Frijoles Refritos | Refried Beans

– photo from Bon Appétit

Homemade Refried Beans

– or Frijoles Refritos

This was the first time I made these and it is indeed true what “they” say…homemade is better! And easy. Oh…and at a great price.

I have to say though, unlike other yet very good recipes I found, I added flavor to the water that beans cook in; that water is added to beans later so it might as well taste great, imho. And it sure did. Not listed, but to water I added salt, a couple slices of bacon, Goya Ham seasoning, a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon Vegetable base, teaspoon of ground cumin, teaspoon of both onion and garlic powder. It didn’t overpower the taste of beans at all.

Oh…and obviously there’s no way to make this dish look pretty. I mean, the cheese helps a lot, jaja 😁 but it is what it is, a pile of… BEANS! 😍

1 pound Dried Pinto Beans
3 Tablespoons Bacon Fat, Lard Or Vegetable Oil
1/4 cups Onion, Minced
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
Salt To Taste

Soak beans over night in water. In the morning rinse and put beans into a large pot. Cover beans with water. Add salt (at the least) to water. On medium heat until boiling.
Cover and reduce to a simmer, continue cooking until beans are soft, about 2 ½ hours. Drain beans, but reserve the water that they cooked in.
In the same pot melt bacon fat (lard or oil), cook onion and garlic until soft. Add beans and a small amount of the reserved water.
With a hand held blender or potato masher (I’ve used both), blend the bean mixture until it is nice and smooth. If you need more liquid, add more of the reserved water. Add salt to taste.
Delicious alone, as a side of course, or with many recipes…like in burritos. Top with Mexican white crumbled cheese, like queso fresco. Enjoy.

*queso fresco & tortillas
*freezes well too

I made some in cast iron skillet, of course, using potato masher. Then made the rest left in pot, adding remaining saved liquid and using immersion blender; making the larger pot smoother. I wanted two different consistency, one chunkier, the rest smoother and a little thinner.