I used to hate refried beans. I wouldn’t touch them, and every time we went out for Mexican, I went through this hassle of making sure that my plate was bean-free. Once I gave them a chance, though, I found out that they weren’t so terrible, and these days, I absolutely love them. And I have to say, this homemade refried bean recipe was so much better than anything I’ve ever found at the grocery store, and it was even better than many of the beans that I’ve had in Mexican restaurants. I will definitely be adding this dish to the regular side dish rotation for the nights that we have Mexican meals.  These had such a great flavor from the added garlic, onions, and salt, and the consistency was so much better than a lot of refried beans that I’ve had. There’s nothing worse than refried beans that run across your plate (gross, I know). These are thick, healthy (well, without my mound of cheese…) and delicious.

Refried Beans
Source: For the Love of Cooking

I adjusted the ingredients and the cooking process a little bit for this recipe, and I left out a jalapeno, which the original recipe called for. Here’s the recipe as I made it.

Extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Vidalia onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Pinch of cumin
Cheese (I used Parrano, because I had some extra in my fridge, but really anything like jalapeno jack, cheddar, etc. will work)

1. Pour the drained and rinsed beans into a food processor, and process until smooth (or until they’ve reached whatever consistency you’d like).

2. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the diced onion. Saute until tender, approximately 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute for an additional 30 seconds.

3. Add the beans and a pinch of cumin to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook on low for approximately 5 minutes, stirring often.

4. Put the beans into a small bowl, and sprinkle with cheese. At this point, I popped the bowl into the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.