Refried Beans

Making Refried Beans Ahead

Refrigerate up to 5 days and freeze 3 months. Reheat with a splash of water or stock, mashing again to loosen.

How to Make Refried Beans

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1. Drain the beans and put them in a large pot with the halved onion, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves and epazote. Cover with water by 5 cm.

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2. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1½ to 2 hours until the beans are completely soft and crush without resistance. Top up with hot water as needed.

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3. Add the salt only in the last 20 minutes — earlier salting can toughen the skins.

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4. Discard the onion, garlic and bay. Drain the beans, reserving all the cooking liquid.

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5. Melt the lard (or neutral oil) in a wide, heavy frying pan over medium heat and fry the chopped onion for 8 minutes until soft and golden.

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6. Add the minced garlic and cumin for 45 seconds.

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7. Add the beans a few ladlefuls at a time with a splash of their liquid, mashing hard with a potato masher after each addition.

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8. Keep cooking and mashing for 10 to 12 minutes, adding liquid as needed, until the beans are creamy, glossy and pull away from the base of the pan in a mass.

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9. Taste for salt and serve topped with queso fresco, with tortilla chips alongside.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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A Few Pointers

• Save every drop of the cooking liquid. It is what turns mashed beans into refried beans.
• They should be looser in the pan than you want them on the plate — they tighten considerably as they cool.
• For a vegetarian version use a good neutral oil and add a tablespoon of smoked paprika for depth.

Why the Method Is What It Is

The bean cooking liquid does most of the work: it is loaded with starch and flavour, and mashing the beans into it rather than into water gives a silky, emulsified texture. Lard is traditional because it carries flavour and emulsifies with the starch in a way that neutral oil simply does not.

Good Alongside

Any Mexican main, from tacos to huevos rancheros · Warm tortillas · Rice, for a complete plate

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Refried Beans FAQ

Refried Beans Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.

Vegetarian when made with neutral oil rather than lard.

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