Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)

These Two-Ingredients Refried Beans are all you need to complete your Mexican meals! Nothing fancy, nothing fake, just great beans from an easy recipe. 

Seriously guys, I can’t live without my refried beans! They are comfort food for me. I even like the smell while cooking them at home. Weird huh?

My mom used to make a HUGE pot (one of those you cook tamales in) filled with beans at least once a week!! This would enough to feed our huge family of 9 kids plus all of the guests that would drop by.

And as you imagine, this was one of the first dishes I learned to cook. It is so easy and I’m sure you can make them too!

How to make Refried Beans

Let’s talk about the ingredients first.

• My preferred beans are pinto beans but this recipe will work with white or black beans or any other similar bean.
• The fat: this ingredient is important to add some flavor to the beans so I don’t like to skip it!! I use vegetable shortening, but you can also use vegetable oil or lard. The authentic recipes will use lard but that is optional.
• Use kosher salt – It tastes better and it doesn’t have an iodized after-taste. I don’t count salt (or water) as an ingredient, hence the two-ingredient reference to this recipe 😉

Slow-cooker directions:

1. Rinse beans. 
2. Place beans in a 4-quart slow cooker with 6 cups of water. 
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 8 to 10. They are ready once the beans are soft and can break easily with a spoon.
4. Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree – alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree. 
5. Add the 1 tablespoon of salt.  
6. In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.   
7. Add the hot oil to the beans and mix well until it’s integrated into the beans. 
8. Cook for another 30 minutes on high. 

Stove top directions:

1. Rinse beans. 
2. Place beans in a 4-quart pot with 8 cups of water. 
3. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. 
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 hours or until soft and can break easily with a spoon
5. Add the 1 tablespoon of salt.  
6. In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.   
7. Add the hot oil slowly to the beans (being careful not splash the oil outside of the pot) and mix well until it’s integrated into the beans. 
8. Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree – alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree. 
9. Cook for another 10 minutes on low. 

Do I need to soak my beans first?

I have tried both ways: soaking the beans overnight or cooking without soaking. Both work fine but soaking overnight saves about 30 minutes of cooking time.

I always forget to soak my beans the night before so I usually skip this step.

How do I store my Refried Beans?

This recipe makes 6 cups of beans and that is a lot for two people! Since we don’t eat them everyday I make sure I freeze some for later. I keep 2 cups of beans in the fridge to consume for the next couple of weeks.

For the rest I use two 1-quart freezer bags and add two cups of beans or so. I freeze them and use as needed.

Here are some ideas for what to serve these frijoles with:

• Chicken Tinga
• Cochinita Pibil
• Healthy Pico De Gallo
• Or just make some quesadillas and enjoy!

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