‘Refried’ Beans

the magical fruit!

Fun fact: When I was in high school my favorite after school snack was a can of La Preferida spicy chipotle refried beans. To honor that, and to keep things simple, we’re using canned pinto beans instead of dry beans.

Refried beans are still my favorite treat at Mexican restaurants. I’ve dabbled with making them at home every once in a while and figured it was time to get a recipe on paper. While lard is traditional, this recipe uses avocado oil because that’s what I have on hand and for weeknight purposes, it’s a healthier option. Lard is of course more flavorful! You could easily swap the avocado oil out and use beef tallow instead.

Ingredients

• 2 cans pinto beans

• 1/2 of a vidalia or yellow onion

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 3 tablespoons avocado oil

• 1 cup beef broth

• 1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce OR 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (if you want some actual heat) **See notes.

• 1/2 of a can of green chilies

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• Toppings: finely diced raw onion, jalapeno, cilantro. Either cotija, white cheddar, or monterey jack cheese.

Instructions

1. Slice or dice the onion and garlic. Add about 3 tablespoons of avocado oil to a pot and heat over medium heat, add in the onion and garlic.

2. Drain both cans of bean but don’t rinse! Fill one of the cans about halfway with water. Once the garlic has softened (3-5 minutes), add the beans into the pot. Add the water from the can as well. Bring to a low simmer.

3. After about 10 minutes, it should start thickening up as the water evaporates. Add in the beef broth, green chilies, and hot sauce or chipotle pepper. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

4. While the beans are simmering you can prep your toppings. Finely dice about 2 tablespoons each of jalapeno and onion, and 1 tablespoon of cilantro - I actually prefer using cilantro STEMS for this, very finely diced. Crumble or shred 1/4 cup of cheese.

5. Use an immersion blender or transfer everything in the pot to a regular blender and blend until smooth. If you like a chunkier refried bean, you can leave out 1/4 cup of beans and then stir them back in. Transfer back to the pot.

6. Over low heat, just to keep them warm, add in the sour cream. Taste for seasoning and add salt + pepper as needed. You can also add more hot sauce.

7. Transfer to a serving dish and top with fresh jalapeno, onion, cilantro, and either cheddar or cotija cheese.

8. ENJOY!!

Notes

• Hot Sauce vs Peppers: If you don’t want any heat, just add a chipotle style hot sauce (Cholula + Tabasco both have their own versions that are widely available). If you want a bit of heat, add in a whole chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. You can also add a couple spoonfuls of the adobo sauce. Different grocery stores have different brands but it’s always in the Mexican food specialty section.

• Cheese: I like cotija for the salty crumbliness but it’s not great if you want a melty cheese. If you’re going for more melty, use shredded white cheddar or monterey jack!

This recipe goes really well with my beef barbacoa! If you’re making both, add a little bit of the fat/ sauce from the barbacoa into the beans at the end with the sour cream.