The best beans are homemade beans! The texture and taste are much better than canned food: they’re also healthier (and plant-based).
The best beans? Homemade bean puree! Yes, you can easily buy canned beans. And Alex and I do that a lot! But after preparing them at home, you will immediately feel the difference. The taste and texture are way better than the cans you can find at the store. (At least the brands we’ve tried!) So when we have time, we like to make bean puree at home. It’s very easy and you can make it with canned beans or dry-cooked beans. Side bonus: They’re plant-based (vegan) and healthier than most recipes. Let’s cook!
Do you have an instant pot? Instead, make our Easy Instant Pot bean curd (with dried beans).
do you have black beans Go for chilled black beans.
How to make homemade bean curd (a tutorial)
These homemade bean curds are easy to make and take about 20 minutes total. We guarantee it will be worth it when you take your first taste! These refried beans taste rich and buttery, although they don’t contain butter or lard like traditional recipes do. In fact, it’s a whole food plant-based version (WFPB) with just a hint of oil. Of course, if you want to substitute the butter or add a little more… we won’t judge! Here’s how to make homemade bean broth.
Here is our video showing all the steps below…
Step 1: Chop the garlic and drain the beans.
If you’re not a knife expert, watch our garlic chopping video to do it in just 1 minute! Next, drain the beans if using canned beans. Here’s the important part: Save who can cash! You will use it in the recipe. If you forget, you can just use water: it doesn’t matter! This is also what you can use when making these refried beans with beans that you’ve cooked from scratch.
Step 2: Fry the garlic and cook the beans for 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, then sauté the garlic for 1 minute until it starts to brown. Add the beans very carefully: be careful because the liquid hitting the hot oil can make it spit! Then add about ½ cup of canned liquid and the cumin, chili powder, and salt.
Cook over medium-high heat, gently bubbling, until the beans soften and fall apart easily when blended. This takes between 10 and 15 minutes: the exact time depends on the type of beans or if you are using dried cooked beans.
Step 3: Crush!
Here comes the fun part: mash the beans! Mash them with a potato masher until they reach the desired consistency (or a fork if you don’t have a potato masher). You can also add some water if you’d like the beans to have a finer texture. You’re good to go now: delicious healthy homemade bean puree in about 20 minutes!
5 best ways to serve homemade bean puree
There are so many ways to serve up homemade refried beans: we guess you won’t need much help! BUT, if you enjoy our favorite recipes…well, we hoped you’d ask! Here are our best ways to eat them:
- As a page. They go perfectly with tacos. Garnish with Quesco Fresco, chopped coriander and some chili powder.
- taquitos! Prepare our easy-to-cook flautas (taquitos!) as a delicious snack.
- tacos Our Refried Bean Tacos are delicious.
- Refreshed bean dip. Wowza, this easy chilled bean dip is good! And it’s vegan/plant-based.
- soups. Have you ever tried homemade sopes? They’re a fun alternative to easy-to-make tacos at home.
This homemade bean curd recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.
The description
The best beans are homemade beans! The texture and taste are much better than canned food: they’re also healthier (and plant-based).
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 2 15-ounce cans of pinto beans or 3 cups cooked pinto beans, plus ¾ cup liquid or water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Chop the garlic. Drain the beans and collect the liquid from the can in a glass measuring cup. (Use water if using cooked beans.)
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant but before it turns brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and carefully add the beans (liquid hitting the oil may cause it to spit out!), ½ cup the reserved can liquid, cumin, chilli powder, and kosher salt. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and add the remaining ¼ cup liquid when it starts to get drier. (Cooking time depends on bean brand or if using dry-cooked beans.) When liquid thickens and beans are easy to mash, remove from heat. Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached. If you want to soften the texture, add more water. Serve immediately.
- Category: garnish
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Mexican
Keywords: Homemade Refried Beans, Pinto Beans, Refried Beans, Healthy
All beans!
Since Alex and I mostly eat vegetarian and vegan recipes, we have a lot of bean-based recipes! Beans provide vital plant-based protein in our diet. Here are some additional resources on beans:
