5 Minute Refried Beans Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

Why are restaurant refried beans so much better? ›

Why Do Restaurant Refried Beans Taste So Good? Most authentic Mexican restaurants use lard in their refried bean recipes which adds another layer of flavor and helps achieve the ideal creamy texture.

If you're wondering what is the secret ingredient for restaurant-quality refried beans, the answer is fat. Restaurant-made refried beans honor traditional Mexican culinary practices by adding a hearty helping of lard or bacon fat drippings to their recipe.

Yet, since refried beans often contain added fat and salt, they may be higher in calories, saturated fat, and sodium than other beans. These factors may impair your weight loss goals, raise your risk of heart disease, and increase your blood pressure levels.

Beans contain raffinose and other oligosaccharides (a type of carbohydrate) that our digestive system can't break down because we lack the enzyme alpha-galactosidase. This can increase gassiness.

Because in Mexico, the traditional method of preparing this dish uses lard, also known as pork fat. Many foods taste amazing when fried in lard or prepared with lard. Same way you make them with pintos. Soak them, season them, boil them, drain them.

Tortilla dough recipes typically use lard. And any Mexican restaurant worth their salt will have lard in the beans.

Dump a can of pinto, black, or cranberry beans and the can liquid into the saucepan along with a few teaspoons of taco seasoning (you can adjust this to your taste). Cook for a few minutes to warm everything up and thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Mash the beans.

If your beans are still too watery after prolonged cooking and mashing, consider adding a thickener like cornstarch, all-purpose flour, or arrowroot. To do this, first, make a slurry of equal parts thickener and water, then slowly add it to your refried beans. They should thicken considerably.

Stewed over a few hours, pinto beans can be served whole and fried (frijoles chinos) or mashed and refried (frijoles refritos). Frijoles are eaten with almost every main course alongside arroz. In many Mexican restaurants in America, refried beans are served with a layer of melty, gooey, shredded cheese on top.

2. Beans & Legumes. These foods combat inflammation because they're loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber, and protein.

Can diabetics eat refried beans? ›

Controlled Blood Sugar

Just like pinto beans, refried beans can be used to help manage your blood sugar levels. Because beans contain magnesium, consuming them as part of your diet can prevent your blood sugar from rising, also preventing type 2 diabetes.

Why Are They Called Refried Beans? "Refried" doesn't mean the beans have been fried twice. The word comes from the Spanish name for the dish—frijoles refritos. In Spanish "refritos" means "well fried".

Smaller beans like adzuki, lentils, mung beans and peas digest more easily. Pinto, kidney, navy, black-eyed peas, garbanzo, lima, and black beans are harder to digest and should be eaten only occasionally. Soybeans and black soybeans are the most difficult beans to digest.

This can eventually lead to serious problems such as malnutrition. Some sources of lectins are considered seriously poisonous. Castor beans, for example, contain a potent lectin poison called ricin. Certain types of lectin may bind with the walls of your digestive system which can lead to serious problems.

While any legume has the potential to cause gas, certain varieties are notorious for their gassiness. "Soybeans, pinto beans, black beans and lentils are most likely to cause gas because of the amount of fermentable sugars and fiber," says Kunik.

Refried beans are healthy because they are high in protein, fiber, minerals, and other nutrients and they may help you lose weight. Refried beans are a delicious and versatile dish that appears on the menus of many Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. You can also easily make this meal at home or buy it in a can.

Garnish and Serve – When beans are done, garnish with cotija cheese, queso fresco, and/or chopped cilantro.

Meanwhile, we include whole pinto beans as an ingredient in our Bueno Bowls and offer them as a side. Refried beans are pinto beans that have been mashed and pan-fried, and they are typically seasoned with a little chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.