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Refried beans are such a staple in every mexican home. The creamy beans are served as a side dish or also alone sprinkled with queso fresco. Once you make them at home, there’s no way you returning to eat the store-bought ones.
Refried beans are a dominant dish in Mexican cuisine, they are usually prepared to accompany many of the traditional mexican dishes but also to eat them alone only with tortillas. They are eaten in the morning as breakfast or for lunch, but also at nights for dinner.
I remember when I was a kid, coming back from school so hungry that my mom will give me a taquito con frijoles (taco with fried beans) so I could wait until lunch was ready.
How to make mexican refried beans
There are several ways to prepare refried beans, the most common is to do it simply by adding them onto a frying pan with oil or pork lard then mashing them with a potato masher until they are of the perfect consistency: soft and creamy.
Other forms of preparation include the use of extra ingredients such as onion, chili peppers, tomatoes, epazote, etc. they are previously fried to give them a touch of flavor. But in general nothing is needed apart from the beans and the fat where they will be fried.
My mom used to fry them in plenty of pork lard to make them chinitos as she said (dry and well fried). Then she will served them in hand-made corn tortillas with a sprinkle of queso fresco. Oh how good they were!
How to serve refried beans
Oh the possibilities are endless! You can serve them as they are with just some queso fresco (or other fresh cheese), as dip with corn chips, spread on burritos tortillas, as a side dish for adobo pork ribs or with mexican divorced eggs. Really, almost anything your heart desires.
huevos rancheros served with refried beans
What kind of beans for refried
The most common types are pinto, bayo, black. You can use the ones you prefer but I strongly suggest to cook them at home.
My personal notes
I do not add anything to my refried beans because I don’t like to. Of course, this is only a personal preference. So you might find the recipe to be very simple.
Truth is, the only things I pay attention more is: 1) The quality of the beans. I do not use canned beans because I make my own frijoles de la olla at home and I like to use good quality beans. The older they are, the most time they take to cook.
And number two, I like my refried beans with pork lard. Sorry, not trying to be unhealthy here, I just like them that way because that’s how I use to eat them since I was a child. And of course, is up to you if you wanna follow my recipe. I promise they’re so freaking delicious in their own.
Refried beans
Ingredients
- 500 gr of cooked and drained beans
- 100 pork lard or other type of oil
Instructions
- Melt and heat the lard in a frying pan over moderate heat taking care not to let it smoke.
- Add the beans carefully to the pan since in contact with the hot oil they could jump and burn. Add 1/2 cup of water (or beans cooking
- Let the beans sizzle for 1 minute and then mash them perfectly (if you don't have a masher you can use the bottom of a glass).
- With a wooden spoon, stir and let dry the beans a little of the liquid that they may still have. The beans are ready when they have a consistency similar to mashed potatoes.
There goes my diet that looks delicious and I’m gonna try it thanks.