Healthy Refried Beans Recipe
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This healthy refried beans recipe is easy to make and adjusts for using either dry beans or canned/pre-cooked beans.
The nice thing about this recipe is that it’s completely adjustable to your needs. You can make them plain or spiced, bland or spicy. It’s totally up to you! They make a great side dish for any Mexican-inspired meal and can be mixed with a whole grain to make a complete protein for vegans and plant-based folks. Plus, beans are so good for you! So eat up!
Did you know that refried beans aren’t fried at all? Yep, you read that right. Somewhere along the way, something got lost in translation. But I promise refried beans are not fried!
Can you cook them in a skillet? Of course! But you won’t fry them the way we traditionally fry foods.
Traditional refried beans do often contain lard or even bacon fat. But we won’t be using either of those in today’s recipe. I prefer to skip all that unhealthy cholesterol!
So let me answer a few questions first about the refried bean-making process, and then we’ll move on to the recipe.
What Do I Do If My Healthy Refried Beans Are Too Thick?
Add water to beans that are thicker than you’d like. Stir until the water is incorporated into the beans. If they are still to thick, repeat until you reach your desired consistency.
What Do I Do If My Healthy Refried Beans Are Too Runny?
If your refried beans are too runny or “soupy”, simply simmer them longer on the stove until the water reduces enough for the beans to reach the consistency you want.
How Do I Get Chunky Refried Beans
If you like your refried beans on the chunkier side, you have two options:
- Only mash them partway with a potato masher.
- Mash half the beans completely, and then stir in the other half of your whole, cooked beans.
How Do I Get Smooth Refried Beans?
Blend, blend, blend, baby!! An immersion blender works wonders, as does a food processor or regular blender.
Can I Use Different Beans?
You can! The most popular would be black beans. But pretty much any bean will work here. While pinto beans are the traditional bean in refried beans, it can be fun to mix up flavors, especially when making things like tacos or burrito bowls. They can make a great dip for tortilla chips as well.
Is It Better To Use Dry Beans Or Canned Beans?
There is one main reason you would want to use dry beans. Doing so makes this dish very low sodium. So if that’s a concern for you, avoid canned beans which tend to have tons of sodium in them.
Canned beans are simply a convenience. It’s the cooking process already done for you. But either will work just fine.
What’s The Best Way To Season Healthy Refried Beans?
If you are cooking dry beans from scratch, you can add spices to the water you cook them in.
If you are using canned beans, you can add them to the pot with the beans and warm everything together.
If you use a lot of refried beans, just double the batch and put some in the freezer. Defrost as needed!
Suggested Spices For Refried Beans
While these are delicious made plain, adding spices is also pretty yummy. Here are some ideas. The measurements are only suggestions. Add spices with your heart.
- Taco seasoning
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Ground cumin
- Garlic cloves – yummy if roasted first!
- Olive oil – More for consistency than flavor, if you like oil in your beans.
- Cilantro – Or garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Chipotle seasoning
- A squeeze of lime juice – Usually directly on your plate instead of into the entire pot.
About The Ingredients
If Cooking From Dry Beans:
- 2 cups dry pinto beans
- 6 cups water
If Cooking From Canned Beans
- 30 oz. canned pinto beans – Including the liquid.
- ½ cup water (or more to adjust consistency)
How To Make Healthy Refried Beans
For Cooking From Dry Beans:
I cook my beans in a slow cooker or Instant Pot because I ALWAYS burn them in a regular pot. So combine the 2 cups beans and 6 cups water in a crock pot and turn on the crock pot. Cook until beans are soft. About 6-8 hours on low. If pressure cooking, use plenty of water and cook them for anywhere between 40 minutes to 1h 20m, depending on how old your beans are. The older they are, the longer they have to cook.
To cook this on the stovetop, combine the water and beans in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Keep an eye on this, stir occasionally to keep anything from burning on the bottom of the pot, and be prepared to add more water as needed. (Just know I’ll be jealous if you can do it without burning the beans. I might even cry.)
For Cooking From Canned Beans
In a medium-sized pot, warm up the canned beans plus the liquid they are canned with. Once warm, mash them and adjust them to your liking. (See suggestions above)
Re-Frying The Beans
There is no actual frying involved here. Simply place your beans in a pot with about a half cup of drinking water.
Mash them with a potato masher or electric hand mixer until they reach your desired consistency. If you like chunky beans, reserve a few whole beans to mix or partially mash in at the end.
Once you have your desired consistency, season with some salt or any seasonings you’d like, and serve.
Instant Pot Refried Beans
For dry beans, first, you will thoroughly rinse your beans under running water. Then you’ll combine approximately 2 cups of dry beans with 8 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for about 40m to 1h 20m, depending on how old your beans are. Once cooked, you can drain off some of the cooking liquid if there is too much, but drain it into a bowl in case you need it for thinning your refried beans. Follow the blending instructions above.
For canned beans, you can simply press the sauté button and warm up the beans with the liquid. Then proceed as instructed above.
Storage
These will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing
This freezes really well. But you’ll have a much easier time if you freeze this in portioned sizes instead of one big container. These are easily frozen in freezer bags. If you find that the texture changes after the beans have thawed again, simply blend them with a small amount of water to reinstate their prior consistency.
Reheating
From frozen – Thaw for 24 hours in the fridge.
From fridge – Heat in the microwave, or in a pot on the stovetop with a little water added. Stir constantly while heating this in a pot or the beans will burn on the bottom. Ask me how I know…
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Healthy Refried Beans Recipe Card
Healthy Refried Beans
Equipment
- 1 Medium pot OR
- 1 Slow Cooker OR
- 1 pressure cooker
- 1 Potato Masher OR
- 1 electric hand mixer
Ingredients
If Cooking From Dry Beans:
- 2 cups dry pinto beans
- 6 cups water
If Cooking From Canned Beans
- 30 oz. canned pinto beans (including the liquid)
- ½ cup water (or more to adjust consistency)
Instructions
For Cooking From Dry Beans:
- I cook my beans in a slow cooker or Instant Pot because I ALWAYS burn them in a regular pot. So combine the 2 cups beans and 6 cups water in a crock pot and turn on the crock pot. Cook until beans are soft. About 6-8 hours on low. If pressure cooking, use plenty of water and cook them for anywhere between 40 minutes to 1h 20m, depending on how old your beans are. The older they are, the longer they have to cook.To cook this on the stovetop, combine the water and beans in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Keep an eye on this, stir occasionally to keep anything from burning on the bottom of the pot, and be prepared to add more water as needed. (Just know I'll be jealous if you can do it without burning the beans. I might even cry.)
For Cooking From Canned Beans
- In a medium-sized pot, warm up the canned beans plus the liquid they are canned with. Once warm, mash them and adjust them to your liking. (See suggestions above)
Re-Frying The Beans
- There is no actual frying involved here. Simply place your beans in a pot with about a half cup of drinking water.
- Mash them with a potato masher until they reach your desired consistency. If you like chunky beans, reserve a few whole beans to mix or partially mash in at the end.
- Once you have your desired consistency, season with some salt or any seasonings you'd like, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted on 6/16/11.
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I just wanted to tell you what a good job you are doing with your website. I am a registered Dietitian and am impressed with your dedication and also your sense of reality with such a food plan. Great job and I know you will make a very good RD!
Noreen – Wow! What a great compliment! I’m so flattered, thank you!!! 🙂
Who knew it could be so easy. I love refried beans and now will never buy them from a can again. How long will these stay edible? (BTW, I am glad I am not the only one to call it a potato smasher – my husband teases me.)
Beverly – LOL! Does it have another name?? We ate these pretty quickly, but I would imagine they would stay good for up to 5 days at most.
You read my mind…I’ve been wanting to tackle beans this month and now since you have, I feel like I can too 🙂 Thanks for posting!
CiCi – Fantastic!!! You’ll love it. It’s sooooo very easy!
Tiffany, refried beans are awesome, and even easier/faster in a pressure cooker. I can have refried beans in approx. one hour from start to finish with dry beans, and they don’t burn. Once they are cooled I just use a hand blender to semi-squish them and if there is still too much liquid I turn the heat on (without pressure) to cook some of the water out. Have you ever used a pressure cooker for your meals? It is a great way to have clean food, quickly.
Brenda – It’s a funny thing. I’m terrified of using a pressure cooker. I’m not sure why. I think once, a long time ago, I read something about them exploding if not used correctly and I’ve avoided them ever since. Just one of those things I guess. Maybe someday I’ll work up the courage! lol! UPDATE: That’s all I use now! LOL!
I’ve made my own refried beans for years! I’ve never put oil in them, but I always add 1/2-1 tsp of garlic powder, depending on taste. Guess fresh garlic would work, too. One hint though; I cook mine on stove top, so I always add salt at the end of cooking. Adding it at the beginning may keep beans tough.
Love your website!
Jan – What a great tip! If I ever learn to cook them on the stovetop without burning them, I will give that a try. Thanks! 🙂
Wow! These look like the ones my grandma used to make. I’m glad there is a healthy alternative, as she used to use lard instead of oil. I have only attempted to make homemade beans once and I burned them badly. But maybe with my crockpot I have a chance at making them without burning them! I’ve heard you can freeze the beans as well.
Donna – Yes! You can definitely freeze them! I imagine they would hold up for quite a while in the freezer. Hope you enjoy them!
Beans are one of my most favorite things to make, especially black beans. Now I must try refried beans!
Paula – It’s amazing how simple they are. I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner. Enjoy!
Don’t forget you can cut down on the cooking time significantly by soaking the beans in water overnight. No 8-hour wait!
Amacuba – Really? I’ve never found that to be the case. I’ve soaked beans in the past and still have to cook them forever. Wonder if there is a trick to it?
Why fool with a stovetop when there’s a microwave conveniently located?! I rinse and drain canned pintos, then put them in a tempered glass bowl. Next, I add a little water, no-salt-added tomato sauce, ground cumin, garlic, crushed red pepper and fine sea salt. Loosely cover the bowl, and microwave for 3-5 minutes to cook through. Remove from microwave, mash with a fork or potato masher. To turn it into a fat-free bean dip for baked corn chips, I add additional water or tomato sauce if needed and mash-mash-mash to smooth it out more. It’s also good smeared on a corn or whole wheat flour tortilla baked in the oven until crisp, and topped with shredded lettuce, low-fat cheddar cheese and chopped tomatoes–like a tostada. 🙂
Charlena – That’s great! Though I try to avoid the microwave as much as possible. But in a pinch, that would work great!
My grandmother used to boil her dry beans for about 20 minutes (up to an hour, depending on how big/tough they were), then turn off the heat and leave them there while she went to work. Whenever she’d get back home, she only had to cook the beans another 20-30 minutes to get them just right. I think she salted the water heavily. I know that adding some salt to boiling water actually raises its boiling temperature by a few degrees (only about 3-7 degrees Fahrenheit, though). Of course, it makes sense to salt the cooking water of beans and pasta because it’s your best chance to imbue some extra flavor into the ingredient itself.
Charlena – Wow! Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to give that a shot! 🙂
I’m making this tonight! My beans have been in the crock pot since this morning-my house smells amazing =) I’ve been making these for a long time, never from a recipe. It was kinda cool seeing that you make them just like I have been! They are super yummy in or out of a tortilla. The kids LOVE THEM! I will sprinkle some organic cilantro in them too and mmmmmmmm! Again, as always, I am so thankful I found your site! I have been trying SO many of your recipes! I made the almond butter cookies and my husband said they were the best cookies he’s EVER had! SCORE! THANK YOU!
Homegrowing – Fantastic! Sounds like you’re on a roll!
A quality grain mill can make a bean flour which cooks more quickly than whole beans. With water, oil and seasoning, you can have “refried” beans in no time at all. Others people prefer to just grind the beans to a rough consistency, preferring to cook them a little longer to cook out enzymes but I’ve never had a problem with the flour version.
Grain mills are wonderful period. You haven’t tasted *real* whole wheat bread until you’ve ground the wheat berries the night before (or morning of) baking.
I also sometimes add a bit of bean flour to my bread (not much) for higher protein content.
Sonora – What a wonderful tip! Thanks!
When I’m in a hurry, I’ll throw a can of beans (water and all) in a non-stick sauce pan and set it to low-medium heat. As the beans start to cook, I mash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Tastes great. To save on sodium, you could rinse the beans and throw in tap water – also delicious.
Vally – Wonderful! Thank you!
Who new making your own could be so easy! I split the batch in 2 followed your recipe for batch #1-they are so yummy. My husband wanted more spice so batch #2 I added 1/2 cup of chopped White Onions, 1/2 a Jalapeno chopped, 2 Cloves of minced Garlic, 1 3/4 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. cumin & 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt. Both are amazing! Love your recipes & your site-so much helpful information you truly are a life saver!
Mandasue – Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
Ok, I am going to do this ( never done it in a slow cooker just the other way) but I want to know what I can pair this with to make a meal lol. If you have some suggestions let me know. I’m doing Isagenix and so i eat one good meal a day, and I want it to be clean but good and filling!
Anything will work. Rice or other whole grain with a piece of meat would be yummy.
can you freeze these once cooked?
Yes.
I’m new to Clean eating. My son will eat bean burritos, so it is a lunch we have often. I thought to myself, well canned refried beans can’t be all that bad…
Ingredient list; water, pinto beans, lard, salt.
so in this case is the clean eating about avoiding mass produced food? I thought it was to avoid added fats sugars and other chemicals commonly found in processed food.
I’ll try this recipe, basically because the “lard” scares me a bit.
Jennifer – Clean eating is about avoiding processed foods altogether. But certain canned foods are perfectly fine. Foods like canned beans (as long as they don’t have any sugar added). I would also avoid the lard. I hope you enjoy the beans!
So excited to find this recipe. I gave up on refried beans after discovering the ugly truth about BPA in cans, ages ago.
Do you have a recipe for baked beans?
I have them in the slow cooker now but I’m not sure if I should cook them on high or low. Please help! 🙂
Thank you!
Kristin – I cook mine on high for most of the day. But you can cook them on low too, it will just take longer. There are BPA free cans on the market if you want that. I have a recipe for BBQ baked beans, but I’m not sure that’s what you’re looking for.
Thank you so much! 🙂 Yes, I’ll look for your BBQ baked beans recipe…yay!
Kristin – My pleasure! Enjoy!
I cook my pinto beans in my slow cooker without any additives except water. (Never salt beans until they have finished cooking; it can prevent them from softening.) Then I drain them and dry them in my dehydrator. A 4 Lb. bag of cooked beans fits perfectly on the leather tray inserts in my 4-tray Nesco. When dry, I use my hand held vacuum gizmo (The $20 one that Walmart carries) and the vacuum adapter for canning jar lids (from Amazon), and vacuum seal those dry beans in a quart canning jars. Then I store them in the pantry. I love to make pretty labels for my jars with my digital cutting machine. When I want refried beans, I mix equal amounts of beans and water, and put them on the stove to simmer while I cook some chopped onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When those are soft, I stir them and the oil into beans, and season with a little salt and some chipotle Tabasco which is very flavorful but not hot. My Hubs of 48 years tells me I nailed this recipe and that these are the best beans he’s ever tasted. I’m sure the beans could be dried in the oven as well.
Barbara – Wow, sounds like a job! But I’m sure they are delicious! 🙂
I forgot to say that I put the bean mixture into the blender and puree it all after adding the onions! Sorry!
Can these be frozen for later use?
Shelly – Sure! But they have to be air-tight, and I wouldn’t freeze longer than about 4 months, just to be safe.