Easy Refried Beans
These refried beans are delicious and so easy to make. This refried bean recipe is quick, too—use canned beans and they're ready in 25 minutes! Healthy, vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Where have pinto beans been all my life? I dismissed them after a couple of lackluster Mexican restaurant meals, but I’ve recently realized pinto beans in their full glory. They’re creamy and rich, and mix in beautifully with scrambled eggs, soup, rice and more.
Pinto beans make the best refried beans, since they’re so buttery. I recently crossed my refried black beans recipe with my pinto beer beans (both available in my cookbook) and ended up with these outrageously delicious refried beans.
Fresh cilantro livens up these refried beans, and a squeeze of lime juice makes them taste more complex. Flavor aside, these refried beans are also a healthy source of plant-based protein and fiber (12 grams of each per serving). You can read up on pinto bean nutrition here.
Bonus? This recipe is so easy to make! I used high quality canned beans to make this recipe quickly. I tried home-cooked beans and couldn’t tell enough difference to bother doing it again. If you prefer to cook your own beans, though, you certainly can.
Cook up some onion in olive oil, add spices and beans, and your refried beans are ready in under 25 minutes. This recipe is far superior to store-bought refried beans, and it’s become a staple in my kitchen. I hope it becomes a staple in yours, too.
Uses for Refried Beans
Refried beans are a healthy side dish to serve along with any Mexican meal. They’re so good that I like to eat them with tortilla chips as a bean dip.
You can also use these protein-rich, vegan refried beans inside tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Spread them on the inside of a quesadilla or on top of a tostada. You can’t go wrong!
Watch How to Make Refried Beans
Refried Bean Tips
Chop the onions very small, and be sure to cook them until tender. This is key to achieving a creamy texture. If the onions are too large or undercooked, they will be distracting and crunchy. No thanks!
Mash the beans as much as you’d like. I usually stop when the beans are half to three-quarters mashed, but you can mash them completely if you’d like perfectly creamy refried beans. (You’ll get even smoother results if you blend these beans in a food processor. I don’t recommend trying the blender since they are so thick.)
Use black beans if you prefer. Black beans aren’t as easily blended as pinto beans, so they’ll probably be a little more chunky. If you love black beans, you’ll love this version!
Add peppers for even more flavor. You can add a finely chopped bell pepper (any color) or jalapeño pepper(s) with the onion, for beans with extra flavor and texture. Jalapeños will make the beans more spicy—I recommend removing the seeds and membranes first so you have more control over the spice level.
Please let me know how these refried beans turn out for you in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going, and your star ratings encourage other readers to make the recipe. Find more Mexican recipes here.
Easy Refried Beans
These refried beans are delicious and so easy to make. This refried bean recipe is quick, too—use canned beans and they’re ready in 25 minutes! Plus, these beans are healthy, vegan and gluten free. Recipe yields 2 ½ cups refried beans (21 ounces), enough for 5 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow or white onion (about ½ small onion)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked pinto beans
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ medium lime), to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the drained beans and water. Stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and remove the lid. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash up about at least half of the beans, until you reach your desired consistency. Continue to cook the beans, uncovered, stirring often, for 3 more minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Taste, and add more salt and lime juice if necessary. If the beans seem dry, add a very small splash of water and stir to combine. Cover until you’re ready to serve.
Notes
Change it up: Substitute black beans for the pinto beans.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Spot on! Best refried beans I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Why do you drain and rinse the pinto beans if you are adding water?
Hi! It helps remove excess sodium and can help with overall taste.
Recipe is simple, but dope. Great on it’s own, but also takes my 7 layer dip recipe to the next level.
Thanks. This is great and tastes so much better than from a can.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Sue! Thank you for your review.
This is a fantastic recipe! I had to use black beans and I didn’t have cilantro and it still tastes amazing. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Elizabeth! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Just wanted to to say thank you for posting this recipe. It is hands down the best refried beans I have ever made or had. I have been making my own refried beans(thank you large bag of pinto beans and a pressure cooker to cook them easily). But I have been putting tons and tons of Mexican spices in mine, because I love bold flavors. This recipe, though, reminds me that sometimes less is more. Well done!
I’m not able to print recipes from your website using the print function. Is it working properly, to your knowledge?
Hi Linda, I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, it looks to be workin on this end. Maybe try again.
Just made these! Fantastic. I was out of refried beans for bean tostadas and this recipe saved the day. I left out chili powder & lime due to family not being a big fan of those. Added a bit more salt. Delicious.
Thank you for sharing your variation, Sydney! I’m excited you enjoyed them on your tostadas.
I am so glad I tried this! I used vinegar instead of lime and added some oregano instead of cilantro. Turned out beautifully!
Thank you for sharing, Katherine!
I was reaching for a can of refried beans for tacos when I realized she’d eaten them all. So I Googled and found this recipe, which was super-easy and super-tasty. After we’d eaten a lot of it, I added a can of black beans and some more water and cooked the beans to stretch the recipe. We ate some tacos with taco meat and some with just the refried beans, and both were delicious. I think I’ll make a habit of making homemade refried beans after this! The texture is so much nicer and the flavor more robust than canned refried beans.
I’m happy you found it and were able to enjoy it, Laurie. Thank you for your review!
This has been my go-to recipe for vegetarian refried beans and they always turn out great! The recipe is fast, easy, very tasty and versatile enough so that you can adjust to suit your own taste. Tonight, I added the No Chicken flavor from Better than Bullion and it was a fantastic addition. Thanks so much for sharing!
Excellent! Made this for supper tonight easy and tasty. Thank you!
I love refried beans, I never thought to add lime juice to them, thank you for opening up my taste buds a little more. I always just used the limes on my salad and salsa of course the main dish, tacos
You’re welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed them, Martha.
You are Da Bomb. I end up using SO many of your recipes. Your marinara OMG.
Can leftover refried beans be frozen? I’ve tried it in the past with canned – BLECH.
Literally came out perfect!!
I love it! Thank you for your review, Lucy.
Made this (or a close equivalent – I always color outside the lines!) from dry pinto beans, turned out great, added ghost chili flakes and grated cheese, perfect! thanks for the recipe.
Easy, delicious recipe. I used romano beans, because that is what I had, and they worked out very well. Thank you for your lovely recipes!
Superb, thank you for the recipe!
Big fan. Simple as it gets. I like to mix up my beans. Maybe kidney and cantellini one time, or soak up a mixed bag for fun. Thanks for the starting point.
Lovely recipe…. Can I freeze the bean mixture when cooked please? I need to make it 2 days before we go away, and will be making enough to 6 or 7 of us.
Hi, I haven’t tried to freeze, so I can’t say for sure. But, it may be ok. The beans could be somewhat dry with thawed.
Excellent recipe. I caramelized my onions. Delish.
I was looking for a way to jazz up canned refried beans so I swapped the required pinto beans and potato masher with refried beans and wow! This is the first time refried beans have been the star of the show instead of generally nutritious filler. I’ve already added this recipe to my cookbook and I’ll never have plain beans again. The husband agrees that these were the best burritos we’ve ever made!
I really like this recipe. Very flavorful. And I swap out all kinds of beans. I also bulk it up a lot by throwing the onion and garlic in a mini-processor with a carrot, 1/2 a red pepper, and a stalk of celery. I saute this mix for a while to cook, and while I’m doing that, instead of mashing, I pulse the beans in the processor to the texture I like. Hey, it’s already dirty! Finally, I incorporate the beans and herbs into the mix. Super fast and super easy.
OMG!!! This recipe was super easy and so delicious. I prepared the beans the day before rather than using canned and they were easily the best refried beans I have ever tasted. I used Cranberry beans because they are also very creamy and a bit bigger than pintos. I didn’t have an onion so added chopped scallions to the garlic. And didn’t have a lime so used lemon. The seasonings were spot on. I almost ate the whole recipe – but saved half for later. Thanks so much for this great recipe.
You’re welcome, Mel! Thank you for your review.
Excellent recipe and can be used different beans. I belong to the Rancho Gordo bean club and always have a pot of beans cooking. This week I had leftover Christmas Lima beans in the fridge and used them in this recipe. I added a bit more cumin and chile than called for, and instead of water used the bean broth from the cooked beans. DELICIOUS!
By the way, cooking fresh beans is so easy. When they are super fresh, which is what you get from Rancho Gordo, there’s no need to soak, and for the most part the beans cook up nicely within an hour.
Turned out very delicious. I added a red capsicum and made Mexican cannelloni. Thank you. (I cannot eat the canned refried beans even the salt reduced ones are too salty.) These are so healthy!
I thought I followed the recipe pretty close. No cilantro. Mine is really soupy. I mashed a lot if not all the beans trying to thicken it up.
Just made this retried beans recipe, used pinto and black beans, tastes amazing. Thank you. Susie and Martin, New Zealand
Thank you, Susie and Martin!
We have made them again, such an easy, tasty recipe. Thank you. Will check out your other recipes
I made this recipe today using 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of black beans. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly, and it turned out so good! My husband also liked them, so these refried beans will be a repeat performance at our house! Simple but flavorful!! Thanks for the recipe!
These are so delicious and came together so quickly. I used an immersion blender to whip them up and left some chunks. Thank you! This recipe is a keeper.
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Denise! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely delicious! I will never buy canned refried beans again!
I love that! Thank you for your comment, Kathi.
So excited to try this recipe. Never made them in my life. My sis and brother in law are coming from Minnesota and love Mexican food. I have an amazing menu. Want to have these beans be the best. Thank you
Help! We’re in Deutschland, where Idk how to get a can of cooked beans. I do have a bag of dried pinto beans. Can you tell me how to start with them?
Hi, You could use my How to Cook Black Beans (From Scratch!) as guidance, but all beans vary so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
You have good recipes, but your website has so many flashing ads that it makes me dizzy and so I will avoid you when possible.
Hi Kathy, I’m happy to hear you like my recipe. I do try to keep my ads to a minimum, but I do need to make an income to provide these recipes. You can always set the ad settings in your browser.
Seriously the best retried beans I have ever eaten.
I’m wondering about using hand mixer and a little water or broth to mash the beans.
Let me know how it works for you, Rox!
This is the best recipe I’ve ever found. I was lazy so I used onion & garlic powder, powdered beef flavoring, dried cilantro, and some dried jalapeno flakes. I added a little more water, plus I added about 1/2 cup of prepared salsa. I simmered on low, uncovered, for close to an hour to reduce the liquid and allow the seasonings to blend in. Mashing was a breeze and the consistency was awesome. This is going to become my “go to” recipe template using canned and dried beans. I like to make burritos and freeze them to pull out later for a quick meal or take to work for lunch.
I was looking for a homemade refried bean recipe. This looks fabulous and has the major ingredients: spices, cilantro, lime juice… Making it tonight. Thank you so much!
I made this last night and served it on tacos with pico de gallo, avocado and greek yoghurt. So yum! We also used it as a dip with some corn chips. Will definitely be making this again.
That’s great, Hayley! Thank you for your review.
Great! Added a fresh jalapeño to a double batch and the flavor was wonderful. Will definitely make again. (Didn’t use cilantro as we don’t like it)
Hello! If I make these beans in advance, how is the best way to reheat them? Thanks!
You can gently reheat them in the microwave or stovetop can work too.
DONE JUST DONE with cans of Re fried beans. This recipe is so tasty, I usually spend my time sprucing up a can of Re fried beans with onions, hot sauce, cheese BUT NO MORE ! I’m not even going to top this with cheese! Made with one can of black beans but left the other ingredients amped up! Thank you Kate, Cookie, and Clover!
Hooray! I’m excited you loved it, Trex. I appreciate your review.
No need for any changes to your recipe.
Only one addition, a tbsp or two of salsa for some heat.
Thank you , can’t wait to share.
I made these exactly like you said in your directions and this is the first time in over 20 years that my husband would even taste refried beans of any kind let alone homemade.
He’s a big guy he likes to eat so it’s not that he’s picky about anything… He couldn’t get enough of these beans this is going to be my go-to. thank you so much like, you don’t even know cuz I’m getting him to eat something healthy.
I’m glad these were a hit, Ruth! Thank you for your review.
delicious recipe! Thank you
We were at our lake home and entertaining our cousin and husband who love their Mexican meals. I made enchiladas, Spanish rice, chips and your fantastic retried beans! I didn’t have any olive oil so I used butter and that worked fine. Your recipe was simple and the refried beans were so yummy! It was the perfect addition to our meal and everyone loved them!!I will def make again, Thanks!
I’m happy it worked well for you, Tina! Thank you for your review.
This was very easy to make. Had to add some add’l chili as well as cheese (we like cheezy). Did the black bean version.
These are The BOMB!
YUMM!! SO GOOD!
Perfect! We usually just use canned refrieds to go with our fajitas, but we were out. I did have pinto beans and followed your recipe as written except I reduced the chili powder to a scant 1/8 tsp. My family and I were pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. I’ll be making this again. Thanks
You’re welcome, Kathy!