Make delicious Mexican Refried Beans at home with this quick and easy recipe!
When the husband and I were in Mexico earlier this year I fell in love with Mexican-style breakfasts. I’ve never been a huge fan of typical American breakfast foods; I’d rather heat up a piece of leftover pizza for breakfast than have scrambled eggs and toast.
Mexican breakfasts are made up of all sorts of amazing non-breakfasty items like Mexican Chilaquiles Rojos and Mollettes (cheesy beans on toast – amazing!).
On a lazy Saturday morning I decided to make Roasted Poblanos in Cream Sauce and Homemade Refried Beans.
The difference between Homemade Refried Beans and the canned stuff is like night and day. To really experience the full difference in taste, start with beans from scratch. I use a really easy no-soak oven method to cook my dry beans. It’s also incredibly inexpensive to purchase dry beans in bulk, so it’s really a win-win situation.
Simply fry your cooked beans in a skillet with fat, seasonings, and a bit of water as you mash them into a creamy texture.
Check out this adorable little Tabasco container! Isn’t it precious??
That little guy just kills me.
The husband wasn’t completely keen on having just beans and peppers for breakfast, so I fried an egg to put on top of his.
There’s not much like the beautiful bright yellow yolk oozing out of a fried egg. Sigh.
Ready to get on the homemade-refried-beans-bandwagon? The handy printable recipe is below!
Here’s the Recipe!
Easy Mexican Refried Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. lard - or vegetable oil
- 1 lb. pinto beans - cooked (see my Oven Beans recipe)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper - optional
- 1 tsp. Goya all-purpose seasoning - or ¾ tsp. salt
- Cilantro - chopped scallions, and cotija cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beans, stir well, then cover and let cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Once the beans are nice and warmed, begin mashing them by using the back of a wooden spoon. As you mash, the insides of the beans will come out and make the mixture quite dry. Keep the water close to the stove so you can drizzle some in as needed throughout the process. If the beans don't seem to want to mash, just put the lid back on and try again in a few minutes. Sometimes they just need to warm up a bit more.
- Keep mashing away and adding water as needed until you get the consistency of refried beans you prefer. If you accidentally add too much water, just keep the lid off and let the liquid cook off through the steam. Stir in the cumin, cayenne pepper (if using), and Goya (or salt).
- Serve warm, topped with cilantro, scallions, and cotija cheese.
Nutrition
Wondering if you could switch butter for the oil?
Hi, Dana! I’m sure you could – just use a lower heat, as butter has a lower smoke point than oil does. Let me know how it turns out!
I forgot to check back before I made them, so I used oil instead. They turned out wonderful! I used them to make a bunch of burritos for the freezer. I will let you know when I make them again, next time I will try the butter! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Nice! I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Have been doing this for years, but sub in bacon fat for the lard and finely chopped onion at the start. Nothing like it!
Onion would be lovely in these – and bacon fat is welcome in my house, any time!
I LOVE refried beans!! We eat the Trader Joe’s version whenever I make tacos (often…) and I have only made them homemade a couple of times. Yours look DELISH! I will have to try them. My husband would “need” an egg too– such a great compromise! 🙂
Oooh the Trader Joe’s kind is pretty darn good, too. If you made a big batch of these I’m sure they’d freeze well. Then you could just thaw them for taco night!