Guest post from Jill of The Prairie Homestead
If there is one food worth learning to make from scratch, it’s refried beans.
Homemade refried beans are:
1. Healthier -- Canned, store bought beans are usually full of hydrogenated oils and preservatives.
2. Frugal – I can get a 25-lb. bag of pinto beans from Azure Standard for around $25. That means I’m only paying about 75 cents for the beans I need to make this recipe. (This recipe makes at least as much as 2-3 cans from the store.)
3. Better tasting – To be perfectly honest, I despised refried beans for the longest time. It wasn’t until I learned how to make them myself that I discovered that I actually love them! Homemade refried beans have a much better texture and are full of flavor.
With reasons like that, you have to give these beans a try, at least once. 
Homemade Refried Beans
(Feel free to cut this recipe in half- it makes quite a lot. However, they also freeze well.)
- 4 cups cooked pinto beans (You may used canned whole beans if you like. I prefer to use dry beans and cook them myself. Directions follow below.)
- 3 T. healthy fat for sauteing (Butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, or lard would all work here. Avoid olive oil as it isn’t stable at high temperatures.)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 5 cloves minced garlic
- 2 1/2 t. cumin
- 2 t. paprika
- 2 t. sea salt
- 1/2 t. chili powder (more or less- the intensity of chili powders seems to vary)
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- Milk, as needed (water or bean broth can be used if your family is dairy-free. However, I prefer the richness that the milk adds.)
Directions:
To prepare dry beans, place the beans in a large bowl, cover with an ample amount of water and allow to soak overnight. (Keep in mind that 1 cup of dry beans equals approximately 3 cups of cooked beans).
The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Cover them generously with fresh water and simmer for several hours or until tender. A slow cooker works wonderfully for this as well! I like to make up a big batch of beans and freeze the leftovers in 2 cup portions.
In a large pot or saucepan, saute the onions in the fat until they are soft and translucent.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
Add the beans. If your beans are without liquid, you may need to add extra water or milk at this point. (I prefer to leave a little of the bean broth in with the beans when I freeze them.)
Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and black pepper.
Bring to a slow simmer and allow it all to cook on low heat for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If the mixture is dry, you may need to thin it with a splash of milk or water at this point. However, if you started out with extra liquid in your cooked beans, you may not need to add anything.
Once the beans have cooked down for a while and the flavors have had time to incorporate, mash them with a potato masher, fork, or my personal favorite: an immersion blender. I prefer slightly chunky beans, versus a super-smooth “puree” consistency.
Serve with tacos, burritos, or alongside chips as a dip. One of our favorite ways to eat refried beans is to make simple bean quesadillas with homemade tortillas, cheddar cheese, and dipped in sour cream.
Making refried beans from scratch transforms a rather boring side-dish to a flavor packed feature that just might end up being the main event on your menu. It’s worth giving them a try!
Jill writes from the homestead she shares with her husband, daughter, and ever-changing assortment of animals. When she’s not in the kitchen preparing traditional foods, you’ll find her outside riding horses, growing vegetables, milking her cow, and killing rattlesnakes. She blogs at The Prairie Homestead, where she enjoys encouraging readers to return to their roots, no matter where they may live.
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{ 42 comments... read them below or add one }
Great post!
I’ve made “refried” beans in the past, and they are SO easy! When I make a batch of beans in the crock pot, I just mash them with the cooking liquid for a quick version. You can do this with either pintos or black beans. My family is content with beans as a main dish once a week because there are SO many different options in cooking them.
That’s what I do to. In the crockpot with it’s own juices and a few seasonings (cumin, garlic, chili powder and salt). It’s SOOOO easy and cheap. We freeze them and pull them out as we use them.
I make refried beans in the crockpot and freeze the leftovers. I usually soak the beans for 24-36 hours with fennel seeds to de-gas and possibly sprout them before cooking.
Fennel seeds de-gas them?! I had no idea! Do you cook them with the fennel seeds still in them?
Nope I take them out before.
Jessica,
How much fennel seed do you add? thanks a bunch,
Refried beans are just something I won’t touch. Then about a year ago I made homemade ones and I was hooked! So much better than store bought!
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to freeze there, as in, what kind of containers do you use? I would love to hear it!
Those two cup twist close Ziploc containers are about the same size as one can.
I mix mine with taco meat and freeze it that way. Stretches the meat and is more efficient when we have tacos.
I also just use whatever tupperware or ziploc plastic containers I have hanging around. In a pinch, you could also use 1 quart freezer baggies. Just remember to label your beans– trust me, you won’t remember what they are after a month or two!
I use whatever tupperware-style plastic containers I have hanging around. You can also use a 1 quart freezer baggie in a pinch. Just remember to lable your beans– if you are like me, you won’t remember what they are after a month or so in the freezer!
I soak my beans with apple cider vinegar to remove anti-nutrients like phytic acid. 1tbsp per cup. It really does make a difference in digestion.
That’s great to know. I’ll try that next time I soak beans, Thanks!
Great recipe – can’t wait to try this one. I have only ever purchased refried beans from a can, and while they were quite good, I was concerned about the amount of sodium. I usually add some fresh cilantro and a squirt of lime juice if I’m using chili powder as a seasoning, though they also taste good with curry powder instead of chili (or use half and half.) These are great in wraps with rice and tomatoes too.
We love homemade refried beans! We use a crockpot…http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/02/28/crockpot-pinto-beans/
Thanks for the post! I want to try this.
I get tons of beans from wic
never sure what to do w them. This is great!
I used to be on WIC a long time ago, they gave us a bean recipe pamphlet style book. You could see if they have something similar. One of our favorite Bean recipes is called Bean Pie and it came from that book.
Ever since DH got cross contamination from a can of refried beans (he’s allergic to wheat), I’ve been making them from scratch. Recently we tried black beans instead of pinto and loved it!
This is timely. I’ve just set some pinto beans soaking and was going to look up a refried beans recipe online tomorrow to make.
Jill’s great. I’ve just been reading her new ebook, Your Custom Homestead. It’s fabulous. Right up my alley and so inspiring.
Wonderful timing! And thank you for the kind words Miss Emma.
I just made re fried beans tonight slightly different recipe but I will give this a try
Thanks for this. My daughter loves beans and rice like you get at the Mexican restaurant. Do you happen to have a good homemade recipe for rice like they serve in the Mexican restaurant to complement the beans?
We love this rice recipe. It is similar to the rice served in a local Mexican/Peruvian restaurant.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brazilian-White-Rice/
I once asked at a local restaurant (I am in Arizona) what the secret to their really creamy bean dip was, and they said mixing in a little bit of cream cheese. I do this all the time, and it is so good! Sorry, I don’t have a good Spanish Rice recipe.
This is my recipe for Spanish rice:
http://ourfrugalhappylife.blogspot.com/2011/06/recipe-homemade-spanish-rice-gluten.html
Thank you. You make this sound so appetizing that I want to try making them myself now too. Pinto beans on the shopping list.
Thanks so much! I’m not a huge refried bean fan, but I’m excited to have another canned item to easily make at home myself!
A few years ago we had a bunch of leftover pinto beans from a barbeque we had hosted. I’d never had homemade refried beans before, so I thought I would give them a shot. In my husband’s exact words “they make the canned stuff seem like catfood by comparison”.
This looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing! My husband lovvves refried beans!
I love refried beans. I add one tsp of chix broth concentrate and use bacon fat as the fat. Delish. Now I’m hungry!
I have been making refried beans for a long time. I cook a pot with some chopped up bacon. When they are done I use my hand mixer to mash them up and add shredded cheese. So easy, economical and best of all so much better than the canned beans.
Homemade refried beans are the best!! My favorite way to make them though is to use a pressure cooker. Often people are scared of pressure cookers, but they have electric ones now. You can go from dry beans to refried beans in less than an hour and half.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I was just talking with my daughter about doing this last week and was wondering how I was going to figure out how to do it. Now I have what I need thanks to you! Got a great bargain on tortillas and now I have the filling!!
We eat refried beans on a regular basis. We take the cooked pinto beans and just mash them in their own juice. We don’t add any extra lard, oil, etc. but we do love to sprinkle some cheese on top.
Anyone know how long you can keep the beans once you freeze them? Like a month, 6 months, what? I really want to try this because we eat mexican food a lot. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I have taken refried beans out of the freezer after 2-3 months and they’ve been fine. I use them often enough that they’ve never lasted longer than that because we ate them.
NO BACON???? A travesty!! MUST use bacon!
Oh yum!! These looks delicious, Jill!!
I don’t use recipes because I add species to my satisfaction. But I do add everything mentioned here (use bacon grease — yes, know that’s unhealthy). But I also add two other things 1) Fresh cilantro and 2) salsa my friend makes (which is diced tomatoes, tad of peppers).
Hmm when I read this recipe I was a little confused. So I turned to my coworker and asked her how she made refried beans. Her recipe was pretty much like the one I grew up with. You add a bit of oil and hit it up. Put in the beans and mash them up. Sometimes we will get creative and add some chorizo. The fat it releases is what we use to fry the beans with. But I have never heard of adding all those spices to refried beans. In my Mexican family, and most of the Mexicans I know, it’s all about being simple. It’s a quick side dish made from very inexpensive ingredients.
I have been making “refried beans” for a few years now. But I don’t actually “re-fry” them. I start with dried beans, soak overnight, then cook them in my pressure cooker (life saver) with chopped onion for 12 mins. Then I remove most of the liquid (save some in case I need to add it back later) add basically the same spices listed in your recipe and use my hand mixer to mush it up. So easy. Thanks for the inspiration. After reading this I decided to make a batch tomorrow. Just put beans in to soak.
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