Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant, I love the authentic refried beans. I also just love bean burritos, so knowing how to make refried beans is great to make my own home made bean burritos. Making refried beans is actually a pretty easy process. Beans are also an amazing cheap option for food.
Related: 30+ Ways To Use Cream Cheese
Related: $10 Meal Plan
Ingredients
Beans– dried pinto beans are the classic choice for refried beans
Onion– one chopped onion adds some flavor and a touch of different texture
Garlic– garlic is one of the most popular seasonings, I like to get a big jar of pre minced garlic
Salt– salt brings out the flavor
Cumin– cumin will give your beans a slight taco flavor. Without it, your beans may seem bland
Water– you need water to cook beans, alternatively, you can use a broth of your choice
Seasonings– there are several optional seasonings you can add to taste including chili powder, cayenne pepper, pepper, and paprika
Directions
Crock pot
- Throw everything in the crockpot
- Cook on high for 8 hours
- Drain the water
- Let it chill then blend (if using a blender)
Stove top
- Thoroughly rinse beans
- Soak overnight
- Drain
- Simmer with all other ingredients for one hour
- Drain and smash beans to desired texture
Instant pot
- Put all ingredients into the instant pot and seal set at 60 minutes.
- Let it release pressure for 15 minutes then unseal
- Drain liquid
- Use immersion blender to blend, or a potato masher to mash
Tips
- There are 3 ways to smash your beans, use a blender, or an immersion blender, all will give a slightly different texture
- Try topping with cheese
- Try making the stove top version with canned beans (58 oz of canned beans) saute onions before adding the beans
- Add sour cream, heavy cream, or milk after cooking
- Garnish with jalapeno or cilantro
Uses
- Burrito
- Nachos
- Tacos
- Chili
- Quesadilla
- Huavos rancheros
- 7 layer dip
- Mixed with ground beef (to make it last)
- Chimichangas
- Enchiladas
- Taco pizza
- With corn chips
Whole30 Option
Okay, there isn’t a way to make a bean recipe a whole30 recipe, but you can try out this recipe as a refried sweet potato recipe for a whole30 option!
Replace 1 lb of pinto beans with 3 cups of diced sweet potatoes, reduce the cooking time to 7 minutes
Do you love this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tbsp garlic
- 3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 9 cups water 7 for instant pot
- Chili powder optional
- Cayenne pepper optional
- Pepper optional
- Paprika optional
Instructions
Crockpot
- Throw everything in the crockpoto
- Cok on high for 8 hours
- Drain the water
- Let it chill to room temperature
- Blend (if using a blender)
Stove top
- Thoroughly rinse beans
- Soak overnight
- Drain
- Simmer with all other ingredients for one hour
- Drain
- Smash beans to desired texture
Instant pot
- Put all ingredients into the instant pot and seal
- Set at 60 minutes
- Let it release pressure for 15 minutes then unseal
- Drain liquid
- Use immersion blender to blend
