potato masher, until they are a rough puree.
- Garnish: You may add more water if for desired texture. Remove and serve on a plate or bowl. Garnish with cheese, jalapeno pepper, crispy bacon, cheese, and minced cilantro
Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp lard, bacon drippings, vegetable oil, or butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked pinto beans
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
Instructions
- Rinse dry pinto beans and pick through and discard any foreign object.You might skip this step , if you get a good quality packaged pinto beans.
- Add beans to a large pot covering with 3-4 inches of cold water. Cover and let sit on the counter for about 8 hours or preferably overnight.
- Once beans is soft , drain and rinse. Transfer to to a dutch oven.
- Cover the beans with an 1-2 inch of water. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook beans until tender about 60 minutes or more .
- If using a pressure cooker, follow instructions for cooking beans in your manual. It takes roughly between 8 to 12 minutes to cook.
- Heat lard or bacon drippings in a heavy skillet over medium heat, then add finely diced onions, garlic, cumin and chili pepper. Saute for about 3 minutes or until onions is wilted.
- Stir in pinto beans, and salt to taste. Continue stirring until beans is fully combined with other ingredients and heated through.
- Add about a 1/4 cup of water, or use water from the cooked beans and mash with a potato masher until they are a rough puree. You may add more water if for desired texture. Remove and serve on a plate or bowl.
- Garnish with with cheese, jalapeno pepper, crispy bacon and minced cilantro.
Tips & Notes:
- If you're short on time, you can use canned pinto beans. Make sure to drain it well before adding it to the pot.
- Aside from pinto beans, you can also use black beans, chickpeas, or cannellini.
- To make it healthier, you can skip the bacon drippings and replace them with vegetable oil or any unsaturated fat.
- You can mash them by hand using a potato masher or with an appliance like a food processor or stick blender.
- Mash beans to desired consistency.
- Garnish with cheese, jalapeno pepper, crispy bacon, cheese, and minced cilantro.
Dawn says
Recipe was great! I used butter since that’s what I had on hand, and I didn’t feel it needed salt.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Dawn!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the refried beans recipe! Using butter is a wonderful alternative.
It’s great that you found the dish flavorful enough without the need for additional salt. That’s the beauty of cooking at home—you can easily adjust recipes to suit your own taste preferences.
Thank you for sharing your experience and your tweaks to the recipe. It’s feedback like this that helps everyone become a better home cook. Happy cooking! ️✨
Diana says
I made it and I dare say, needs salt,
Emely Kgomo says
Nice food
imma africanbites says
I agree.Thank you for dropping by!
Rizqi Angga says
Wow, that looks really good. It will be perfect if carefully made. if you wish you could visit my article at https://mesinparutkelapa.id/cara-membuat-nasi-uduk/
gregory anderson says
I’m not sure why I cannot leave a message here and read it while I’m typing. Strange. I love refried beans, and am glad that I can now eat Immaculate Beans. hahaha
The only addition I make is adding a bit of unsweetened cocoa, about 1 Tbsp for this recipe. I haven’t tried it with plantains and rice but it will be on our next plate.
Thank you so very much.
ImmaculateBites says
What! Cocoa powder in beans ? Oh my … Can’t wait to try it out.
Thanks Greg! Always excited to hear from you .