Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2013

OMG...This was by far the best and easiest refried bean recipe,ever!!!It tastes better than the mexican restaurant.Its not the clumped mess you get in the can-obviously!!I did not use lard but alittle bacon fat and mashed them with water to get the perfect consistancy.I also added some Southwest seasoning I recieved from a friend that visited San Antonio-TX..Suckle Busters Texas Gold Dust...AWESOME!!!!I will never go back to the CAN again!!!

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Reviewer:

Kitty1970

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Twinsburg, Ohio, USA

Living In: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 6, 2013

I tried this tonight. I used the beans to make bean tostados. Instead of adding water to thin the beans, I reserved the juice from the can and added that. It gives much more flavor. I won't buy another can of refried beans again. Thanks for this great idea.

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Reviewer:

Sherry

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: San Diego, California, USA

Living In: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 30, 2013

This is how I have made home made refried beans for 30+ years except I ALWAYS use saved bacon fat instead of lard even though they are the same thing. Yes it's ok to use rendered pork fat of some sort. I use 2 lbs of dried pinto beans soaked over night and cooked the next day with the desired Latin spices added to the cooking water. When mashing them I use some of the cooking liquid as needed to get them to the desired consistency. After mashing they go into a large cast iron skillet with the bacon fat melted and very hot. It takes 2 batches to do 2 lbs of beans but worth the time. After stirring several times I adjust seasonings for flavor, turn off the heat, let them cool and portion them into zip top bags for freezing. This way I always have ready made refried beans on hand and don't have to use canned ones.

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Reviewer:

slo_cook

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Redondo Beach, California, USA

Living In: San Luis Obispo, California, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 8, 2012

Delicious! Will never buy canned beans again. I took the suggestions from another reviewer and used chicken broth in place of water and added garlic and cumin. And I used the lard, which I think made ALL the difference in taste. Thank you for the recipe Buffy!

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Reviewer:

Rachael

Reviewed: Jul. 24, 2012

Very easy! I started from scratch using raw pinto beans that I cooked in a slowcooker until done and easily smashed. I then fryed in pan with a little butter and garlic.!

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Reviewer:

Judy

Reviewed: Jun. 5, 2012

I didn't have any lard so I used Bacon. It was awesome.

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Reviewer:

I Claudius

Reviewed: May 23, 2012

LOVE!!! I also substituted the lard for butter because that is all I had. Turned out fabulous!!!! After it was done cooking I put it in the blender and let it mash them for me! So yummy and so much easier than crock pot versions. Printed and saved it for all of my future refried beans needs!

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Reviewer:

Banana

Reviewed: May 3, 2012

I am Mexican and this is how we have always made our beans. They are the best! But if you don't have lard on hand, you can use the drippings from fried chicken, or bacon drippings. Another thing I do (because my palate is so particular) is, go to your local Mexican Market and buy lard from them because it's fresh drippings from the pork they cook in their store, free of preservatives or other unnecessary additives that I can taste in the store bought lard.

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Reviewer:

sirena

Cooking Level: Professional

Home Town: Midway, Utah, USA

Reviewed: May 1, 2012

Smooth and creamy is correct! I followed another reviewer's advice and added my water slowly, along with garlic and onion powder. I used veggie stock instead of water and it all came together beautifully. These are the most flavorful refried beans I've ever made at home. I will use this recipe again and again!

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Reviewer:

Manda

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Orange, California, USA

Reviewed: May 1, 2012

This is IT! I won't try any other refried recipes, I am a happy girl. Soaked 3 cups dried pintos overnight, then drained & cooked this morning for 1.5 hours with half an onion in it. Tossed the onion, drained beans & reserved the liquid and followed the directions including lard. This is exactly like the authentic Mexican restaurants in the area... I kept sneaking back for tastes of it! I did add 1/4 tsp garlic pwd, 1/2 tsp each cumin & chili pwd, and 1 tsp chicken bouillon added to my bean liquid. As others say, go easy on the salt, you can always add a bit more at the end. With the bouillon, I only needed 1 tsp salt, and could have maybe used a tad less. For those who didn't use lard, you really should buy some. It gives it a much better flavor than just veggie oil. It's called Manteca and you can usually find a white & green container of it in the Mexican aisle at Walmart or ask about it at your grocery store.

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