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Healthy Refried Beans
5 from 4 votes

Healthy Refried Beans

These Healthy Refried Beans are full of only the good stuff. Try this easy recipe and you'll never reach for canned refried beans again!Yield: 4 c 

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 8 (1/2 c) servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

  • 1 lb (2 c) pinto beans dry (soaked in water for 3-6 hours or overnight
  • 1/2 onion diced (or 1 ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp butter if using fresh onion, unsalted
  • 2 garlic peeled and chopped (or ½ tsp garlic powder, cloves
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Place soaked beans and quartered onion in a large saucepan. Cover the beans with 1” of water. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Simmer the beans until very soft, 45 min - 1 hour, checking occasionally and adding water as needed.
  2. If using a fresh onion and garlic, saute the onion and garlic in the butter over medium high heat until lightly golden, 2-3 min.
  3. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the cooked beans to the bowl of your food processor. Add the sauteed onion and garlic (or onion and garlic powder). Add the paprika, salt, and cumin. Process, adding some of the bean's cooking liquid as necessary to achieve a smooth consistency. (You may need up to 1 cup.) (If you have a small food processor, process the beans and seasonings in batches, and mix the batches together in a large bowl, once smooth.)
  4. Taste your beans for salt and adjust according to your tastes.
  5. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. (The beans will thicken up a bit in the refrigerator, so if you are making them ahead of time, make the mixture slightly thinner than you think you'd like them or keep some of the bean juice to mix into the refried beans when you reheat them to serve.)

Notes

  • *If you don't have time to soak the beans, all is not lost. Just proceed straight to boiling. Your cooking time will just be slightly longer.
  • This recipe was updated April 2016. We made a few tweaks to make the beans even better. Enjoy!