- 4 cups cooked pinto beans (or other beans of your choice)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- smidge cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- 1 cup water
See Cooking Dry Beans for soaking/cooking instructions.
In a 4 quart pan over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil until they are translucent and soft. Add beans and water. Let beans warm up and water start bubbling. Add all other ingredients. Mash together with potato masher, leaving beans somewhat chunky. Turn heat to low and cover. Let flavors mingle for approximately 15 minutes. Add water if too much has evaporated, or to desired consistency. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with tacos or nachos, or as desired.
© 2006 by Wardeh Harmon
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Hi Wardeh!
I’ve been lurking on your site for a while now and absolutely enjoying it! Thank you for the recipes and hints and general encouragement.
Anyway, are the refried beans freezable? (Is that even a word???)
Are most of your recipes freezable?
Thanks!
Hi, Staci! These refried beans are definitely freezeable. (And it is a word I use, too!) Just thaw and reheat… delicious! Alot of my soups and main dishes are freezeable, especially the ones with beans. I’d be cautious about freezing rice, though. I have the best results with rice if it is frozen in a soup or as a component in another dish, but not on its own. I’d be happy to give you my opinion on freezing any dish in particular, if you let me know which one(s( you’re thinking about.
Wardeh, Love these beans! Thank you! I have been making a ton of stuff from your website, but haven’t had a chance to comment on all the recipes… but I haven’t been disappointed yet! If you ever write a book, I’ll be in line to buy! Oh – and I received my first Azure Standard order yesterday. I read about them on your website. What a find! Thank you for everything you share on this website… We made a delicious slaw tonight with raw beets. YUM! And I love your vinaigrette! I have a few beautiful organic sweet potatoes… and I’m considering going really crazy and grating those up for tomorrow’s slaw. I’ve been making slaw daily for the last week and both hubby and I feel so great. And my four year old eats it up as well! Amazing how wonderful good food can make you feel. Thank you again!
Jen, thanks for all your kind comments! I really love hearing that you enjoy my recipes. Please let me know if I can ever help you with anything. Enjoy those sweet potatoes! Have you tried the sweet potatoes grated as a raw breakfast cereal? It is really yummy — Raw Sweet Potato Cereal.
Hi Wardeh! Just wanted to let you know that we are using this for soaking/cooking beans.
What is the acid for? We are using lemon juice. We probably will turn the beans into your refried beans. I printed off the recipe a few years ago and still have it. Have a wonderful week and thank you for these awesome instructions.
Hi, Robin! The acid is to neutralize phytic acid, which is present in all seeds. The phytic acid gets in the way of mineral absorption, so it is very good to neutralize. Ever since we have been cooking this way, my mineral deficiencies have gone away. I used to get leg cramps, but no more. I also used to be anemic, and while I haven’t had a test to confirm that I’m not anymore, I certainly am not in an “anemic fog” anymore. The soaking/cooking beans info is here:
http://gnowfglins.com/2006/05/12/cooking-dry-beans/
I’m glad you’re making the refried beans – so yummy!
I love making my own refried beans and have been making them for a few years now. The one thing I love to add to my beans is butter! It makes the beans taste so yummy! You just can’t go wrong with butter.
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I made these beans for our “taco tuesday” last week. They were so fabulous! And we ate on them all week! Glad to know they can be frozen as well, as I could double the batch to save the work!
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This is the best recipe for refried beans I’ve ever tasted! I made it last night with sprouted pinto beans because we were having tacos. My MIL uses a can of refried beans in her taco meat, so I wanted to copy that but healthier.
My tastebuds were literally shocked when I tasted them after they were done. It was really an a-ha moment for me in the sense that real food tastes SO much better than processed. Another reason why I am so thankful I decided to become a member.
Marcella
I just got into more culturing using NT book and made a bean recipe similar to this except at the end you lacto-ferment it for a while. Boy does it come alive with a delicious probiotic tingle on the tongue. I did it once with kidneys and once with black beans and next will try the pintos, but I highly recommend that last step.