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Frijoles (beans) are an absolute staple in Hispanic kitchens. There are several kinds of beans and they can all be prepared in many different ways. My favorite Mexican beans are frijoles refritos, aka refried beans!
If you are a frequent consumer of Mexican cuisine, I’m sure you have had refried beans many times before. It is very commonly included in meals as a side, along with rice and some fresh lettuce.
Refried beans are traditionally cooked in lard in order to get that signature, delicious refried bean taste. Neutral oil or bacon grease are commonly used instead, but I highly recommend using lard for the best results. If you can’t find it or prefer not to use it, my second suggestion would be neutral oil. I would stay away from bacon grease mainly because the taste is very strong and will overpower the refried beans. They will just taste like bacon, in my opinion.
Ingredients
- Pinto beans- I highly recommend starting this recipe off with loose dry pinto beans instead of canned. You can definitely get canned to save some time, but fresh of course will taste better. I soak my beans over night to make the boiling process faster. You can also use black beans!
- Spices & Herbs- Salt and cumin are absolutely necessary to get the right flavors. Epazote is an herb that is traditionally used in refried beans, but they can be difficult to find especially fresh. If you can’t find it, Mexican oregano is a good substitute.
- Aromatics- Garlic, onion, and jalapeno. The jalapeno is optional- I think it adds good flavor but do not be worried about it being spicy.
- Lard– No one likes to hear this an one of the ingredients in a dish but did you know that it is actually better for you than most other fat alternatives? If you want an authentic result, I highly recommend picking up some lard to make your frijoles. It makes such a difference.
- Water- don’t throw out the water after draining the boiled beans! A lot of really good flavor is cooked into this water and we will be using almost all of it to refry the beans.
Pro Tip
If you’ve made carnitas using lard, you can strain and reuse it for refried beans! I believe this is the secret to a lot of restaurant frijoles that are amazing.
You should only reuse lard once or twice, and I don’t recommend making refried beans with carnitas lard if you’re planning to pair it with carnitas. Also keep in mind that the lard is seasoned, so be careful how much seasoning you add to the beans once you start frying them.
Ways to enjoy refried beans
I made these frijoles specifically for Tortas Ahogadas (Mexican sandwich), but there are SO many ways to enjoy them!
One of my favorite favorite ways to eat refried beans is in a burrito. My go-to breakfast is a bean and cheese burrito with avocados, sour cream, and my favorite hot sauce Tapatio.
An ALL TIME FAVORITE meal of mine is a chile relleno burrito with refried beans! This is something that I usually make if I have leftover chile rellenos from dinner the night before. I will have a recipe for that very soon. It is SO good!
Other common ways of eating refried beans is as a side to an entree, on a tostada with cheese, on nachos, or as a dip. The possibilities are endless!
Making a Mexican dinner?
If you’re searching this recipe to make sides for your Mexican dinner, I HIGHLY recommend making my Abuela’s Authentic Arroz Rojo (Mexican rice).
It is the most popular recipe on my blog and it absolutely the best Mexican rice recipe ever!
Here are some other Mexican recipes that would pair well with rice & beans:
Authentic Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry pinto beans, or black beans
- water, for boiling the beans
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mexican oregano, or epazote
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small onion, 1/2 whole, 1/2 finely minced
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup lard , or neutral oil
- salt, Mexican oregano, and cumin to taste
Instructions
- Pick out the bad beans and throw them out. Rinse and soak your pinto beans over night for a faster cook (optional).
- Drain the beans and put them in a pot deep enough to boil. Add 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp epazote or Mexican oregano, 1/2 of an onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, and enough water to cover the beans by 2-3 inches.
- Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- Cover and reduce the heat a tiny bit for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You may need a little more time if you did not soak the beans over night. It should be a gentle boil.
- Check on the beans about half way through and add HOT water as needed. You want to maintain a water level of about 1 inch above the beans from this point on. Adding too much water will dilute the bean flavor we want.
- The beans are ready when you can easily smash them between your fingers (careful! they are hot). Strain the beans, onions, and garlic but don't throw out the bean water. Or you can use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans to the frying pan later and pour the bean water from the pot to save dishes.
- Heat some lard (or oil) in a skillet over medium-low heat, then add the finely chopped onions and sauté until fragrant and almost browning. If using neutral oil or lard, season the onions with a pinch of salt. Do not add the salt if you are reusing lard used to make carnitas (this is already seasoned).
- Add the chopped jalapenos and sauté for another minute.
- Increase the heat to medium high, then add the drained pinto beans.
- Begin smashing the beans. I'm use a potato masher, but you can use the back of your spatula or whatever you have that can get the job done.
- Reduce the heat to medium after a minute. Keep smashing until you reach your desired consistency, while simultaneously adding the bean water in increments as you smash. I added back all of my bean water in 3-4 batches.
- Try the refried beans and add salt, cumin, and/or Mexican oregano to taste. I usually end up adding about 1/8 tsp each to get the perfect flavor. Note: you may not need to add any seasoning if using carnitas lard, since it is already seasoned with these spices.
- Once you've reached your desired consistency, remove from heat. I like my refried beans smooth but with little visible little chunks. Some people like it super smooth or chunky- there is no wrong way! Use an immersion hand blender to make it smooth like this one.
- Top with your favorite cheese and enjoy 🙂
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have been making this recipe for years. Great recipe for beginners
Just made this and I love it. Replaced the jalapeño with serranos for extra spice. 10/10 would make again.
Hi do you mind if I ask a couple of questions anyway I like you love to cook and was making Mexican for my family including homemade salsa that that had fresh jalapeño in it and I started to cough when I was working with them and I have asthma and they thew me into an asthma attack I usually replace fresh peppers since then with cans of green chili any other suggestions also my little girl her best friend comes from a vegetarian family when she comes over I tend to make Mexican food because rice and beans are usually vegetarian can I when she here use cristco instead thanks for your time
I love Mexican rice and refried beans. Your recipes sound easy and delicious. Thank you
This sounds easy and delicious. I love Mexican rice and refried beans. Thank you.
WOW! I have tried making refried beans before and just couldn’t get enough flavor, kept adding spices and it just wasn’t tasting how I’d hoped it would taste. I wanted to try this recipe cause the amount of seasonings and flavors sounded good, I used the exact ingredient measurements in the recipe (just didn’t measure the salt) and it was the BEST refried beans I’ve ever tasted! Didn’t need to add anything else at the end! I used an instant pot (on high for 40 min, then natural release for about 25 min) and it worked so well, I’m 100% going to always use this recipe from now on, thank you Stella! 😊🙏
did you just put the soaked beans in with the same amount of water?
Thank you for sharing this. These are delicious.
Can I freeze the leftovers?
Robyn
Hi just found your site. n last night made your beans! delish. next will be Carnitas. it’s amazing how lot of u cooks, don’t mind giving lot of your n family recipes! think we all appreciate them. Will continue to follow u. thx
Thank you, Dee! I strongly believe recipes are meant to be shared, not kept a secret. Unless you own a restaurant or food business that would benefit from keeping it from your competitors. I’m in the business of sharing recipes so that families can make those restaurant quality dishes at home 🙂
So good! I used a 1 lb bag of pintos, so I doubled the recipe. So far, so good. I’m just deciding whether to use my immersion blender to make them completely smooth for a work Cinco de Mayo spread tomorrow. I prefer them as is, but I’m not sure what my coworkers would prefer.
Hi. Confused about the onion situation here. Do you throw out the boiled onion and use another one to sauté? HELP
Hi Allison! You’ll need onion for boiling PLUS more onion for sautéing. You do not need to throw out the boiled onion, but you’re welcome to if they are easy to fish out. I usually just keep them in since they nearly disintegrate anyway. Hope this helps!
I love this recipe! I have several pounds of different beans stored for a few years so I wanted to make this recipe to use up the pintos and freeze 8 portions of it. I had a bunch of bean water left. It is so tasty just to pour it down the drain so I wonder if I could use it for something. Do you have any recommendations of a great use?
I’m going to give this a go with a can of pinto beans I have because I’m short on time — will follow everything else and see what happens!
I’ll try making them again, the only thing I taste is onions.
I can’t wait to make this. thank you for the excellent instructions!
I made this recipe last night. it was amazing I’ll never buy can again ever. worth the wait and i cooked mine 10 min longer so it would be easier to smash.
This recipe looks delicious and I want to make it for a Mexican buffet I’m contributing to this weekend. I want to make it for about 50 people, so I have two questions: 1.) how many times should I multiply this recipe; and 2.) should I cook each batch separately or do you recommend cooking in double or triple batches?
Hi Denelle, the amount needed for 50 people depends on what you are using the beans for. I am going to assume it is a side, in which case I’d recommend making 9x this recipe. The recipe as written, will serve about 5-6 people as a side dish. That’s about half a cup of refried beans per person.
If you have a saute pan with a large enough surface area to fry the onions, jalapenos, and beans, you can do this in one big batch. I’ve done this for a pop-up event and it worked well. However, if you only have a 10-12 inch pan for frying, you may need to split the frying part into a few batches. But you can boil everything at once. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Been following you for a while on IG – I’m 100% Korean, but my mom told me she craved Mexican food while she was pregnant with me and I came out of the womb asking donde esta la salsa? Mexican cuisine was my favorite for most of my life and I’m now trying to cook more things from scratch.
I’ve now made both your arroz rojo and your refried beans. I have to say, these beans are sooo good. I boiled 2c of pinto beans and was going to try making 2 separate batches (one with manteca and the other with schmaltz) but after frying the onions and jalapeno in the manteca, I ended up making both batches with the lard. The smell was too delicious and figured why mess around? I wasn’t sure how much fresh epazote to use so I tossed in 2 full sprigs. Then I mashed the boiled onion and epazote in with the beans…is that typical? Muchas gracias y kamsamnidaaaaa
Hello Stella,
I was planning on making the carnitas on New Year’s day and then the beans the next day because of the leftover lard. However, you mentioned you do not suggest serving them together (if using the leftover lard). Why is that? Taste too similar?
Hi Janine, yes that’s exactly why. You totally can if you want to- it’s more of a personal preference for me. As I get older my taste buds are changing, and I prefer pairing foods that are not so heavily seasoned or heavy if that makes sense. If this is not a problem for you, using the lard for refried beans might be the way to go.
Looks great, but come on, what is a cup of beans? Grams please!! Or at least a measurement that we can convert to grams. Surely measurements of volume are not for solids. And I don’t have an American cooking cup. Signed – everyone outside of the USA who finds this recipe
Hi Tami. It’s very easy to convert these measurements online, a quick google search will tell you that one cup of dried pinto beans is equal to about 195 grams. Hope this helps.
Thanks!
You don’t have google in your country? CMON
I will never buy caned refried beans again. Easy recipe to follow. Thanks 😋
These are definitely the best refried beans I have ever eaten…and I’ve eaten a lot of refried beans in the last 69 years!
Came across your site today and can’t believe how many authentic recipes you have! I’m always looking for the best frijole recipe and this one covers all the bases. I can tell we are from the same spirit tribe. Great stuff!
This is the recipe I use the only difference is I use green chilies instead of the jalapeño. I learned to make them from a co-worker years ago. Authentic and very easy to make 😋
In your recipe you mention Chile relleno, I searched your recipes but didn’t find a recipe for one. I’m making your Carnitas today. How can I find your Relleno recipe.
Thanks
Just a quick question. How many servings does this make? I’m having 9 people over and wondering if this recipe will be enough with just one batch.
Thank you ♥️
Hi Karissa! I’m assuming you are serving this as a side, correct? I would double the recipe to feed 9 people, but you will have leftovers. I think one batch might be JUST enough, but only if everyone is getting 1/4 cup serving or so. Hope this helps!
I’d like to say, I usually drive 40 mins. from my home for the only rice and beans I like. This recipe was so good I no longer have to go there. I shared my beans with my friends who are actually from Mexico and got an overwhelmingly positive response. I’m digging through more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jillianne, thanks so much for leaving a comment. My dad doesn’t play about his rice and beans- these are staples in our home! I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed this recipe. I highly recommend trying my Mexican rice recipe next.
This recipe is absolutely the best! I did things a bit differently, but the overall recipe is wonderful. I soaked the beans overnight, and then I cooked the beans in a slow cooker, with all the ingredients for 8 hours. I then drained the beans and blended them in a food processor. Cut another onion and Jalapeno and fried that in lard with some salt. Then added the beans and a bit of the bean broth. After I reached the consistency I wanted, I put them back into the food processor and made them even more smooth. Added a pinch of salt and then began eating them. SO YUMMY!
so easy to make! delicious!!
This made my kitchen smell so delicious! I used dried pepper and also added some coriander since I was substituting marjoram (which I had) for the Mexican oregano. Simple and straightforward–thanks so much for the recipe.
As a young Latina who is navigating the new world of living by herself you are constantly craving food from your culture but may not know how to cook it. I always love to have refried beans as a side to my Mexican dishes and was able to learn how to make this common dish through Stella’s recipes and now I am always able to have a taste of home when I need it.
These frijoles tasted legit. Also love the step by step images in the recipe notes. Very helpful for referencing.
Just finished your recipe and can not express how wonderful these beans turned out!! They are absolutely delicious! Thank you! I’ll be trying your Mexican rice tomorrow!
These beans were fantastic!! Thank you for sharing, I will be adopting this recipe in my household going forward. Chef’s kiss to these beans!!
Sorry if dumb question but you mention cooking half an onion in the water and then later you say to ‘fry the finely chopped onion’. is this the other half of the onion? presumably you’re not trying to finely chop the boiled half?
Half of one onion is for boiling with the dried pinto beans, and the other half of the onion is for mincing and frying before adding the cooked beans to the pan 🙂
Hello! How long could I store it in the fridge? Im gonna make it today!