Homemade Refried Beans
My daughter has loved the refried beans at a local Mexican restaurant named Chevy’s since she was 2 years old. She just LOVES them. I picked up their cookbook (Chevy’s Fresh Mex Cookbook) several years ago but finally decided to try to recreate their refried beans. The beans simmered all afternoon long and made the house smell AMAZING! They turned out flavorful and delicious and put a huge smile on my daughter’s face. I have a feeling, knowing my daughter, I will be making these beans often.
How to Make Homemade Refried Beans
Soak the pinto beans in a covered stockpot filled with water overnight.
Cook the bacon pieces in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, until cooked through but not crisp. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease and reserve it for later use.
Add 1/2 cup of onion and the jalapeno and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the chile powder, cumin, and minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Add a cup of the soaking water from the beans while stirring and scraping the bottom to loosen all the brown bits. Add the beans, bacon, and 6 more cups of water and bring to a rapid boil.
Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered with a lid, stirring occasionally, for 4 hours, or until the beans are soft. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30-60 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid in the beans, stirring occasionally. Add salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
Side Note: You may serve the beans whole – they are called Beans a la Charra at Chevy’s.
For the refried beans, heat 3 teaspoons of the reserved bacon grease or vegetable oil in a large pan. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the four cups of the beans and cooking liquid to the sauté pan and mash until about two-thirds of the beans are mashed and one-third is still whole.
Set aside to cool which will thicken the beans. Serve plain or topped with grated cotija cheese. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried pinto beans *24 oz
- 3 quarts of water
- 6 slices of uncooked bacon coarsely chopped
- 1 cup onion finely diced (divided)
- 1 jalapeno stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 1 tbsp chile powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 3 tsp reserved bacon grease or vegetable oil
- Cotija cheese if desired
Instructions
- Soak the pinto beans in a covered Dutch oven filled with water overnight.
- Cook the bacon pieces in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, until cooked through & crisp.
- Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease and reserve it for later use. Add 1/2 cup of onion and the jalapeno and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add the chile powder, cumin, and minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add a cup of the soaking water from the beans while stirring and scraping the bottom to loosen all the brown bits.
- Add the beans, bacon, and 6 more cups of water and bring to a rapid boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 hours, or until the beans are soft. Add salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Side Note: You may serve the beans whole - they are called Beans a la Charra at Chevy's.
- For the refried beans, heat 3 teaspoons of the reserved bacon grease or vegetable oil in a large pan.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup of onions and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the four cups of the beans and cooking liquid to the sauté pan and mash until about two-thirds of the beans are mashed and one-third is still whole.
- Set aside to cool which will thicken the beans. Serve plain or topped with grated cotija cheese. Enjoy.
Hi Pam, I was one of the recipients of the group email about Kelly’s wrong payment. Thought I would pop in and say hi to fellow food bloggers. I have never had refried beans other than when we have been out at Tex Mex restaurants. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Tandy
Hi there! I love to make my own refried beans too!!! In fact, I just made a huge pot last week. I usually freeze half. I also make up a bunch of burritos for a quick on the go snack with the leftovers too. I put hamhock in mine for flavor!
I have not however, used any chili peppers. Bet that adds a good bit of flavor!
xo kris
It’s always great when you can make something your family loves at home!
I love this Pam!
Homemade refried beans taste so much better than canned. I bet the bacon added a lot of flavor.
When your family like it—SCORE!!! I know I would love this myself. So it’s a score on my tally sheet.
It looks totally comforting and delicious, Pam.
Thanks for sharing this. Delicious and healthy recipe.
I am refried beans OBSESSED. These sound super tasty!
Years ago, I assumed more meant more when it came to beans. When I moved to Tucson, AZ, in the early ’80s, I was very confused by the beans here. They were so simple, yet irresistible. I became close with a family member at one of the most famous restaurants here at the time and asked her what the secret was. The secret was simplicity. Lots of bacon fat, onion, garlic that, over the course of three or four hours of slow simmering, melt into something so simple and delicious. Leave out the chile powder, cumin and black pepper—and let the onion, garlic and fat emulsify over the course of cooking—and your recipe is there.
You treat your kids so well way to go. Living here in the South, pinto beans are a regular menu item and we always cook extra for Bev to later make into refried beans. I can imagine how good yours are when you are making them for the entire cooking process and I sure agree with your homemade vs canned comment.
I am not a cook and have never made anything with fresh beans that need soaking overnight, but thought I’d try this recipe because I love refried beans. Your recipe is confusing to me. Do I use 3 cups dried pinto beans that are measured pre-soaking or after? Your picture shows only one 1-lb package but you’d need two packs in order to get a 3-cup measure pre-soaking. I did that but got a ton of beans after soaking. I ended up measuring the 3 cups after soaking and throwing out the rest of the soaked beans. Cooking this now and am wondering if I made the correct decision. Did I??
Janet,
3 cups (or 24 oz) of dried beans that you then soak overnight. I didn’t photograph the other half-bag of beans–I’m sorry for the confusion!
-Pam