Unrefried Beans Recipes

EASY REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the drained beans and water. Stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low and remove the lid. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash up about at least half of the beans, until you reach your desired consistency. Continue to cook the beans, uncovered, stirring often, for 3 more minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Taste, and add more salt and lime juice if necessary. If the beans seem dry, add a very small splash of water and stir to combine. Cover until you're ready to serve.

REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan you will want to turn on medium heat. Then add your oil and let it get warm. Toss in your onions and salt.
• Cook your onions until they are softened and become translucent, this takes around 5 minutes.
• Add in your garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Stir constantly for about 30 seconds, you want it to begin to smell fragrant.
• Now pour your drained beans in along with vegetable stock. Stir and cook covered for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
• Reduce your heat to low and remove your lid. Grab a potato masher or blender and mix up the beans. I generally mix only half the bans up as I like a thicker texture. But mix to your desired texture.
• You will want to cook the beans for 2-3 more minutes stirring often.
• Once done remove beans from the heat, and stir in the lime juice. Add salt to taste if ou would prefer.
• If your refried beans seem dry you can add a splash of broth or even water. Cover and stir occassionally until you are ready to serve.

EASY 1-POT REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• CANNED: If starting with canned beans, simply open cans and set aside. As the original recipe is written, about 2 15-oz (425-g) cans will yield 3 cups cooked beans.
• FROM SCRATCH: If cooking pinto beans from scratch, we recommend this recipe, which yields 5 cups cooked beans. We recommend reducing the serving size to six 1/2-cup servings (rather than 10 servings), which would yield 3 cups cooked beans. The spices and diced tomatoes with green chilies are optional.
• INSTANT POT: If cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot, we recommend following this recipe but swapping the black beans for pinto beans. Be sure to save any leftover cooking liquid.
• REFRIED BEANS: To prepare refried beans, heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add oil (or water) and onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender - about 4-5 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn down heat if browning too quickly.
• Next add your cooked beans and any of the cooking liquid. Depending on your cooking method, your beans may be looking somewhat dry or they may be submerged in cooking liquid. Because we're going to simmer the beans even more, you want them to be just submerged, so add only as much vegetable broth as needed to just cover the beans.
• Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Then add your salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes to further cook and tenderize the beans. If they begin looking dry or stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add more vegetable broth to moisten.
• Your beans should now be tender. Our preferred way of mashing is with an immersion blender. If using an immersion blender, tip the pot to one side so the blade can be submerged and blend until the beans are creamy and smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, a bean or potato masher will also work. It just takes more work and they won't get quite as creamy.
• If you're blending or mashing and your beans have become too thick, thin with more vegetable broth as needed.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to taste. We didn't find the beans needed more than this. However, you could add chili powder or chipotle pepper in adobo for some heat, or some ground cumin for smokiness.
• Serve as is, or garnish with desired toppings (lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, red onion, or this vegan Mexican-style queso would be delicious).
• Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, warm in a pot or saucepan, adding more broth as needed.

MEXICAN REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Peel and finely slice the garlic, deseed and finely slice the chilli and pick the coriander leaves and finely slice the stalks. Drain and finely chop the peppers.
• In a large frying pan, heat a splash of oil and fry the garlic, chilli and coriander stalks for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden.
• Drain the beans, then add along with the peppers, then season to taste. Fry for 15 to 20 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy.
• Poach the eggs. Finely chop the reserved coriander leaves, and cut the lime into wedges.
• Serve a spoonful of beans topped with a poached egg, chopped coriander leaves and a wedge of lime for squeezing over.

HOMEMADE REFRIED BEANS RECIPE

Steps:

• Chop the onion. Finely chop the garlic.
• In a medium-sized pan, heat the oil to medium and add the chopped onion. Cook until the onion becomes transparent.
• Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Do not allow the garlic to brown which will give it a bitter taste.
• Add the cooked beans with a little bit of the cooking water plus the salt and pepper.
• Cook for 2 minutes before mashing.
• Mash the beans to the consistency you prefer.
• Cook for 5 minutes stirring continually.
• Turn off the heat and allow the beans to rest for 3 minutes before serving.

INSTANT POT REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Place the pinto beans in a large colander. Thoroughly rinse them. Pick the beans over, removing any damaged or clearly misshapen beans and discarding them. Set the rinsed beans aside.
• Turn a 6-quart (or larger) Instant Pot to SAUTE. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and jalapeno. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and let cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add a few splashes of chicken stock and scrape along the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck-on bits of food (this will prevent a BURN warning). Add the remaining stock, water, bay leaves, salt, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and the rinsed and drained beans. Lightly stir to combine.
• Seal the Instant Pot. Cook on HIGH (manual) for 45 minutes. When the 45 minutes of pressure cooking has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes. Vent to release any remaining pressure. Carefully open the lid. The beans will be very liquidy.
• Discard the bay leaves. Reserve 2 cups of the bean cooking liquid in a bowl or measuring cup, then drain the remainder. Return to the beans to the pot. With an immersion blender (or by hand with a potato masher), puree the beans until they reach your desired consistency, adding some of the reserved liquid as needed. (You can also scoop the beans into a blender in batches and puree them that way-be sure to let the beans cool somewhat first so that they do not splatter). Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Sprinkle with any desired toppings, serve, and enjoy!

REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the beans and chicken broth and cook until the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Mash the beans coarsely with the back of a wooden spoon, adding more chicken broth to moisten, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the cilantro.

REFRIED BEANS (BETTER THAN STORE-BOUGHT)

Steps:

• There is no need to soak the beans for this recipe. Rinse the dried beans then add to a large pot. Add the onion half, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs. Cover with at least 3 inches of water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the beans are extremely tender (almost silky inside), 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If during cooking the beans look dry, add a splash more water.
• Remove the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs, and then discard them. Season the beans and liquid with salt. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there based on your tastes.
• Drain the beans, but do not discard the cooking liquid. We will use some of the liquid for making the refried beans. You will need about 3 cups of the beans to make refried beans. If you have more than 3 cups, reserve the rest for another recipe.
• There is no need to soak the beans for this recipe. Rinse the dried beans then add to a 6-quart pressure cooker (we have an Instant Pot). Add the onion half, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs. Add about 6 cups of water, but do not fill past the 'max fill line.' Add 1 teaspoon of neutral oil like vegetable or olive oil (this prevents the beans from foaming).
• Seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes, and then allow the cooker to naturally release (you can tell when it is safe to open the cooker when the steam release valve drops). We recommend you read the user manual of your specific pressure cooker before using this method.
• Remove the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs, and then discard them. Season the beans and liquid with salt. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there based on your tastes.
• Drain the beans, but do not discard the cooking liquid. We will use some of the liquid for making the refried beans. You will need about 3 cups of the beans to make refried beans. If you have more than 3 cups, reserve the rest for another recipe.
• In a large, skillet - a cast iron pan is perfect here - heat the oil (or butter/lard/bacon drippings) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it smells sweet and is starting to brown around the edges, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in the minced garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the 3 cups of cooked beans, moving them around the pan for a minute or two so that they are heated through. Add 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid and then use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to mash the beans into your desired consistency.
• If, as you are mashing, the beans seem a little dry, add a splash more liquid. The beans do dry out over time, so it's a good idea to keep the cooking liquid near by to maintain the best consistency, especially if you are making them in advance.
• Taste the beans and adjust with additional salt, pepper or spices. Serve with a squeeze of lime and your favorite toppings scattered on top.
• Use 2 (15-ounce) cans of pinto or black beans. Two cans will be approximately 2 3/4 cups of beans, which is close enough to 3 cups for this recipe.
• Open the cans, drain, and then rinse the beans. Follow the recipe instructions in the section labeled 'Make Refried Beans' above, but replace the 3 cups of home-cooked beans for canned beans. Instead of using the bean cooking liquid for thinning the refried beans, you will need to substitute for another liquid. We recommend using a flavorful stock (vegetable stock or chicken stock), you will need 1 to 1 1/2 cups.

HOW TO MAKE CANNED REFRIED BEANS TASTE BETTER

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet.
• Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant over low heat.
• Add refried beans, break up and combine with butter, onion, and garlic.
• Add half and half, stir.
• Add sour cream
• Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste (I used 1 teaspoon of each).
• Add cheese.

(UN)REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat until the onions are soft.
• Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne powder, and continue sauteing for 1 minute or so - just until the spices are fragrant.
• Add the beans, oregano, and 1 to 2 cups water (depending on how thick or thin you like your beans). Stir in the bouillon.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the beans are very soft - approximately 1 hour. (After an hour or so they will be ready, but they can also simmer quietly and patiently on the stove for at least 3 hours if needed.).
• Using a potato masher, mash the beans until most of them are mashed, and the texture is mostly smooth.