Cinco de Mayo is a fun holiday to celebrate- and as a lover of all things Latin American I jumped at the chance to have a Cinco de Mayo Appetizer Recipe blogger party with my immensely talented blogging friends.
Since I love food that is versatile and good as leftovers I figured that making refried beans from scratch was the way to go. Plus you can make it with either black or pinto beans, depending on your preference, which is always a win!
Cinco de Mayo Appetizer Recipe: Refried Beans
Refried beans can be used for anything- as a side, a taco or burrito filler and as an appetizer. They are also extremely popular and one of my favorite things to make.
Making refried beans (black and pinto) is so straight forward and while it involves a lot of “time” it’s passive time for you- meaning you put the beans in a pot of water, boil them, lower the heat and then let them do their thing for a several hours.
| Servings |
cups
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- 1 lb Pinto Beans (dry)
- 1.5 quarts Water
- 2 sprigs Oregano fresh
- 1/2 Onion quartered
- 2-4 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup Lard
- 1/2 Onion diced
- 1.5 Tbsp. Salt more to taste
- 1 Tbsp. Cumin
- 1/2 Tbsp. Ground Ancho Pepper optional
Ingredients
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- Sort through the pinto beans, picking out any that have gone bad. Place the rest in a large stockpot with the quart and a half of water. Add in the oregano, the quartered half onion and garlic cloves.
- Bring water mixture to a boil over high heat. Lower temperature to low and allow to simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until the beans have softened. Remove sprigs from fresh oregano
- Once beans have become tender start this step: In a large skillet melt lard over medium heat. Add diced 1/2 onion and stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat until onions have become transparent (about 7-10 minutes). *Note if lard is not available and you still want that hint of pork flavor, use 2 Tbsp. of bacon grease and the rest as vegetable oil.*
- Add onion mixture to the stockpot of beans. Mix in salt, ground ancho pepper and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat while mashing the beans. For a smoother puree place beans in a blender to "mash".
- Most of the water should have been soaked up. If you want a runnier refried bean dish then add more water and mix in. If you want a drier refried bean then cook just a little longer- stirring constantly.
| Servings |
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- 1 lb. Black Beans, dried
- 1.5 quarts Water
- 2 sprigs Oregano
- 1/2 Onion quartered
- 2-4 cloves Garlic
- 1.5 Tbsp. Salt more to taste
- 1 Tbsp. Cumin
- 1 Tbsp. Ground Ancho Pepper optional
- 1/4 cup Lard
Ingredients
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- Sort through the black beans, picking out any that have gone bad. Place the rest in a large stockpot with the quart and a half of water. Add in the oregano, the quartered half onion and garlic cloves.
- Bring water mixture to a boil over high heat. Lower temperature to low and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans have softened. Remove sprigs from fresh oregano
- Once beans have become tender start this step: In a large skillet melt lard over medium heat. Add diced 1/2 onion and stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat until onions have become transparent (about 7-10 minutes). *Note if lard is not available and you still want that hint of pork flavor, use 2 Tbsp. of bacon grease and the rest as vegetable oil.*
- Add onion mixture to the stockpot of beans. Mix in salt, ground ancho pepper and cumin. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat while mashing the beans. For a smoother puree place beans in a blender to "mash".
- Depending on the desired consistency of your refried black beans you may want to cook them longer or add more water. If you want a runnier refried bean dish then add more water. If you want dry refried beans then cook them uncovered on low heat until they are ready.
Appetizer Recipe Party
Now I promised a Recipe Party- so here are the other recipes!
I love refried beans! So much better to have them homemade than bother with the unknowns with a can. Super useful!
I couldn’t agree more- the salt levels alone are worth not eating it out of a can, plus it’s actually cheaper- even with how cheap canned beans can get. So it’s really a full win!
Oh, this looks so good!
One of my favorite things to make!
Thanks for sharing this recipe for an awesome staple! We eat refried beans all the time, but I’ve never made them from scratch. I’m totally motivated now!
I usually cook a ton of beans at a time and then freeze them to make my life a little bit easier. I love how easy it is to just put them on the stove to cook and then leave them… Let me know how it goes! :-)
These are on my to-do list! Thanks for the great idea :)
I love beans from scratch and totally respect anyone who takes the time to do it! I recently made them from scratch for the first time and am hooked! Thanks for the bean inspo Happy Early Cinco de Mayo
Aw thanks! I was super intimidated by making beans from scratch at first, but after eating them made that way in Costa Rica and Guatemala I really couldn’t go back to beans in a can so I had to learn… Now I think it’s so easy to just make a ton and freeze. I should probably do it again soon actually!
Whee! I won’t lie, refried beans are a mystery to me. I know they taste fantaaaaaaaaaaaastic but I never really know how they do it, so I just buy it – in can form o_O haha I am so happy to have this recipe, nachos are a regular occurrence here and I can finally add something new to it!
I hear you Joyce- I used to buy them all the time too- when they’re $0.67 it’s hard not to, but now that I’ve started doing them this way and can tweak them however I want it’s hard to go back. With all the amazing-ness you make I’m sure you’d conquer this no problem!