I’m a little bit embarrassed. I’ve regularly purchased canned or freeze dried refried beans for years. Of course I knew on a high level that refried beans weren’t hard to make, but I still had a mental block that it was an added step on the way to tacos that I didn’t need to take.
I feel pretty silly. For a start, the minute I started cooking the beans, my entire kitchen filled with the scents of every Mexican restaurant I’ve ever frequented in San Antonio – in other words, my kitchen filled with the scents of home.
Making your own refried beans is way easier than you imagine. It honestly didn’t take me any longer than heating up canned refried beans would. And I got to customize the flavor in the beans to exactly my liking. Truth be told, they tasted more like restaurant refried beans than anything I’ve ever managed previously.
If you want a true taste of Tex-Mex, skip the canned refried beans, and make your own. You still start with a can, but you can make them as spicy as you want, as garlicky as you want, and as creamy as you want with minimal effort. It’s worth that effort, trust me.
Homemade Refried Beans
Ingredients
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/8 cup half and half (optional)
Cotija Cheese to taste (optional)
Directions
In a medium bowl, empty one 15 oz cans of pinto beans. Do not drain liquid before adding.
Use a large spoon or a potato masher to mash beans to desired consistency. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and jalapeño if using, and stir to combine evenly.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add canola oil. When the canola oil slides easily across the pan, add the bean mixture directly to the pan.
Stir the beans immediately and often as liquid cooks down. If you’d like your beans to be creamy, stir in the half and half and allow to just heat through before removing from heat.
Top with cotija cheese, then enjoy with fajitas, your favorite breakfast tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, or enchiladas.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Homemade Refried Beans – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Louise Newren
Tuesday 21st of May 2013
when making your own refried beans,, to get the ultimate flavor, add just one teaspoon of lard.....yes, lard.....that is what is used in the authentic recipe of the spanish people to get that fantastic flavor.....
Fay
Tuesday 16th of July 2013
Lard? You mean, like Crisco? To be used in the fried beans.
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
Tuesday 12th of February 2013
Confession: I also have never made my own refried beans, although I have been thinking about it recently! These look so amazing, I am craving them like crazy now and it is well past 9 pm.
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction
Thursday 24th of January 2013
Hmm... I have never made my own refried beans. I will give this a try very soon.
shelly (cookies and cups)
Tuesday 22nd of January 2013
I haven't ever made refried beans! Tragic! I must fix that asap.
Amber
Tuesday 22nd of January 2013
Shelly, unless you want me to confiscate your Texan card, get to it!
Karly
Monday 21st of January 2013
Alright, so this is where it becomes evident that we are not in fact long lost sisters. Beans and I are not friends. We are quite the opposite actually.
It's just...I can't get past the feeling that the insides of beans are made of mushed up insects. I know. I completely totally know that this is insane. But, yeah. I can't help it.
Anyway! I've been trying realllllly hard to like refried beans and I'm slowly working my way up to eating a few bites here and there. Probably these are better than the freaky canned version I've previously tried.
Amber
Monday 21st of January 2013
Okay, Karly, that IS weird.
The way I like to think of it, I have two favorite foods: mashed potatoes, and refried beans. And when you think about it, they actually have pretty identical textures. Does it help if you think of them as tiny, flavorful little potatoes? :)