1. Homemade refried beans are healthier — Canned, store-bought beans are usually full of hydrogenated oils and preservatives.
2. Homemade refried beans are cheaper — I can buy a 25-lb. bag of organic pinto beans from Azure Standard for around $40. That means I’m only paying about $1.60 per pound of dry beans… which makes as much as 4 cans of beans from the store.
3. Homemade refried beans taste much better — 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 I actually love them! Homemade refried beans have a much better texture and are full of flavor.
For reasons like that, you have to give these beans a try, at least once!
What are Refried Pinto Beans?
Refried beans are traditionally Pinto Beans that are soaked and cooked in water (to soften) then mashed and mixed with a variety of spices and seasonings.
They are rich in protein and fiber and pair well with many Hispanic foods.
Why are they called refried beans?
“Refried” doesn’t mean the beans have been “fried twice”. In fact, refried beans aren’t ever “fried”!
The word “refried” comes from the Spanish name, “frijoles refritos” — or beans that are “well fried”.
Refried beans are traditionally made with pinto beans, but black beans or even kidney beans can be substituted.
Refried Bean Recipe Substitutions and Additions
Homemade refried beans are a very forgiving recipe — so feel free to use whatever you have in your pantry, or whatever your family’s taste buds prefer!
Substitute black beans for pinto beans.
Try shallots or scallions instead of onions.
Mix up the spices and seasonings to spice things up, if that’s your style.
Add more milk to make them creamier or broth to thin them out.
Top the finished beans with a variety of cheese for extra flavor and protein!
How to Make Refried Beans from Scratch
1. To prepare the beans, place dry 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).
2. 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!
3. In a large pot or saucepan, saute the onions in fat until they are soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add the cooked 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.)
5. Stir in cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and black pepper.
6. 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.
7. Once the beans have cooked down 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.
8. Serve with tacos, burritos, or alongside chips as a dip.
How to serve this recipe for Refried Beans
Refried beans make for an easy lunch or after-school snack — simply wrap them up with some cheese in a tortilla and serve them as a bean and cheese burrito.
We love using homemade refried beans in this easy layered nacho dip with chips.
Southwest roll-ups are another tasty treat and a wonderful way to use homemade refried beans.
One of our favorite ways to eat refried beans is to make simple bean and cheese quesadillas with homemade tortillas, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. YUM!
Storing Refried Pinto Beans
The beauty of using dried beans is that they are self-stable for years!
Once cooked, however, you can keep your pinto beans refrigerated for up to a week, or freeze them for longer storage (see notes below).
Similarly, you’ll want to refrigerate your prepared refried beans in any food storage container or glass jar for up to a week or freeze them for later.
Freezing Refried Beans
Cooked pinto beans freeze surprisingly well. I like to freeze them in 2-cup containers and use 4 cups whenever I’m ready to make refried beans.
You can also freeze fully-prepared refried beans and simply defrost them whenever you want a fast and easy side dish.
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!
Homemade Refried Beans FAQs
Are refried beans always made with lard?
Nope — that’s a popular traditional recipe though. You can use any type of “fat” you have in the house. I prefer butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, or lard. Olive oil isn’t stable at such high temps so I usually avoid that fat for this recipe.
What spices should I add to refried beans?
This depends on what you want the finished product to taste like! I always like lots of onions and garlic. Also, salt and pepper are a must for homemade beans. Cumin, paprika, and chili powder are my go-to spices, but you can also add cayenne pepper if you want a little extra heat!
Why do people put milk in refried beans?
Milk is thought to make the beans creamier… but if you have any dairy intolerances, you can easily substitute water, bone broth, or even some of the liquid from cooking the beans.
Are homemade refried beans better than canned?
I suppose this is an opinion… but I’d say a resounding YES! Homemade refried beans have so much more flavor and a much better texture too!
Can I make refried beans in a slow cooker?
Yes, you can add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours, checking after 5 hours to make sure there’s enough liquid. We’ve used this slow cooker recipe many times and LOVE it!
½tsp.chili powder more or less, depending on how spicy you want your beans
½tsp.black pepper
milkoptional if you want to thin the beans
Instructions
To Soak The Dried Beans
In a large bowl, cover dried beans with cold water and let soak overnight.
The next day, drain and rinse beans.
Place soaked beans in a large stockpot, cover with water, and simmer for several hours, or until tender (you may also do this in a slow cooker for 6 hours on high)
To Prepare Refried Beans
In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until they are soft.
Add minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes longer.
Add the beans and a little bean broth or milk.
Stir in cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and pepper.
Cover pot and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occationally.
Mash the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender until smooth.
Add a bit of milk or broth if you want a thinner consistancy.
Serve as a side dish to your favorite Mexican food, or freezer for later!
Jill writes from the homestead she shares with her husband, 3 children, and an 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.
We love comments from readers, so chime in with your thoughts below! We do our best to keep this blog upbeat and encouraging, so please keep your comments cordial and kind.Read more information on our comment policy.
Kristinsays
During the COVID lockdown, I found myself needing a can of refried beans – I couldn’t find any But I found a bag of dried pinto beans. I have never made pintos before – but desperate times call for desperate measures – so I found your recipe. We found the flavor to be so much better than the canned ones – I didn’t think it would matter with beans but it does! I have made this multiple times in the last few months – they freeze beautifully so I double the recipe now. I will never buy canned refried beans again! The only change I made is to cut the salt in half, we found the first batch a little too salty – but I do the refried part in a cast iron skillet – they may be why. Thank you for this Keeper Recipe!
Megsays
Thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Yay!! -Meg, MSM Team
Stepheniesays
Cooked all…2 recipes to screw it up. Not cooked all the way… Almost. Trying to cook again stove top 4 hors or will trash it…. savior ideas?
Bobbiesays
What temperature do I simmer the beans on the stove at? Is it a low boil?
I love your recipe! I’ve been making these for years now. I just made them again tonight and I decided it was time to let you know how much my family loves these beans. There so much better than canned beans and I love that there’s hardly any fat. Thanks for the recipe!
Amandasays
How long do you cook them in the crock pot?
Noelle Adamssays
My husband cannot stop raving about this recipe. It is exceptional! Simple and delicious. No more canned refried beans for us! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Sarahsays
These refried beans are really easy and delicious. You probably have all of the ingredients in the cupboard. Cooking dried beans is time consuming but worth it.
Anne Mariesays
These are absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Yummy!
It’s no coincidence that so many great affordable recipes are Mexican-inspired, love making refried beans for dipping chips, tacos, burritos – YUM.
Alexandrasays
Hi I was wondering if bacon fat (though I know not the healthiest choice) would work for the healthy fat portion….we’ve recently discovered my 16 month old has allergies to dairy, soy, corn, tuna and coconut so it largely limits what I can use but this recipe sounds delicious! Thank you!
Brandysays
How many serving does this recipe make? I’m I retested because I’m have a party with about 30 people. I need to know weather to double or triple this recipe. Thanks in advance!
Laurasays
Actually, olive oil is the most stable at high temperatures when cooking!
Kelly he is learningsays
Wow ty! I was slightly beside myself wishing I could use olive oil! It shall be olive oil in the near future! (Hope I don’t die ?)
Jodisays
How well do the frozen beans hold up? If I wasn’t planning on mashing them afterward and wanted to leave them as beans. Do they still taste as good, or is it really noticeable they were frozen? Making large batches of beans makes us sick to death of them before we finish the bag off, but smaller batches cause me to almost never use them. Even in a crockpot they take too long to make, but I don’t like the canned beans. I would rather make the dry ones myself.
I cook beans in large batches and freeze them with no issues. I never buy canned ones anymore.
Kassiesays
As I read the end, I was eating a bean quesadilla dipped in sour cream as I was reading this recipe. Trying it now.
Juliesays
When cooking the beans in a crock pot, do I need to cook the beans first before adding the spices or can I do it altogether?
Andreasays
OMG! Thanks and praise to be to God. And thank you for this post. I love refried beans but have not had them in years because I can’t stand the canned version. For a change in pace for dinner last night I made Mexican and wanted beans and wondered how easy it would be to make my own…then I came across your post. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I made these last night and they were absolutely amazing! And super easy to make. I will definitely make these again. Thank you ☺
Made these last night and it was really good, even though I used wrong type of beans. Will try again with Pinto beans 🙂
Daniellesays
I just wanted to let you know that I make these refried beans all. the. time. They are so delicious and easy! Thank you so much for the awesome recipe. My family and I love it!
If using bean broth or water, would it be okay to can this recipe rather than freezing? Knowing it is EXTREMELY dangerous to can any milk product, I was just wondering if there was another reason home-canner’s could not preserve them this way.
I know this is too late for this reply to this person but for those in the future who read the comment; the answer to this is you cannot home can refried beans but you can home can pinto (or other dried beans) beans. Check out one if the sites that make canning jars, like Ball or Kerr.
stacy rsays
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.
Veronicasays
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.
Mimi Bairdsays
Veronica, since your family is Mexican any good recipes for spanish rice??
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).
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.
Marcelainesays
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.
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.
Carolsays
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!!
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.
Beckysays
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.
karensays
I love refried beans. I add one tsp of chix broth concentrate and use bacon fat as the fat. Delish. Now I’m hungry!
Jennifersays
When do you add the bacon fat or broth and seasoning? I cook my in a crock pot
Brookesays
This looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing! My husband lovvves refried beans!
Patricesays
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”.
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?
Hollysays
We love this rice recipe. It is similar to the rice served in a local Mexican/Peruvian restaurant.
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.
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!
Gracesays
I get tons of beans from wic
never sure what to do w them. This is great!
Sakurasays
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.
Katesays
Hey Grace, http://eatfresh.org/ is made for folks using WIC/ Calfresh in California. It is full of great healthy recipes using beans and (and other WIC ingredients). You might find it helpful
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.
Amandasays
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!
Carl Hsays
Vinegar also can make the beans’ husks harder to chew, as can too much salt too early.
If you want to make an even healthier version of “refried” beans, smooth creamy, and thick… Make sure you only use enough water to cover the beans plus maybe half an inch.. And then once they’ve been cooked thoroughly, use a potato masher and smash them up and mix it all about over a low simmer.
No muss, no fuss, no extra steps!
Vanessasays
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!
BethBsays
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.
Courtniesays
I learned from a good friend to cook my pinto beans with chiharonie or how ever it’s spelled. The ones from the Mexican market with meat on them. Refried they taste great like carnitas in a tortilla with all the toppings. Cheap and kids love them
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! 🙂
Lanasays
Do you know of the beans being canned instead of freezing after cooked?
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! 😉
Rosasays
And put a date on them.😊
Heathersays
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!
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.
Jennifersays
Fennel seeds de-gas them?! I had no idea! Do you cook them with the fennel seeds still in them?
I don’t know how much fennel to use , But I would try maybe a tbsp in a cheesecloth ball. That way it can be removed before cooking the beans. I know chewing on fennel seeds when you feel bloated, helps. It is also the ingedient in children’s gripe water that is used for colic.
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.
yvonnesays
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.
Megansays
I have tried making homemade retried beans in the crock pot before, but I returned to your recipe because they were so much more flavorful!! Great recipe. I’m making them for the fifth time right now.
During the COVID lockdown, I found myself needing a can of refried beans – I couldn’t find any But I found a bag of dried pinto beans. I have never made pintos before – but desperate times call for desperate measures – so I found your recipe. We found the flavor to be so much better than the canned ones – I didn’t think it would matter with beans but it does! I have made this multiple times in the last few months – they freeze beautifully so I double the recipe now. I will never buy canned refried beans again! The only change I made is to cut the salt in half, we found the first batch a little too salty – but I do the refried part in a cast iron skillet – they may be why. Thank you for this Keeper Recipe!
Thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Yay!! -Meg, MSM Team
Cooked all…2 recipes to screw it up. Not cooked all the way… Almost. Trying to cook again stove top 4 hors or will trash it…. savior ideas?
What temperature do I simmer the beans on the stove at? Is it a low boil?
I love your recipe! I’ve been making these for years now. I just made them again tonight and I decided it was time to let you know how much my family loves these beans. There so much better than canned beans and I love that there’s hardly any fat. Thanks for the recipe!
How long do you cook them in the crock pot?
My husband cannot stop raving about this recipe. It is exceptional! Simple and delicious. No more canned refried beans for us! Thanks for posting. 🙂
These refried beans are really easy and delicious. You probably have all of the ingredients in the cupboard. Cooking dried beans is time consuming but worth it.
These are absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Yummy!
It’s no coincidence that so many great affordable recipes are Mexican-inspired, love making refried beans for dipping chips, tacos, burritos – YUM.
Hi I was wondering if bacon fat (though I know not the healthiest choice) would work for the healthy fat portion….we’ve recently discovered my 16 month old has allergies to dairy, soy, corn, tuna and coconut so it largely limits what I can use but this recipe sounds delicious! Thank you!
How many serving does this recipe make? I’m I retested because I’m have a party with about 30 people. I need to know weather to double or triple this recipe. Thanks in advance!
Actually, olive oil is the most stable at high temperatures when cooking!
Wow ty! I was slightly beside myself wishing I could use olive oil! It shall be olive oil in the near future! (Hope I don’t die ?)
How well do the frozen beans hold up? If I wasn’t planning on mashing them afterward and wanted to leave them as beans. Do they still taste as good, or is it really noticeable they were frozen? Making large batches of beans makes us sick to death of them before we finish the bag off, but smaller batches cause me to almost never use them. Even in a crockpot they take too long to make, but I don’t like the canned beans. I would rather make the dry ones myself.
I cook beans in large batches and freeze them with no issues. I never buy canned ones anymore.
As I read the end, I was eating a bean quesadilla dipped in sour cream as I was reading this recipe. Trying it now.
When cooking the beans in a crock pot, do I need to cook the beans first before adding the spices or can I do it altogether?
OMG! Thanks and praise to be to God. And thank you for this post. I love refried beans but have not had them in years because I can’t stand the canned version. For a change in pace for dinner last night I made Mexican and wanted beans and wondered how easy it would be to make my own…then I came across your post. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I made these last night and they were absolutely amazing! And super easy to make. I will definitely make these again. Thank you ☺
Made these last night and it was really good, even though I used wrong type of beans. Will try again with Pinto beans 🙂
I just wanted to let you know that I make these refried beans all. the. time. They are so delicious and easy! Thank you so much for the awesome recipe. My family and I love it!
I can’t wait to try these!
If using bean broth or water, would it be okay to can this recipe rather than freezing? Knowing it is EXTREMELY dangerous to can any milk product, I was just wondering if there was another reason home-canner’s could not preserve them this way.
btw: made my way here by way of http://www.themagicalslowcooker.com/2013/04/21/chicken-enchilada-casserole/
I know this is too late for this reply to this person but for those in the future who read the comment; the answer to this is you cannot home can refried beans but you can home can pinto (or other dried beans) beans. Check out one if the sites that make canning jars, like Ball or Kerr.
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.
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.
Veronica, since your family is Mexican any good recipes for spanish rice??
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).
Oh yum!! These looks delicious, Jill!!
NO BACON???? A travesty!! MUST use bacon!
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
I love refried beans. I add one tsp of chix broth concentrate and use bacon fat as the fat. Delish. Now I’m hungry!
When do you add the bacon fat or broth and seasoning? I cook my in a crock pot
This looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing! My husband lovvves refried beans!
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”.
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! 🙂
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 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
I just made re fried beans tonight slightly different recipe but I will give this a try
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. 🙂
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!
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.
Hey Grace,
http://eatfresh.org/ is made for folks using WIC/ Calfresh in California. It is full of great healthy recipes using beans and (and other WIC ingredients). You might find it helpful
Thanks for the post! I want to try this.
We love homemade refried beans! We use a crockpot…http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/02/28/crockpot-pinto-beans/
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.
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!
Vinegar also can make the beans’ husks harder to chew, as can too much salt too early.
If you want to make an even healthier version of “refried” beans, smooth creamy, and thick… Make sure you only use enough water to cover the beans plus maybe half an inch.. And then once they’ve been cooked thoroughly, use a potato masher and smash them up and mix it all about over a low simmer.
No muss, no fuss, no extra steps!
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 learned from a good friend to cook my pinto beans with chiharonie or how ever it’s spelled. The ones from the Mexican market with meat on them. Refried they taste great like carnitas in a tortilla with all the toppings. Cheap and kids love them
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! 🙂
Do you know of the beans being canned instead of freezing after cooked?
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! 😉
And put a date on them.😊
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!
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,
I don’t know how much fennel to use , But I would try maybe a tbsp in a cheesecloth ball. That way it can be removed before cooking the beans. I know chewing on fennel seeds when you feel bloated, helps. It is also the ingedient in children’s gripe water that is used for colic.
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 have tried making homemade retried beans in the crock pot before, but I returned to your recipe because they were so much more flavorful!! Great recipe. I’m making them for the fifth time right now.