5 Minute Refried Beans Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Refried beans recipe from scratch made in just 5 minutes! All you need is a handful of ingredients to make this delicious mexican favorite.

Today I’m sharing with you my favorite 5 minute homemade refried beans recipe.

I have loved refried beans since I was a little girl.

I remember on several occasions eating them straight out of the can with chips…cold even!

I have found since I began to eat healthy that refried beans can be either 1) hard to find with clean ingredients or 2) expensive.

That’s when I decided to make them myself.

How do you make refried beans?

Partially drain a can of black beans or pinto beans.

The more liquid you leave, the runnier the beans will be. For super thick refried beans, drain most of the liquid.

If you want more runny beans, say for pouring over nachos, leave a little more liquid than normal

Use an immersion blender to puree the beans until smooth.

Do this step first while the beans are still room temperature. If the beans splatter, at least they will not be hot.

I have learned this the hard way! If you do not have an immersion blender, use a potato masher and mash them as much as possible

Once your beans are smooth, place them in a saucepan over medium heat and add the lime juice and spices.

Heat until warm (less than five minutes) and they are ready to serve!

refried black beans

Refried beans are classically made with pinto beans, but you can also make them with black beans.

I personally love to make refried black beans!

I’m a fan of all things mexican food wise, especially as a vegetarian/mostly vegan.

We eat mexican at least once a week, if not more.

It’s an easy and delicious way to get lots of protein and lots of flavor!

Uses For Refried Beans

A healthy bean dip – I love eating them dipped with tortilla chips!
Use as filling in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, you can’t go wrong!
Drizzle these vegan refried beans over nachos for an extra protein and flavor punch

These are so simple but really flavorful!

Like I said above, I use black beans and pinto beans interchangeably in this recipe.

Whichever you have on hand will work!

Ever since I got my immersion blender, it has been my best friend and this recipe is one of the main reasons why!

I love these beans alone, or in pretty much anything.

I had a hard time photographing them because I kept dipping chips in to eat. The flavor is so addictive!

Refried beans recipe from scratch:

Ever since I discovered the immersion blender hack, I’ve been making my own homemade refried beans instead of buying them.

Ingredients

1 can of black beans or pinto beans, partially drained (see notes)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
squeeze of lime juice (I used around ½ small lime)

Instructions

Partially drain beans and pour into a pan
Using an immersion blender, blend beans in pan until they are a puree texture
Add spices and lime juice and heat over medium heat until hot (around 3-5 minutes)
Serve on burritos, nachos, tacos, or as a dip
Enjoy!

Notes

Drain beans according to how thick you want the refried beans to be. I drained about half of the liquid from mine and it was spreadable but not extremely thick. It will thicken if stored in the fridge also.

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a star rating below!