Refried beans, combining a mix of beans with smoky chillies and fresh herbs. A great Vegetarian or Vegan main dish alongside guacamole and tomato salsa.
Refried beans are a favourite dish of mine and one I’ve made for many years. This recipe will serve 4 as a side dish or 2 for lunch with some warm tortillas, sour cream and guacamole. Perfect for those meat free days.
We made our own chipotle chilli paste by soaking dried chipotle morita chillies in warm water. The chillies were then set them aside to soften for a couple of hours. Once soft we placed them in a food processor with some of the soaking water and blitzed down to a smooth paste. This paste freezes really well and can be added to other dishes as and when needed. It works well added to some homemade mayonnaise to make a tasty chipotle mayonnaise.
The beans were broken down using a potato masher as we wanted a rough texture to the mixture. If serving this with tortilla chips as a dip you may prefer to place the bean mixture into a food processor and blitz to a smooth consistency. It is entirely your preference. We served the beans with corn tortillas, guacamole and pickled red onion.
If following a Vegan diet, simply leave the cheese out of the finished dish. You may wish to add a little coolness to the beans, substitute with some Vegan plain yogurt instead.
Additional recipe suggestions:
If you like this recipe then try our Easy Guacamole or our Tomato Salsa. All these sides are great with our Chicken Tacos and our Smoked Chilli Beef, another Mexican inspired recipe.
Easy Refried Beans
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- silicone/wooden spoon
- sieve
- chopping board
- knife
- potato masher
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 small red onion (diced)
- 2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp caster sugar
Refried Beans
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 fresh jalapeno chilli (finely diced)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chipotle chilli paste
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 400 g tin black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 400 g tin pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 bunch coriander leaves (chopped)
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- salt and pepper
Optional toppings for serving
- 50 g wensleydale or cheshire cheese (crumbled, to serve)
- 2 tbsp sour cream (optional, to serve)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges)
Instructions
Pickled Red Onion (Optional)
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl, cover and set aside in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight if time allows.
Refried Beans
- Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno chilli and chipotle chilli paste and saute for 5 minutes until soft, taking care soften and not to colour the onions.
- Add the cumin and paprika to the pan and continue to fry gently for a further minute then add the tomato puree and mix well.
- Add the beans to the pan, along with the vegetable stock and coriander leaves and cook until the beans soften. Depending on the beans you use this will take 15-20 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and using your wooden spoon, or a potato masher, mash down the mixture to the consistency you like to eat.
- Serve immediately with some warm corn or wheat tortillas, sprinkle over some cheese and the pickled red onions.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •