Refried beans are so often misunderstood – unless you’ve had great ones! That’s another post but in the meantime, don’t be afraid to pick up can. Get the right brand and use this top-secret method to doctor Canned Refried Beans into creamy goodness just like a restaurant’s in minutes.
I learned this from “K” as I’ll call her, a very dear friend who wasn’t afraid to step up to the stove during a short stay with me. She’d toss a bit of butter in the pan (optional – the butter, not the pan) add the canned refried beans and then a drizzle of milk, stirring now and then as it cooked up.
A handful of cheese at the end stirred in or melted on top and you’ll have the loveliest beans to serve as a side or in a quick burrito. All in about two minutes! No one will even guess these are canned refried beans.
Adding cream or crema drizzled into the final refries isn’t without precedence. In the “olden days” before the internet, I collected cookbooks and saw this method in a recipe for home-made frijoles refritos. I have known other friends who used a little bacon grease or lard instead of the butter.
Chilaquiles Verde, here’s the whole spread with refried beans and egg in the back corner
I don’t have many product preferences, but I do in canned refried beans – the La Preferida brand. I’ll buy them even when other brands are less expensive. I also stick with the original or the vegetarian (a bit healthier) and generally buy them without all the spices or peppers added.
I just think refried beans are lovely as is and shouldn’t compete with the other flavors on the plate. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant with spiced up refries, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Usually, they’re a kind of plain foil for the rest of the food. Regardless, this method works with any flavor variations and if you want to, feel free to add anywhere from a few drops to a couple teaspoons of hot sauce.
If you are into a little heat and want to take these doctored up Canned Refried Beans Restaurant Style to the next level, try adding a little spice. Particularly my homemade Mexican Pinto Bean Spice. Start out with a teaspoon, taste and then add a little more of that Mexican Pinto Bean Spice to taste. I think you’ll love it if you do like spicier refries.
It only takes a minute or two to transform a canned bean into something wonderful
Canned Refried Beans
It sounds too simple to be true, but try it and you’ll be a convert.
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter, lard or bacon drippings
- 1 can refried beans
- 1/2 cup of milk, cream or a little Crema
Instructions
Add butter, lard or bacon drippings to pan and heat over medium heat. Add in can of refried beans, including any liquid. Stir together.
When warmed through, add the dairy and continue to heat, stirring now and then, until desired thickness is reached, a minute or two.
Nutrition
- Calories: 163
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 433mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 10mg
Let’s talk about how to save money/time on Canned Refried Beans
- Follow my 12 Strategies – You’ll see them on the upper drop down menu of every page and how I apply them, below.
- Don’t get discouraged if your prices don’t match mine! Keep shopping at the best prices and your fridge/freezer and pantry will be stocked with sales priced ingredients.
- Use a coupon matching site! Every store has a group of enthusiastic Coupon Matchers. Do not discount the savings!
Dried vs Canned Refried Beans
The lowly bean is one of the healthiest foods & eating beans regularly basically eliminates the issues so commonly known.
Dried beans are so inexpensive to start with that they are seldom advertised as being on “sale,” but they often are after any Holiday in which Ham is considered an option for the main meal. Check for great pricing, too, in the ethnic aisles of the grocery store, as well as the pasta/bean aisle. Prices range, on sale, from $.79 to $1.00 a pound. Aldi had three-pound bags for $2.39, which is the lower number.
If you’re used to buying canned beans, unless a 15 ounce can is less than 26 cents with sales and coupons, they are more than the 79 cent per pound price of dried at Aldi. A fifteen-ounce can is about 1 1/2 cups of beans, and a pound is roughly the equivalent of 3 cans.
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