Homemade Restaurant Style Refried Beans is the best recipe ever for refried beans. It is so good, you will never believe that it’s fat free!

Most restaurant style refried beans are loaded with fat because the beans are cooked with lard. Let’s face it, lard may be really bad for you, but it can make dishes taste so incredibly good. For homemade refried beans to taste better than a restaurant’s without the lard is saying something! The secret is the seasoning. Cooking the beans with cumin and fresh minced garlic gives the beans the flavor they need without any of the fat.

Homemade Restaurant Style Refried Beans is a nice side dish for Chicken in the Chips!

Health Benefits of Pinto Beans

You can make refried beans from a variety of beans, but most restaurant style refried beans are made with pinto beans. Named after the Spanish word for “painted”, pinto beans add a lot of key nutrients and cholesterol-lowering fiber to your diet. Click here to learn more about the health benefits of pinto beans, as well as their history.

Cooking Tips

The higher your elevation, the longer the beans take to cook.

If the beans are too loose/watery for your taste, cook over low heat until they are the thickness that you like.

For beans that are too dry when mashing, add water a little at a time until they are a consistency that you like. If you get them to loose, do not panic! Simply cook over low heat until they are the thickness that you like.

Recipe for Homemade Restaurant Style Refried Beans

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dry pinto beans
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Sort & rinse beans.
2. Place beans in heavy pot. Add about 6 cups of water & all of the seasoning.
3. Bring to a boil on high. Reduce heat to low.
4. Cook, covered, for 3-5 hours until beans are easily mashed with a fork. Add water as needed.
5. Mash beans with a potato masher or pulse in a food processor to desired consistency.