We like Mexican food in our house. We enjoy having homemade beans when we do this. I have had this post partially done for awhile now, but I finally got it finished.
There are a lot of ways to make homemade refried beans. If you search the internet you will find a lot of different tips from a lot of people. This is how I do mine and how we like them. I do have a semi secret ingredient that comes from a friend of mine who was a missionary in Mexico for several years.
The way I make mine is not technically “refried”. If you want to cook/fry them after they are mashed go ahead. Again this is just how I make them, you can adjust it how you want.
I started making my own refried beans several years ago, but I only made them occasionally. I now have started making them all the time. I make a large batch usually 1 or 2 pounds of beans. After I have the refried beans made I freeze them. They freeze really well and this allows me to have them anytime with out having to make them.
My family likes these so much better then what you buy in the cans at the store. The taste and texture are much better. This is one of the things that I really should have been making sooner. It is much better, healthier, and more frugal. I also think these taste pretty close to the ones you would get at a Mexican restaurant.
These directions are just basic. Tweak them for your tastes.
Homemade Refried Beans Recipe
Skip the can and make refried beans at home.
Ingredients
- 1 lb of pinto or black beans (we prefer black refried beans)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of chili powder (add more or less if you want to change it up ).
- 1 tablespoon Mexican chicken boullion - see post for picture
- about 8 cups water
Instructions
- Place beans in a bowl. Add about 8 cups or so of water so that water level is about 1 inch or more above the beans. No need to be exact. If they need more water while cooking add more water.
- In the morning place beans the crockpot, along with onion, pepper, and spices.
- Place lid on crockpot and cook on low until beans are tender. Usually about 8 hours or more.
- When done drain but SAVE the liquid you need some of this. You want to use some of this liquid when mashing beans to give them extra flavor.
- If you like your beans more chunky mash with a potato masher. If you like them smooth, which is how my family likes them, use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. The immersion blender is easiest if you have one.
- If you are using a blender, let beans and liquid cool a bit. Hot liquid and blenders don't mix well. Place some beans into the blender. I usually do this in three or four batches. Add a little bit of reserved bean liquid.
- Blend until desired consistency adding liquid as needed. You may need to add more bouillon to taste. Repeat with remaining beans.
- If I use my immersion blender I place all of the drained beans in a large bowl and add some bean liquid and bouillon and blend all at the same time. I add more bean liquid as needed.
- If you like the beans with more texture and chunks so she mashes hers with a potato masher instead of a blender.
- Serve as needed or freeze.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 80Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 54mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 5gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Looks good. Thanks for sharing!
MJ
I have never made homemade refrieds. I have a Hispanic friend that I watched make them one time, but I never wrote it down. Thanks for sharing, Lynn!
I LOVE refried beans…YUMMY!
We love refried beans but I try to stay away from salt. This is a great recipe to work with. Thank you for sharing.
My local Wal-Mart sells a LARGE jar of this chicken bouillon in the Mexican food section. It only costs $5, which I think is EXTREMELY cheap, considering the price of “American” chicken bouillon! I had already planned on adding the bouillon to my shopping list this week. Now I have a recipe to try it out on:)
Anonymous, One tip, I use the Mexican bouillon really only in mexican type food. It does taste a little different then our reg. version. It tastes a bit odd in something like an Italian dish. I hope you like it. Let me know.
Just finished a batch of these and WOW what a difference with the boullion. Have tried in the past will some..umm well wasn’t too impressed but these are great! The beans were so tasty you could serve them right out of the pot with some cheese. Thanks for the recipe, and sharing so many of them. Definetely will be trying more recipes of yours….
Have a blessed day!
So do you add the bullion only when you are mixing the beans, not during the cooking? Thanks! I am SO going to try this one. I have tried many many recipes and have yet to find one we like, or is easy enough to make over and over. I like to make as many things from scratch as I can and we just don’t eat refried beans often because I hate buying them.
Shorty
I add the mexican bullion both during the cooking and when mashing or blending them. I add about 1 tablespoon when cooking and then when blending I just add to taste. I put a little in and taste add more if needed, etc.
Thanks so much for this recipe. My husband and I both loved them. All I did different was use pickled jalapenos instead of fresh because that is what I had on hand. This is a keeper.
Okay – so I must live in a Mexican Chicken Bouillon free zone – I have gone to every one of our grocery stores and cannot find it. Do you have any suggestions for any substitutions? Thanks Lynn!
@Wendy, Sorry you cant find it. My stores carry it in the Mexican aisle with the other products like hot peppers and other Mexican specialty foods. If you really want to find it you may try a Mexican grocery store if you have one in your area. But I would just try some reg. powdered chicken bouillon. It should work ok. it will add some flavor to the beans, not quite the same as the Mexican kind but close.
I’m making these tonight 🙂 I had cooked up 2 pounds pintos for the freezer, but I’m thinking I’ll make refried beans to go with FishMama’s chimichanga recipe!!
Allie
.-= Allie Zirkle´s last blog ..URS: Chocolate Cupcakes =-.
My! Do you know how much MSG that bouillon has? My husband would be vomiting all night long if I cooked with that junk! Be wary of all packaged bouillons if you want to avoid MSG and other chemical flavor enhancers.
@Mommaofmany, Yes, I am aware of the issues behind MSG, but this is one of the only products in my house that contains it. I buy basically no packaged mixes and sauces, especially now that I have to eat gluten free, and that my daughter has to be careful what she eats. Since we have cut the majority of packaged items from our diet that contain things like MSG, I am fine with occasionally using an item like this in my cooking. Refried beans are basically the only thing I use this product in and we only eat refried beans a few times a month. I still feel that my homemade refried beans are the best option for my family.
Can you freeze these? I’m wanting to cook 2lbs of dried beans, make this recipe then freeze.
Thanks!
And all of these years I thought Knorr Bouillon was just putting it an a Spanish label container for the benefit of our Mexican citizens. I have seen the two side by side as well as the Spanish label on the Spanish aisle. I will have to do a taste test to see if there is a difference. Hmmmmm…..
As for bouillons my favorite brand is Orrington Farms.
A North Carolinian
And all of these years I thought Knorr Bouillon was just putting it an a Spanish label container for the benefit of our Mexican citizens. I have seen the two side by side as well as the Spanish label on the Spanish aisle. I will have to do a taste test to see if there is a difference. Hmmmmm…..
As for bouillons my favorite brand is Orrington Farms.
A North Carolinian
Sorry about submitting the same comment twice…this was my first time in responding to any of these recipes. I did make the refried beans tonight and they were excellent…the best ever!!!!! Since I did not have any cooked dry black beans on hand, I used 3 (15 oz)cans, well drained. This was equal to 1/2 the 6 cups that one pound of cooked dry beans will yield. I added only a small amount of the liquid after mashing them with the suggested potato masher. I only had the Orrington Farms granulated chicken bouillon to use,so I wll have to try it next time with the Knorr. This will defintely be a staple in my freezer!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was in a bind with helping out with a taco night for a youth leadership meeting and didn’t have any meat and only a soaked bag of pinto beans…so THANK YOU! Just a question. Have you ever considered pressure cooking the beans instead of putting in a crockpot for 8 hours? I soaked my beans overnight and then pressure cooked them on 13 pounds for 26 minutes and bam into the blender to begin your fabulous recipe! Totaly life saver! THanks again!
@Christina, I am so glad that you liked them. Yes I have done beans in my pressure cooker, but I usually do large amounts and freeze them, so my slow cooker holds more, but a pressure cooker does work great.
I was just wondering if you had experimented with dehydrating at all. My understanding is that refried beans dehydrate and rehydrate extremely well. I have no freezer or fridge at the moment, so I have opened my mind to the dehydrating possibilities 🙂 Looks like a flavorful recipe, I will try it later this week 🙂
This looks great! Me & my 2 girls love refried beans, so this would definitely be something to try! I will let you know when I make them.
Thanks!
like the tip. but how about homemade chicken stock from the freezer etc???
Great recipe idea. I have a ton of dried beans and can’t wait to try this with them. Thanks for sharing!
Mexican bouillon is the ticket! It is the secret ingredient and makes the beans taste authentic! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!
Lynn, these are so good! I can’t use that mexican chicken bouillon since I have a corn allergy, so I have been using Better Than Bouillon Chicken Kosher For Passover (contains no corn) and it’s wonderful!! I make up a 2 lb batch of beans, whip up this recipe and freeze in smaller containers for a quick chip & bean dip dinner or lunch with a salad. YUM!!
Thanks,
Moe
I am so glad you were able to make it work for you. I agree I love keeping these in the freezer. In fact, I need to make another batch for my freezer.
Can refried beans be frozen? Just curious. Seems like this recipe makes quite a bit and right now it is just me and my two kids and we wouldnt be able to eat it all before it went bad. Thanks! :o)
Yes, they freeze really well. I do it all the time. You could also make a smaller batch if you did not want this many. But freezing is a great option as well.
Thank you Lynn,
for your home made refried bean narrative. I enjoyed both your recipe and your manner of sharing it.
After living for 20 years in the Southwest – living on the eastern seaboard is like being on Mars when it comes to the food I love. I especially liked your blending the beans, where I used to mash them. My digestion is improving enough so I’m now able to eat small amounts of beans on occasion. Your blending them looks like the perfect next step to enjoy them more often. I appreciate you. Smiles ! Irene E.
I am glad you found that helpful. Homemade refried beans are delicious, so I love hearing how much people enjoy them.