Basic Refried Beans Recipes

EASY REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the drained beans and water. Stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low and remove the lid. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash up about at least half of the beans, until you reach your desired consistency. Continue to cook the beans, uncovered, stirring often, for 3 more minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Taste, and add more salt and lime juice if necessary. If the beans seem dry, add a very small splash of water and stir to combine. Cover until you're ready to serve.

EASY 1-POT REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• CANNED: If starting with canned beans, simply open cans and set aside. As the original recipe is written, about 2 15-oz (425-g) cans will yield 3 cups cooked beans.
• FROM SCRATCH: If cooking pinto beans from scratch, we recommend this recipe, which yields 5 cups cooked beans. We recommend reducing the serving size to six 1/2-cup servings (rather than 10 servings), which would yield 3 cups cooked beans. The spices and diced tomatoes with green chilies are optional.
• INSTANT POT: If cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot, we recommend following this recipe but swapping the black beans for pinto beans. Be sure to save any leftover cooking liquid.
• REFRIED BEANS: To prepare refried beans, heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add oil (or water) and onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender - about 4-5 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn down heat if browning too quickly.
• Next add your cooked beans and any of the cooking liquid. Depending on your cooking method, your beans may be looking somewhat dry or they may be submerged in cooking liquid. Because we're going to simmer the beans even more, you want them to be just submerged, so add only as much vegetable broth as needed to just cover the beans.
• Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Then add your salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes to further cook and tenderize the beans. If they begin looking dry or stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add more vegetable broth to moisten.
• Your beans should now be tender. Our preferred way of mashing is with an immersion blender. If using an immersion blender, tip the pot to one side so the blade can be submerged and blend until the beans are creamy and smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, a bean or potato masher will also work. It just takes more work and they won't get quite as creamy.
• If you're blending or mashing and your beans have become too thick, thin with more vegetable broth as needed.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to taste. We didn't find the beans needed more than this. However, you could add chili powder or chipotle pepper in adobo for some heat, or some ground cumin for smokiness.
• Serve as is, or garnish with desired toppings (lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, red onion, or this vegan Mexican-style queso would be delicious).
• Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, warm in a pot or saucepan, adding more broth as needed.

REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse the dry beans: Rinse the beans in water and check for and remove any small stones, pieces of dirt, or bad beans. Remove any beans that float in water.
• Cook the beans on the stove top or in the pressure cooker: Stove Top Method Put beans into a pot and cover with at least 3 inches of water-about 3 quarts total for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Add half an onion, salt, and oregano. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open. If the beans are still hard after 2 1/2 hours, add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to the pot and cook a half hour or more longer. Pressure Cooker Method Put beans into a 4 quart or larger Instant Pot or pressure cooker with a 15 pound weight. Add 8 cups (2 quarts) of water. (Make sure you never fill a pressure cooker with water more than 2/3 of the way up the pot.) Add the onion, salt, and oregano. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes on high pressure, then let the beans cool naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure valve. The beans should be soft and the skins barely breaking open. If the beans are still quite hard, add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and bring to pressure again for 10 minutes. Note: If you are using a standard pressure cooker (not an Instant Pot), allow the pressure cooker to cool completely before opening. If there is resistance when attempting to open the cooker, do not open it, allow it to cool further. Follow the directions for your brand of pressure cooker. (See How to Make Fast No Soak Beans in a Pressure Cooker .) Either method: Strain the beans from the cooking water, reserving about a cup of the cooking water. Remove the remnants of onion or oregano sprig if using.
• Sauté the onions in fat: Chop the remaining half an onion. Heat the bacon fat or oil in a wide, sturdy frying pan (not a flimsy nonstick) on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent. (You can do this while the beans are cooking.)
• Add the beans, mash them in pan: Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of the bean cooking water or plain water to the pan. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are cooking them, until they are a rough purée.
• Add water and season: Add more bean water or plain water to desired level of creaminess and to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out. Add more salt to taste. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder, if using. When the beans are heated through, top with crumbled cotija cheese or shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 cup) to serve (optional). (You can also stir in slices of cheddar to melt into the hot beans.)

QUICK AND EASY REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
• Cook garlic cloves in hot oil, turning once, until brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Smash garlic cloves in skillet with a fork.
• Stir pinto beans, cumin, chili powder, and salt into mashed garlic and cook until beans are thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• Smash bean mixture with a potato masher to desired texture. Squeeze lime juice over smashed beans and stir until combined.

REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Lightly drain the beans, reserving the juice from the tin, but do not rinse (you want the beans in about half the liquid from the can). Depending on the texture you prefer, either mash them roughly in a bowl or blitz them using a blender until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole and cook the onions for 8-10 mins until soft and golden. Scatter in the garlic, chilli and cumin seeds, and sizzle everything for 2 mins more. Tip in the beans, oregano, paprika and a pinch of salt. Cook everything together for 5 mins until the beans have heated through adding more reserved bean juice if it's too thick. Serve straightaway with a sprinkling of coriander, if you like, or leave to cool and keep chilled. Will keep chilled for up to three days or frozen for a month. Reheat with a splash of water mixed in.