Homemade Refried Beans – Quick And Easy Recipe
This homemade refried bean recipe is quick and easy to make, and much healthier and cheaper than refried beans you purchase from the grocery store. Refried beans are so called, because they are cooked or fried a second time with special seasonings, which really increases their flavor and makes them perfect for use in burritos, enchiladas and other mexican dishes.
I like to keep a lot of dry beans in our homestead pantry as they keep for many years, and can easily be cooked up at anytime to make chili, refried beans and many other dishes. I also like to take dry beans and can them into baked beans and also leave some plain, so I can quickly make these refried beans for burritos. When I don’t have any canned pinto beans in my pantry, I just throw some dry beans into my instapot and in no time at all I have cooked beans ready to be made into easy refried beans.
Why I Like These Refried Beans
They can be made with dried beans that I always have stocked in my pantry, so I never have to worry about running out of them or not being able to make them.
We really like mexican food, so if I make these refried beans we’re sure to have a healthy and nutritious meal that everyone will like.
They are inexpensive, and are a good source of protein that you can use to feed your family even during tough times. It’s important not to just store beans and rice in your pantry, but to know how to cook with it creatively if needed, you could cook them in different ways to feed your family.
These home-cooked beans freeze well, so when I make a batch of refried beans I try to make a huge batch and put some in the freezer. Then during busy seasons all I have to do is set out a bag of frozen refried beans in the sink and by supper time they are thawed out and ready to be made into burritos or tacos.
When you make refried beans from scratch they don’t have any preservatives in them, and they can be made vegetarian by not frying them in lard. I like to use butter or coconut oil as my fat of choice for frying these beans.
The best refried beans are made out of pinto beans because they are meaty and buttery, but you can make these out of black beans, white beans or a mix of beans. Try different combinations and see which ones you prefer.
Ways We Like To Eat Refried Beans
- In sourdough tortillas for burritos.
- On tortilla chips with homemade queso fresco cheese, salsa, sour cream and cilantro as nachos.
- In taco shells or on tostadas.
- In enchiladas with cheese and taco meat, and topped with sour cream, salsa and olives.
- Layered in a dish with all the taco toppings to make a 7 layer bean dip
- In taco salad
- Warm with cheese and salsa as a hot bean dip
These refried beans can be made so many ways!
Tips
To make your beans easier to digest, you can soak them in water with a couple Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar for a few hours before cooking. You can cook them after soaking, or drain off the water and allow them to just barely begin to sprout. This can take a day or two depending on the temperature in your house. You’ll want to rinse the beans twice a day until they start to sprout. You can freeze them once they sprout to cook later on, or you can proceed with cooking them. If you soak your beans you won’t have to put as much water on them when cooking, and they will cook faster.
Three Options For Cooking Dry Beans
Instapot
Put 2 cups dry or soaked beans into instapot with 2 quarts of water and 2 Tbl. salt. Cook on high pressure (bean setting) for an hour and 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally if you have time. Then proceed with making refried beans in a large skillet, (see video below) or to make instant pot refried beans, drain the juice off the beans, turn the instapot back on saute, and make into refried beans. This is an easy way to make refried beans without making a lot of dishes.
Crockpot
Put 2 cups dry or soaked beans into a slow cooker or crockpot and cover with 1-2 inches of water and cook on high for 7-8 hours, or on low for 8-12 hours until tender. If you use
Stovetop
Put 2 cups dry or soaked beans into a large pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat and cook for 2-3 hours until beans are tender. Cooking time will vary depending on whether beans were pre-soaked or not.
Canned Beans
A really quick hack for making these refried beans is to can dry beans and store them in your pantry that way. Then you can just dump a jar of beans into your skillet, and in minutes you will have delicious and healthy refried beans.
You can make these flavorful refried beans spicy by adding hot sauce, or hot peppers like jalapenos. My family doesn’t like to much spice, so this homemade refried beans recipe is on the mild side.
Make several batches of these refried beans at a time and keep them in quart bags in the freezer for quick and easy meals during busy seasons.
Tools You May Need
- Instapot
- Cast iron skillet
- Potato masher
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- Cooked pinto beans (see above for how to cook dry beans)
- Onions
- Minced garlic cloves
- Butter or other fat. Coconut oil also works well.
- Ground cumin
- Paprika
- Salt
- Chili powder
- Black pepper
- Jalapeño pepper powder (opt.)
- Milk or bean broth
How To Make Vegetarian Refried Beans
Place butter in a large cast iron skillet. Add onions and garlic and saute until tender.
Drain beans, and add cooked beans (see above for ways to cook dry beans) to skillet.
Turn heat to medium low and add the all of the spices.
Stir and mash with a potato masher as the beans simmer.
Add some of the leftover bean water from cooking the beans, or milk to make creamy beans until they are the consistency you like. Keep in mind that they will thicken as they cool.
If you want creamy refried beans, you can use an immersion blender to blend them really smooth in the pan, or put them into a food processor.
Serve in burritos, tacos, enchiladas, dips or as a delicious side dish for any Mexican meal.
Freeze any extra refried beans in ziploc bags or an airtight container for 3- 6 months.
If you enjoy this recipe, let me know in the comments below and give the recipe a 5 star rating.
Homemade Refried Beans - Quick and Easy Recipe
This homemade refried bean recipe is quick and easy to make, and much healthier and cheaper than refried beans you purchase from the grocery store. Refried beans are so called, because they are cooked or fried a second time with special seasonings, which really increases their flavor and makes them perfect for use in burritos, enchiladas and other mexican dishes.
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked or canned beans (2 cups dry beans will cook up to about 6 cups)
- 6 Tbl. butter or coconut oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6-8 cloves garlic, or 3 tsp. garlic powder or garlic salt
- 3 tsp. cumin
- 3 tsp. paprika
- 3 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- Milk or bean broth
Instructions
1. Place butter in a large cast iron skillet. Add onions and garlic and saute until tender.
2. Drain beans, and add cooked beans (see above for ways to cook dry beans) to skillet.
3. Turn heat to medium low and add the all of the spices.
4. Stir and mash with a potato masher as the beans simmer.
5. Add some of the leftover bean water from cooking the beans, or milk to make creamy beans until they are the consistency you like. Keep in mind that they will thicken as they cool.
6. If you want creamy refried beans, you can use an immersion blender to blend them really smooth in the pan, or put them into a food processor.
7. Serve in burritos, tacos, enchiladas, dips or as a delicious side dish for any Mexican meal.
8. Freeze any extra refried beans in ziploc bags or an airtight container for 3- 6 months.
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