5 Minute Refried Beans Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

Why do restaurant refried beans taste better? ›

If you're wondering what is the secret ingredient for restaurant-quality refried beans, the answer is fat. Restaurant-made refried beans honor traditional Mexican culinary practices by adding a hearty helping of lard or bacon fat drippings to their recipe.

Frying the beans allows more moisture to evaporate on the hot skillet, thickening the beans, but countering the moist, creamy texture that makes refried beans delicious. And you guessed it, cream cheese is the easy, quick fix to this dryness.

Halve and thinly slice a small onion, then cook in a small saucepan over high heat with a tablespoon or two of the fat of your choice — bacon fat, schmaltz, butter, and olive oil are all great options. Fry the onions until they are softened and crispy in spots. Add the beans.

Final Thoughts. Refried beans are a nutrient rich food! They provide plenty of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. People who are at higher risk for heart disease may want to watch for the saturated fat content, but the average person can fit them into an overall healthy diet with minimal problem.

Milk makes refried beans creamy

This liquid can help make your beans smoother and taste richer. Once the beans are tender, it's time to fry them. Garlic is cooked in the oil and then the beans are added. The beans are mashed, and this is where the milk comes in.

Beans contain raffinose and other oligosaccharides (a type of carbohydrate) that our digestive system can't break down because we lack the enzyme alpha-galactosidase. This can increase gassiness.

Those aromatics in the pot will revolutionize the beans' final flavor. The aromatics I tend to use are onions, carrots, garlic, and celery, and then heartier, woodsy herbs, like rosemary, sage, and thyme, which marry beautifully with the earthy-sweet flavor of beans.

Lower the heat and add the beans and—here's the kicker—their liquid. Many recipes ask you to drain and rinse canned beans, but in this case, that liquid sort of replicates the starchy cooking broth you'd get if you had boiled the beans from dry. It helps make the final product thick, creamy, and luscious.

Add the garlic, oregano, chili powder, and cumin and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add in the drained beans, bay leaves, and broth or water. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through, then remove the bay leaves.

Refried beans may be high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium, which may obstruct weight loss goals, increase heart disease risk, and raise blood pressure.

Can type 2 diabetics eat refried beans? ›

Just like pinto beans, refried beans can be used to help manage your blood sugar levels. Because beans contain magnesium, consuming them as part of your diet can prevent your blood sugar from rising, also preventing type 2 diabetes.

2. Beans & Legumes. These foods combat inflammation because they're loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber, and protein.

The pinto bean is perhaps one of the most common type of beans used in most Mexican dishes. Like the black bean, the pinto bean is also loaded with nutritious elements including high fiber and protein. Pinto beans are served both whole and mashed, which will become the refried bean.

"Refried" doesn't mean the beans have been fried twice. The word comes from the Spanish name for the dish—frijoles refritos. In Spanish "refritos" means "well fried". To make the beans you have to cook them in water first to soften them.

If you're looking for a restaurant-quality refried beans recipe, you trust us when you say you have found it. We love to serve the beans right out of the skillet, garnish with crumbled Cojita cheese, or shredded mozzarella.

Refried beans are not cooked twice; they are only cooked once. According to the book "American Regional Cuisine" by The Art Institutes, this misnomer results from the fact that that the prefix "re-" means "very" in Spanish, but Americans misunderstand it to mean "again".