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 vegetable shorteningThe 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:
- Rinse beans.
- Place beans in a 4-quart slow cooker with 6 cups of water.
- 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.
- Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree - alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree.
- Add the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.
- Add the hot oil to the beans and mix well until it's integrated into the beans.
- Cook for another 30 minutes on high.
Stove top directions:
- Rinse beans.
- Place beans in a 4-quart pot with 8 cups of water.
- Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 hours or until soft and can break easily with a spoon
- Add the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.
- 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.
- Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree - alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree.
- 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!
Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening vegetable oil or lard
Instructions
- Slow-cooker directions:
- Rinse beans.
- Place beans in a 4-quart slow cooker with 6 cups of water.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 8 to 10.
- Once the beans are soft and can break easily with a spoon, add the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.
- Add the hot oil to the beans and mix well until it's integrated into the beans.
- Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree - alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree.
- Cook for another 30 minutes on high.
- Stove top directions:
- Rinse beans.
- Place beans in a 4-quart pot with 8 cups of water.
- Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 hours or until soft and can break easily with a spoon
- Add the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- In a small skillet, heat the oil or lard until shimmering over medium-high heat.
- 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.
- Using a bean/potato masher, smash the beans to form a chunky puree - alternative, use a stick blender to make a smoother puree.
- Cook for another 10 minutes on low.
Nutrition
PIN ME to make later!
Do you drain the water from the beans after cooking and before adding the oil.
Hi Jackie, I don't drain then since the water ratio will be perfect to keep the juicy enough. The first day may be a little more runny but as they days go by they tend to dry out. That's why I don't remove any of the bean liquid. Great question! I hope you have a great day!
Finally a good recipe for beans! I love to eat some with Mexican rice too
Thanks so much Monica! I really appreciate your input!