Mashed Pinto Beans (Upscale Refried Beans)
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may recall me mentioning mine and Eric’s time in Texas. (If not, we lived there for a short seven months back in 2007.) To say we were spoiled by authentic Tex-Mex food would be an understatement. After we moved, we never found a Tex-Mex restaurant we loved as much as those in Dallas. There’s a song called “Ohio (Come Back to Texas),” and one of the lines says, “because the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway.” That pretty much sums up my view, and I have yet to be proven wrong in the three and half years since we moved away from there. I say all that so you can fully appreciate the excitement we felt when we made these beans for the first time. Heck, I still get excited about them, and we’ve had them so many times in the last year that it should have worn off by now. This recipe is just that good.
I know you’re probably wondering what could make refried beans so special. It’s bacon, coupled with the fact that you can control the texture of the beans. You can mash them more or less to suit your tastes, which makes them far superior than anything you can buy in a can. I won’t even make dips that call for refried beans with the canned kind anymore. These are rich and smooth, with loads of flavor from the bacon and cumin. Elly used manchego cheese in her version, but I absolutely love the way creamy monterey tastes with these. I always tell myself I’m going to make extra so that I can make bean and cheese burritos, but I never do for fear that I’ll eat the extra instead of saving them. If you’re not a fan of refried beans, give these a try and report back to me. I have a strong suspicion that you’ll fall for them just as quickly as we did.
- YIELD: 2-3 servings
2 strips bacon, sliced crosswise into ½-inch strips
Half a medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
⅔ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1
Place bacon in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is just starting to crisp. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for an additional minute until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a light boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Use a fork or potato masher to mash beans to desired consistency, adding more chicken broth as needed. Once plated, top with cheese and green onion and serve.
Haha, I love that song! And it’s so true! Although I’ve never lived in TX, my dad is from TX and I always hit up great Mexican places when we’re there. I will so try these beans- can’t compare to the canned stuff!!
I live not only in Texas, but in the Tex-Mex capital of the state: San Antonio! I can vouch that we do have some of the best Mexican food ever. These frijoles stand up to any I’ve seen in a restaurant…lovely combo of flavors. My mama used to make a pot of bacon-infused pinto beans every Sunday for us to make into meals during the week.
I’m so jealous! Eric and I wanted to visit more of Texas while we were living there, but our seven months went by too quickly.
This looks incredibly yummy!
So glad you like the beans and that you guys have made them so often! I’ve made them with Monterey and even just your standard bag of “Mexican” cheese and they’re great that way too (though not as upscale :))
These pictures look great, particularly for refried beans!
Thanks! I always struggle with brown foods, so your comment means a lot to me. 🙂
I love refried beans and always make them from scratch because there really isn’t any point in eating the canned stuff once you’ve had the real stuff. My husband is a Mexican food snob, so he wouldn’t settled either. I like the addition of bacon! BACON MMMMM. Bacon on anything!
Long-time reader, first time commenter.
I made this recipe last night. I used half of a small chorizo sausage (quartered and thinly sliced) because that was what I had on hand. Let me tell you, they were amazing.
I’m originally from Fort Worth, Texas, but have lived in New York for four years. I dream in Mexican food. These tasted almost exactly like the beans at my favorite Mexican restaurant, La Familia. Almost like being back home!
I love that you used chorizo, and I’ll definitely try that next time I make these. I’m so glad that you liked these and that they reminded you of home. 🙂 Thanks so much for your sweet comment – it totally made my day!
This sounds so easy to make, and though I might not always have a can of refried beans around, I usually have the ingredients to make this as I always have a can or two of pinto beans in my pantry!
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