How to Make Homemade Re-fried Beans
Warning! Once you make your own re-fried beans you will have a hard time ever eating the canned version again.
When I was serving as a missionary for my church in California, my roommates (who were also missionaries) had a weekly lunch appointment at a sweet older Hispanic woman’s home. Every week they would return home from that appointment with a generous bag of leftovers. It was always the best day of my week.
That wonderful woman made everything from scratch and it was always the same thing, tortillas, carne asada, re-fried beans and Spanish rice. DELICIOUS!!! Seriously some of the best food I’ve ever had.
I spent years seeking out recipes that could duplicate the amazing authentic flavor that I now craved constantly.
First, I figured out the Spanish riceΒ and even figured out how to make it in the oven.
Then one day, about 5 years ago, I was visiting one of those missionary roommates. She was making Navajo tacos for lunch. She made homemade re-fried beans to put on them instead of chili and they were delicious. I was like, “Kirsten, how in the heck did you make these beans? These are the best, most authentic re-fried beans I’ve had since the mission!”
She was kind enough to share her recipe and method with me and we have been enjoying them with all of our Mexican meals ever since.
Authentic Homemade Re-Fried Beans are so much easier to make than I would have ever imagined, you can use a slow cooker or just a pot on your stove…..whatever you fancy. I’ve gotten in the habit of using my favorite pot on the stove. I love making a giant batch so I can freeze portions for other meals. The beans will stay good in the freezer for 2-3 months.
I am going to write the instructions for a pot on the stove, but remember you can easily do the same thing in your slow cooker.
Here we go: Rinse beans and soak them overnight. If you forget, don’t worry, just rinse the beans cover them with water, put them in a large pot covered with a lid, bring them to a boil for 1 minute, and turn the burner off, but leave beans sitting there in the covered pot for 1 hour.
When you are ready to cook beans, drain off the liquid from soaking them overnight or from the 1-hour quick soak method.
Make sure you are using a large enough pot and cover beans with water, making sure they are covered by at least an inch.
Add chopped onion, and garlic.
Add salt, start with 2 tsp, stir it around and taste the water. You want it to taste nice and salty. Add more salt if necessary.
Bring mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling turn down to low and let simmer for 3-4 hours or until beans are tender. Check the water level every 30-40 minutes and add water if needed. Also, check beans after about 2 1/2 hours, sometimes they cook faster than others.
When beans are nice and tender you are ready for the next step.
Drain most of the liquid out of the beans. You want to reserve some of it in case you need to add it back in to get beans to the right consistency.
Add oil to beans and using an emulsion blender, a potato smasher, or even your blender or food processor, smash, blend or crush beans until they are the consistency you prefer. Some people like them a little chunky while others like them smooth.
Add reserved cooking liquid as needed to get the consistency you prefer. (if your beans are on the salty side, do not add the liquid from cooking add regular water)
***If you choose to use your blender, be careful. Wait until beans are mostly cooled or you could have a big nasty hot explosion on your hands, sometimes the pressure in your blender from built-up heat can cause the lid to pop off during blending…..you do not want that.
I have found that the emulsion blender works best! I love my emulsion blender!
Taste beans and add a little more salt if needed.
Use your beans in these recipes
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 onion, roughly chopped (approx 1 cup)
- 3-4 large cloves of fresh garlic, chopped or crushed
- Salt to taste, I use about 2-3 tsp
- ⅓ cup oil, vegetable or canola, or if you really want to be authentic use lard or bacon grease
- Rinse beans and soak them overnight. If you forget, don't worry, just rinse the beans cover them with water, put them in a large pot covered with a lid, bring them to a boil for 1 minute, and turn the burner off, but leave beans sitting there in the covered pot for 1 hour.
- When you are ready to cook beans, drain off liquid from soaking them overnight or from the 1-hour quick method.
- Make sure you are using a large enough pot and cover beans with water, making sure they are covered by at least an inch.
- Add chopped onion, and garlic.
- Add salt, start with 2 tsp, stir it around and taste the water. You want it to taste nice and salty. Add more salt if necessary.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling turn down to low and let simmer for 3-4 hours or until beans are tender. Check water level every 30-40 minutes and add water if needed. Also, check beans after about 2½ hours, sometimes they cook faster than others.
- When beans are nice and tender you are ready for the next step. Drain most of the liquid out of the beans. You want to reserve some of it in case you need to add it back in to get beans to the right consistency.
- Add oil to beans and using an emulsion blender, a potato smasher, or even your blender or food processor, smash, blend or crush beans until they are the consistency you prefer. Some people like them a little chunky while others like them smooth.
- Add reserved cooking liquid as needed to get the consistency you prefer. (if your beans are on the salty side, do not add the liquid from cooking add regular water)
- If you choose to use your blender, be careful. Wait until beans are mostly cooled or you could have a big nasty hot explosion on your hands, sometimes the pressure in your blender from built-up heat can cause the lid to pop off during blending.....you do not want that.
- I have found that the emulsion blender works best!
- Taste beans and add a little more salt if needed.
- Serve with your favorite Mexican Dishes. We love to dip quesadilla's in them for a quick weeknight meal. They are so good!
Pick a rice, any rice
Enjoy! Happy Cinco De Mayo!
Keep it Real!
Maria
Ha! I was on your site looking for a new recipe to try and happened on this post- good times! Sister Cervantes’ food was THE BEST, I am so glad she taught us how to make the beans!! You are awesome, keep up the great recipes!!!
Thanks Kirsten! π Sister Cervantes!!!! I could not remember her name for the life of me! Such a great cook! I am so glad you passed on the awesome bean making skills to me.
I have these simmering on the stove as we speak! I’m glad you have a recipe for homemade refried beans, since we eat beans a lot in our family. I’m definitely ok with getting away from the cans and making them myself. Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome! Our family loves beans too, and really, if you get in a habit of making a big batch every so often it isn’t hard to keep me stocked in the freezer.
How do I store them if not able to use the whole batch?
Hi Amber, I put them in freezer bags and freeze them. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
I found your recipe a few months ago on pinterest and have made it a few times already (we have a family of 7 so usually use 2-3 lbs of beans!!) and i must say, I’ve never liked refried beans..til now!! Plus all the boys love it!!! The only downside…i need to make extra of my homemade air fresheners on bean days! Haha
Thank you for an awesome and yummy recipe!
lol, They do have away of making your house smell like a Mexican Restaurant. I am so glad your family loves them. We do too, they are the best!
I am making these for the first time today, I was wondering when you add the 1/3 of lard or bacon grease?
Thanks!
Steve
Hi Steve, I add it at the end when I am blending them.
I grew up in New Mexico where I learned to cook from many of my friend’s parents since I’m not Hispanic or Mexican I had no clue. But I was taught to either use lard or bacon grease when your “frying” the rice, onion, and garlic instead of oil.
Thanks Erin, I will have to give bacon grease a try.
I’d be one happy camper with a big bowl of this and some salsa and cheese for dinner!
What a delicious addition to any Taco Tuesday night! π Thanks for sharing! π
I love this! What a great post, I’ve always wanted to know how to make them homemade!
I’ve never even thought about making my own refried beans but it looks easy enough!
It is so worth it. They are delish!
This recipe is a game changer – I make almost everything from scratch but hadn’t perfected refried beans. Can’t wait to give this a try!!
Your.going.to.LOVE.it!
i love refried beans and they’re always a must have for me π
Delicious. I haven’t made homemade in YEARS because I am lazy but reading this I remember how easy it is to do! YUM
How come my refried beans look white? I did everything the same. The only thing I noticed after the fact was that I used a white onion instead of a yellow onion. Would that alter the taste as well? This is my first attempt at refried beans.
Hi Sara, Sometimes it is just the beans, they turn out light or dark sometimes for me too, I chalk it up to the crop of beans. They still taste the same. White onion instead of yellow won’t make a difference, I use white often if I don’t have a yellow on hand.
Yummy! Just finished making them, and I am happy I did! Morning sickness is kicking my tush, but beans are supposed to help and these hit the spot! Thank you for a great recipe!
I am so glad Leah, Morning sickness is the WORST!
Yay, for finding something you can eat with morning sickness.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I love refried beans and cannot believe I’ve never thought to make them myself. I’m sure much better than from a can. π
There is no comparison. You will LOVE them!
Do you put lid on pot while simmering? Water level suppose to be over beans during simmer stage?
Yes and Yes. π Check it every once in a while to see if you need to add a little more water.
How do you store the cooked beans? I don’t want them to spoil before we finish them.
I put them in ziploc bags and freeze them in portion sizes I know we will use with future meals. They stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
First time I used this recipe and it is amazing! Thank you so much!
Yay! You are so welcome Debbie!
How long would you suggest on a crock pot? And high or low? π
Thank you!!
8 hours on high or 12 hours on low
I’m about to make this recipe. It sounds a lot like my moms recipe! My mom likes to put leftover bacon grease into the beans to give them even more flavor π I can’t wait to try this out on my own for the first time!
Yum! Bacon grease in there is a great idea and will make them even more delicious!
Hi- if i decide to use lard, do you know how much I would use?
I would start with a large spoonful and add more if the consistency doesn’t seem right.
Add some cumin when simmering the beans. Save some of water for consistency. A little bacon grease at the end.
Do you have to use lard, bacon grease or oil? Is there a substitute or skip altogether?
Love your recipes!
Thank you, Chris
Hi Chris, You could leave it out but the beans won’t have the same smooth texture. It will also dry out quicker. Coconut oil could be a little healthier substitute.