Homemade Refried Beans

Homemade Refried Beans are creamy, savory, and far more flavorful than anything from a can! Made with simple pantry ingredients, these refried pinto beans have a rich, restaurant-style texture that’s perfect for tacos, burritos, and bowls or for simply dipping chips.

This recipe starts with dried pinto beans cooked from scratch for the best flavor and texture. While canned beans will work in a pinch, cooking your own beans is easy to do, budget-friendly, and creates refried beans that are far more aromatic and flavorful!

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Origin

Refried beans originated in Mesoamerica, where beans were a large staple of the indigenous food source. Refried beans are traditionally cooked with lard, but the use of animal fat was introduced after Spanish colonization. It’s speculated that the original Indigenous preparation of refried beans didn’t involve cooking the beans in fat at all.

The name “refried beans” is a bit misleading. In Spanish, frijoles refritos means “well-fried beans,” not beans that are fried twice. Despite the name, refried beans are only cooked once in fat.

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How to use these Homemade Refried Beans

These refried beans are the perfect base for a few of my favorite dishes! I use them in:

• Burritos, in place of whole beans.
• Tacos
• Salad bowls
• Chip dip
• Nachos
• Side dish

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• Use low heat when sweating onion, jalapeño, and then garlic in oil. It’s easy to become impatient with this step, but the refried beans will have a more aromatic flavor if this step isn’t rushed.
  
  
• Cook onion, jalapeño, and garlic until very soft before adding cooked pinto beans and mashing. If the aromatics are still crunchy, it will result in an unwanted crunch texture to the finished beans.
  
  
• Add salt when cooking pinto beans. This will help infuse the beans and cooking liquid with flavor, otherwise it will come out bland.

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Ingredients for Homemade Refried Beans

• Pinto Beans: Pinto beans are most the common choice for refried beans, thanks to their creamy texture and mild flavor. While pinto beans are traditional for Mexican-style refried beans, black beans are commonly used in Central American and Caribbean cooking. Red or white beans work as well, each adding their own unique flavor and texture.
  
  
• Bay leaf: Adding a bay leaf while the pinto beans cook adds a subtle, herbaceous flavor to the beans and cooking liquid, which is later used when mashing beans.
  
  
• Oil: I use either olive or avocado oil as the fat in this recipe.
  
  
• Onion and garlic: These aromatics are gently cooked on low heat to soften and add a flavorful base for the refried beans.
  
  
• Jalapeño: Only optional for spicy heat! The minced pepper is cooked with the onion and garlic and can be customized for spice. Omit half or all seeds depending on preferred spice preference.
  
  
• Mexican oregano: Mexican oregano has more earthy, savory flavors and oregano has more citrusy, mint-like flavors. If you don’t have Mexican oregano on hand, regular oregano works just fine.
  
  
• Cumin and chili powder: These spices add warm, earthy notes and mild heat to compliment the refried beans.
  
  
• Aquafaba: The bean cooking liquid is infused with flavor from the bay leaf, onion, and natural starch from the pinto beans. This creates a perfect liquid to mash the beans with, creating the creamy texture of refried beans!
  

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Recipe FAQ

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How to make Homemade Refried Beans

Soak Beans

Soak pinto beans overnight, at least 8 hours.

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Strain Water

When ready to cook, strain soaking water using a colander.

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Cook Pinto Beans

Press the “sauté” function on the Instant Pot. Once hot, add a drizzle of avocado oil and 1 cup onions and sauté until tender. Press “cancel” and add strained pinto beans, 1 bay leaf, and ½ tsp salt. Seal Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Allow pressure to release at least 10 minutes or a full natural release.

(I use an Instant Pot because it’s much faster for cooking beans, but beans can also be cooked on the stovetop! Directions are the same, only instead of pressure cooking you will cover the beans with several inches of water, cover with a lid, and simmer for 45-75 minutes, until beans are tender.)

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Reserve Aquafaba

Once pressure is released, open lid. Separate the beans and the cooking liquid using a colander and large bowl or pot, reserving the aquafaba (bean water).

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Make Refried Beans

In a large pot (my preference) or large cast iron skillet, heat 2 ½ Tbsp olive oil on low-medium heat. Add 1 cup white onions, ½ tsp salt, and optional jalapeño and sweat onions until very tender and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Don’t rush this step, you want them to cook slowly.

Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add spices + mash

Then add the strained pinto beans, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp Mexican oregano, and ½ cup of the aquafaba (bean cooking liquid). Turn heat up to medium and use a potato masher to mash beans to desired consistency, adding a little more aquafaba if needed. Add 1 Tbsp lime juice and cook until beans are heated through, then turn off heat. Taste, add anything more refried beans may need.

For more blended texture, you can use a stick blender or food processor.

These refried beans are a perfect filling for burritos, tacos, bowls, a side dish, or a chip dip appetizer.

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Storage + Reheating

Store refried beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze 1-2 months.

Reheat refried beans in the microwave or on the stove in a pot on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

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Other Mexican-inspired recipes

If you love Mexican flavors, try my other recipes!

• Fluffy Mexican Rice (Arroz Rojo)
• Black Bean and Kale Burritos with Avocado Crema
• Black Bean and Yellow Rice Burritos
• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans
• Garden Fresh Pico de Gallo
• Mango-Lime Salsa
  

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Did you enjoy these Homemade Refried Beans? I’d love to hear how it turned out in a comment below!