I love refried beans but don't always have the time to work with dried beans. This recipe uses canned beans and still tastes like I spent all day on it. Sometimes I crumble bacon on top of the finished product.
I doubled this recipe. Instead of measuring out the tablespoon amounts of the onion and garlic, I used half of one small yellow onion and two cloves garlic. I ran them through my mini food processor for a finer texture. These were very, VERY good. Out of the whole batch, my family (including our additional family guests) at every single bite of these beans. My husband and son went back for seconds.
Read MoreFor a healthier option, I do this: pour half the beans and about half the liquid into a blender, add about 2 tsp. of olive oil, cumin, garlic and dried onion. Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the beans and blend real quick until mashed a bit but so you still have chunks. Transfer all from blender into microwaveable dish using a spatula, top with jack cheese and heat through until beans are hot and bubbly and cheese is melted.
Read MoreI doubled this recipe. Instead of measuring out the tablespoon amounts of the onion and garlic, I used half of one small yellow onion and two cloves garlic. I ran them through my mini food processor for a finer texture. These were very, VERY good. Out of the whole batch, my family (including our additional family guests) at every single bite of these beans. My husband and son went back for seconds.
In my experience whenever I go out for Mexican food the ubiquitous rice and beans are generally left on the plate. They’re not very appetizing looking and neither taste very good either. But not this time! While these still leave a lot to be desired in terms of eye appeal, the flavor is startlingly better than most. I reserved and crumbled the bacon I fried to create the required bacon grease and I think the addition was a bold flavor contribution, as was the chopped green onion I garnished them with. This takes the lowly Mexican bean side dish to an elevated level. Just needs salt and pepper.
This was really good, however CAUTION, CAUTION, CAUTION, do not under any circumstances just throw the whole can with the juice into the pot as it is way too much liquid; fortunately I figured that out before I dumped it in and actually only used about half of it. What I did to make the mashing easier is to drain ALL of the liquid into a bowl (much easier when they're not swimming), use a stick blender to mash the beans, I like mine chunky, add your seasoning and then add the liquid to the consistency you like. Me, I like mine thick not runny like you get in most restaurants. These were absolutely delicious and I will never buy refried beans in a can again (they always taste like the can!) when these are so simple and tasty. Remember to add the salt, this has none listed. I usually make 4 to 6 cans at a time so I don't have to make them as often. A substitution for bacon fat is lard. It will give the same mouth feel but not overwhelm the flavor with smoke from the bacon. Still just as good but more appropriate with certain dishes. I keep the lard in a jar in the fridge so it won't spoil.
I really liked the flavor on these beans. I thought the cumin would be too much, but it wasn't at all. I have made a similar recipe, but it didn't have the extra garlic and onions. The only change I made was using, butter with canola oil for the fat instead of bacon grease. My beans were a little on the thin side and that might be why. I am waiting for them to cool, to see if they thicken up some. I am also going to try it next time with low sodium beans, since the liquid in the can is so salty. Thank you
For a healthier option, I do this: pour half the beans and about half the liquid into a blender, add about 2 tsp. of olive oil, cumin, garlic and dried onion. Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the beans and blend real quick until mashed a bit but so you still have chunks. Transfer all from blender into microwaveable dish using a spatula, top with jack cheese and heat through until beans are hot and bubbly and cheese is melted.
These were very tasty and simple....though I will reduce the bacon fat greatly next time. Thanks for sharing! UPDATE: i have simplified this by putting all the ingredients in a saucepan MINUS any bacon or fat. I cook until the garlic/onion is soft snd puree in my food processor. Simple with no fat and less steps.
These were delicious! I didn't have time to read the reviews, so I dumped the whole can w/ liquid into the pan...they were a little thinner than I would've liked, but I'll know to add the liquid gradually next time. Great flavor...a little salt and it was good to go~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)
I love refried beans but I can't have a lot of salt and canned beans have loads of salt. These refried beans are so delicious! I skipped the bacon grease too in order to make them low fat. I followed the recipe other than the bacon grease and I thought they were so yummy!
I liked this recipe it was my 1st time and it was great. Never will I ever buy canned refried beans! I used canned black beans instead and added fresh tomato, onion, and garlic. Used it for a recipe of Mexican lasagna. Awesome! Also only used half a can of the bean liquid. NOT THE WHOLE CAN..
I made these with some left over kidney beans I had and the flavor was phenomenal. This is a quick and easy was to make re fried beansl
These are really good, I won't be buying store bought any more. My Hubby really likes them. I didn't have bacon grease, just lard, and we don't use garlic. I just used onion and cumin. I will be makeing these often. LOve them
Good, and easy to make! Followed advice of other reviewers and drained the beans before mashing, then added bean liquid back into them to get desired consistency. I also used Earth Balance butter in place of bacon grease.
My husband and I loved these. The bacon grease gives great flavor. This is now my default recipe for refried beans.
I like it better with sausage grease. Old El Paso sold them flavored with meat for a couple of yrs, but I haven't found them on the shelf since it's become an "unhealthy" choice.
Made these to go with tacos the other night when I was short on time. These were very good and super fast to make. A keeper for sure!
Four kids, hubby & I really enjoyed this. Doubled the recipe and will make this a staple.
I used 1 full can pintos with the juice and 1 can with juice drained. Used hand blender to mash. Sauted some onion, but used garlic powder and extra onion powder along with the cumin. Was quite good.
This was soooo good and simple! I did forget the onions, but added dehydrated after I realized. Also, I used butter instead of bacon grease. YUMMM!!!
Yummy, quick and easy! I followed exactly and poured in all juice from can. It was a bit soupy but I simmered until it was the consistency I wanted. The liquid cooks out. Will be making again for sure!
Didn't love it. Easy to make but had a funny flavor. Recipe was fine, just not one of my favorites.
Very good recipe for fast refried beans! I've made them this way several times now and have been very pleased! Thanks for posting!
I've made this several times now, and we love it. I don't use bacon grease simply because I never have any sitting around the kitchen. I use just a little oil to cook the onion and garlic, and it turns out fine. Such an easy side dish, and the kids love it.
My family love these! Great recipe. I was out of pinto beans, so I used what I had, black beans. My husband doesn't even like re-fried beans and went back for thirds! Thanks, we will be making these again.
Made with black beans and canola oil, didn't have pinto beans. They turned out great my boys loved them.
These beans are the best, I have made them many times. I’ve even substituted white beans when I didn’t have pintos and they were very good too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I just made this before I found this recipe. It is a great way to make a can of re fried beans taste delicious! I also added 1/2 tsp of Chile Caribe mild chile flakes and stirred the diced cooked bacon right into the beans.
Just loved it. I made it as written and can't offer a better review than saying I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for sharing!
Used half the can of liquid, as suggested by others. This is really good, and I will never buy pre-made refried beans again.
So simple to make, and so good - my husband couldn't believe I started with canned beans! I doubled the recipe and it was just enough for six people. The only change I made was not to use all the liquid from the beans, but as other reviewers said, you could add all the liquid and then cook it down to your desired consistency. Next time I may cut back on the cumin as it was a bit strong for me, but my husband loved it as it was.
These were delicious! The only complaint I have is that the serving size should be "1". I could have eaten the whole dish by myself. I would seriously recommend that you double the recipe for 4 people. The only changes I made was that I used 1 T bacon fat and I doubled the onion (only because I got carried away when I was dicing the onion). I totally DISAGREE with some of the other reviewers when they said not to use all of the liquid in the can. I poured the can into my pan, let the beans heat through and then mash them with a potato masher. As the beans heat through, the liquid evaporates and the consistency is perfect. I suppose its possible that different brands have different amount of liquid in the can, but I think you need the whole amount. If your beans are too runny, then just cook a little longer stirring as you go.
We added browned hamburger to ours (since we always do), and even though I didn’t have any cumin on hand, they were amazing anyway! I may never buy them pre-made again
We moved overseas and always used to buy our refried beans in a can in the States. I cannot locate over here in France, so I decided to try and make them on my own. I will never buy canned beans again, even converted my husband. I did take the advice of a previous reviewer and crumbled the bacon bits in the mixture, i think it added a lot of flavor. This will now be a goto on Taco and Burrito nights.
I thought these were pretty good. I did add some Mexican cheese on top and heated gently to melt just before serving.
Very easy and very good. I used no salt added pinto beans, so it was extremely low sodium. Fit in with my diet perfectly. I will make this again
I adore this recipe it tastes amazing and is super easy but they do start to get dry
I'm really happy how these beans turned out! Like everyone else says in the reviews, I doubt I'll buy canned refried beans again! I used two cans kidney beans - one white, one red. I left half a can of the red bean juice in the bowl and separated all the white and the other half red in a bowl as suggested before. White had way more sodium! I used butter instead of bacon grease to simmer the onions and garlic. I added a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, which adds the missing smoke flavour from the bacon and the heat I like(!), to the beans and used an emerson hand blender to get the consistancy I like. I did end up adding sea salt after so not sure if adding the white kidney bean juice would have been better? I fried up these beans until they were thick enough for enchiladas and omg, I am SO happy with the turn out! This is going to be a staple recipe in my kitchen!!
What was that bacon grease all about. Sounded like a good recipe, but the bacon taste with the cumin? I don't think so. My husband, who is not all that fussy about food, was not at all concerned that he was throwing these beans out!
Since I keep bacon grease on hand I thought I might give this a try and I'm so glad I did. I've tried several refried bean recipes on this site and this one is a keeper. The bacon grease puts this one above all others. These are quick and easy. Use them as a side or for dipping.
