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

FAQs

Why are Mexican restaurant refried beans so good? ›

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 a sugar called an oligosaccharide. Your body can't digest it because you don't produce the enzyme necessary to break it down.

It varies. Some contain pig lard (manteca), others don't. One of the most popular local Mexican chain restaurants now serves refried beans without pig lard and rice without chicken broth.

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.

I like to sprinkle in some taco seasoning, but you could add whatever spices you like — garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder are all good calls.

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.

For a healthier or vegetarian-friendly alternative, saute the beans in a neutral oil like vegetable or avocado oil. Other substitutes for vegetable oil, like butter, beef tallow, coconut oil, and even chicken fat, can also replace the lard in refried beans.

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

Because beans contain magnesium, consuming them as part of your diet can prevent your blood sugar from rising, also preventing type 2 diabetes. Not only does eating refried beans help you manage certain aspects of your health, but they taste incredible when fresh and authentic.

"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". To make the beans you have to cook them in water first to soften them.

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.

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.

The secret to creating beans that taste like they're from a restaurant is a long simmering time. This softens the beans and brings out all the flavor as well as marries the flavor from the add-ins into the beans. Mixing with a hand mixer softens the beans and gives them an authentic texture.

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.

Mexican beans are a cornerstone of vegetarian diets and of veganism. Since they're rich-in proteins they're ideal to replace meat and animal proteins. Besides the unlimited Italian traditional recipes, there are many traditional Mexican dishes that ignore meat to the benefit of a wide choice of vegetal food.

We Mexicans eat refried beans with breakfast, lunch, and dinner! And you can have variations like these cheekily named frijoles con veneno or poison beans, where the "poison" is actually a super flavorful adobo with anchos and guajillos.