Authentic Mexican “Refried” Beans (Oil-free)
I am an Arizona native and devoted lifelong Mexican food lover.
My husband and I lived in Alabama for two years while he did graduate school. I never realized that authentic Mexican food was not universally available, but it soon became quite clear that the South does fried chicken and okra way better than they do burritos. We had to hunt down authentic-tasting Mexican food. We eventually found our go-to’s (the little red food truck down on Highway 31 and Sol Azteca, if you ever find yourself in Birmingham in need of Mexican food) but we missed how widely-available it is in the West. In such times, it’s necessary to make your own Mexican food. Thankfully, we have Hispanic friends who have taught us their ways. This recipe is from our friend in Sedona who makes the most delicious Mexican food that is as authentic as you can get.
You can eat them whole, like pictured above, or keep the liquid and blend them or mash them for “refried” consistency.
Aside from being the cheapest recipe on my blog, these beans are so easy to make and are extremely versatile. For Cinco de Mayo or any celebration, make a big pot of these beans, invite all your friends, and eat outdoors together–it’s what all Hispanics do to celebrate and it’s seriously the best way to do life!
Ways to Eat Authentic Refried Beans
These beans are a delicious blank canvas–here are some ways you could use them:
- mix with salsa or hot sauce for a chip dip
- dollop them on a platter of chips for nachos
- serve them in corn tortillas for a quick lunch
- make Mexican pizza with them (recipe coming soon!)
- serve them with Spanish rice as side dishes
- make a burrito bowl with rice, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, or roasted veggies
- make tostadas
- make rice and bean burritos
- make 7-layer dip
Epic Vegan Nachos featuring homemade refried beans, cashew queso, pickled jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro and avocado.
Or, make this satisfying and flavorful Mexican Pizza! It’s a soft, whole wheat crust with beans/salsa spread on it, and then ALLLL the toppings with an easy smoky cashew queso drizzled over. Swoon!
The Great Salt and Beans Debate
Some say that beans should not be salted while cooking, that it dries them out. Others say to add salt at the beginning of the cooking process so they are infused with flavor. Still others forgo salt all together out of health concerns. While I wish I had it in me to not cook with salt (I’m sure there are health advantages!), beans are simply SO much better with salt that I do use it. I find them much more flavorful to add salt to the cooking water. However, if you’d like to use less salt, you could sprinkle a little on after cooking. Either way works! This Primary Beans article about salt and beans provides a clear summary.
Authentic Mexican Refried Beans (oil-free)
Ingredients
- 5 cups dry pinto beans
- 7 cups water
- 1 TBSP cumin (optional)
- 1 TBSP salt (add another 1-3 teaspoons depending on salt preference)
- 1 whole onion, peeled and cut in half
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Rinse beans and put into an Instant Pot. Add 7 cups of water (the water should just barely cover the beans), salt, cumin and a whole, peeled onion cut in half.
- Set to high pressure for 25 minutes. Let it release naturally.
- Once beans are cooked, remove onion and discard. Either remove the beans with a slotted spoon and serve whole, or blend to make smooth.
Slow-Cooker
- Place beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Rinse beans and put into the Crock Pot. Add 7 cups of water (the water should just barely cover the beans), salt, cumin and a whole, peeled onion cut in half.
- To cook them in a crock pot, let cook for 3-4 hours on high.
- Once beans are cooked, remove onion and discard. Either remove the beans with a slotted spoon and serve whole, or blend to make smooth.
Stove-Top
- Place beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Rinse beans and put into a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add 7 cups of water (the water should just barely cover the beans), salt, cumin and a whole, peeled onion cut in half.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the beans are soft. The exact time will depend on the freshness of your beans. Check at about 45 minutes, then every 15 minutes after that up utnil 2 hours. Add more water to the pot, as needed, to keep the beans submerged. Cook the pinto beans until they are soft when mashed with a fork against the side of the pot, and the liquid has thickened.
- Once beans are cooked, remove onion and discard. Either remove the beans with a slotted spoon and serve whole, or blend to make smooth.
To make smooth "refried" beans
- Use a ladle to fill your blender with beans, and include enough of the liquid so that it reaches about halfway up the blender. Blend until very smooth. If needed, add a little more cooking liquid to make it blend. Pour into a container immediately while they are runny. They will be runny and thin at first, but thicken as they cool. They especially thicken overnight in the fridge. An immersion blender straight into the pot will also work, if you have one!To add more flavor, add about 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable broth base and about 1/2 cup salsa (I always eyeball this part) and blend.
To freeze:
- These beans freeze very well in individual glass or plastic containers, and can be thawed on the counter, under hot water, or in the microwave for future recipes. I always like to make a big batch and freeze some for a quick meal in the future. Souper Cubes or other 1-2 cup containers are great, so you can thaw out 1-2 cups at at time.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Some of the best refried beans I’ve ever had (southern Arizona native)…so much flavor with so few ingredients and effort. We make these at least once a month and freeze the leftovers to use until the next batch. Mexican food is in short supply here in Japan and these are so comforting to me!
I’m so glad you can make good refried beans in Japan! As an AZ native myself, I know I couldn’t live without Mexican food. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, McKenzie! And I’m so excited for your family’s new arrival on the way!
These are authentic! I love that I can just drop the whole onion in and not have to chop it. We use them in lots of ways, but most often for bean burritos and tostadas.
We love these beans! I tried reducing the salt, but they didn’t taste quite as good. These are so easy! I usually use my instant pot and freeze most of it for quick meals.
Can these be done in a Dutch oven instead? How would the process need to be altered?
I added stove top instructions you can use with a Dutch Oven! Thanks so much for asking!
I appreciate this so much, thanks! They came out delicious, we served them with some blackened chicken and homemade mango salsa 😊
Sounds amazing! Thank you so much for coming to comment!
These beans are delicious! I really can’t believe how easy they are and that there is no oil in them. We make them often to make sure we always have some in the freezer.
Two tablespoons of salt–wow! Considering the current recommendation is approx 2300 mg/day for the average adult, and 1500 mg/day for those with high blood pressure, two tablespoons (about 12000-13000 mg) makes this a very unhealthy choice. Any ideas for reducing sodium?
You’re very right! You’re welcome to use less salt! This makes about 10 cups of beans, so the salt is spread a long way. People who aren’t used to low-salt find that beans are appealing when they are well-salted, but may give up on them without salt. This is for an authentic recipe, and people may drain off the liquid which contains most of the salt.
These were very good and very easy to make. I definitely do not recommend using canned pinto beans. I tried it the second time to make the process a little easier since I didn’t have any dry beans and it does not taste the same so definitely use dry beans. Also, after making it a couple times, my family said it was a little too salty the first time so I cut the salt and take down to a tablespoon maybe even a sprinkle more than a tablespoon and it was perfect and I added an extra half of onion and two cloves of garlic as well gave it a little bit more flavor. But overall good recipe.
Great feedback, thank you so much!