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.
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 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
