Homemade Refried Beans

I have been asked a couple of times recently about how to make homemade refried beans so I thought I'd post about it. Growing up in Arizona, I always had authentic, homemade Mexican food both in restaurants and at home. My mom is half Mexican so I've got lots of authentic recipes.

Homemade refried beans are pretty easy to make, but it does take a bit of time since you start off with dried beans. I personally think they are healthier than the canned kind because I know exactly what goes into them as opposed to canned beans and in my opinion they taste much better! Most of the canned beans (the ones that don't say vegetarian or fat free on the label) have lard or hydrogenated oil in them. I do use canned refried beans in a pinch. When I do I always heat a little canola oil in a sauce pan, add the canned beans and some milk (we use 2%) to loosen them up. I stir them until I get the consistency I like then add a little chili powder (New Mexico Ancho Chili) and cheddar cheese then stir until the cheese melts.

To make homemade refried beans, start off with a large pot... mine is 4 1/2 quarts. I use 3 - 4 c. of dried pinto beans. Sort the beans (remove any stones or broken or "yucky" looking beans) then rinse them well. If you want them to cook faster, soak them in water overnight but you don't have to do so if you don't want to. Drain your beans and put them in the pot and cover them with water to about 2 inches above the beans. Then add 3 strips of turkey bacon or a ham hock (we prefer turkey bacon because it is healthier than the ham hock and not greasy). Bring the beans to a boil then turn down to a simmer and allow to cook about 3 hours or until tender. You'll want to stir them every so often and add more water as needed. At about the 2 hour and 45 minute mark add salt to taste... I'd say at least 2 tsp.... I don't really measure it. You should put less than you think you need as you can always add more later. When the beans are done, remove the pot from the heat and set it aside. Now get a large skillet and heat about 1 Tbsp. of canola oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beans with a slotted spoon and about 1/4 c. of the bean liquid and 1/2 c. milk. Reserve the remaining liquid in case you need more. Don't overfill the pan, you can do this in batches if you need to or freeze and extra beans and liquid for later use. With a potato masher, mash the beans until they are of desired consistency, adding more bean liquid if needed. Stir well. Add chili powder and shredded cheddar cheese and stir until mixed well. Allow to cool a bit then stir again, if they seem too dry add more milk and stir again. If they seem too liquid, just keep cooking them and stirring them, the liquid will dry up as they cook. Leftovers can be frozen and reheated in the microwave.

If you're looking for refried beans that taste like they came from a Mexican restaurant, try this recipe!