This cheater refried beans recipe is made with only a few ingredients in the food processor or blender. Make this tasty side dish in only 10-15 minutes!
When I told my husband that these were cheater refried beans, he said, “They are made out of beans. I don’t think that’s cheating.” I guess he has a point. If they were made out of tofu, and I called them beans, that would be more suspicious. I still think refried beans technically require a lot more steps and ingredients than this super easy blender refried beans recipe needs, so I feel like I’m breaking some rules somewhere.. Here’s what you do: Blend canned pinto beans (drained), fresh salsa, and a little lime and cumin until smooth. Heat them up with a pat of butter, and you’ll have a pretty close approximation of the real thing! Why butter? Surely you know that really good refried beans are really good because they contain lard. If I’m buying canned refried beans, I always look for an authentic brand that uses real, live lard. In any other situation I try to avoid extra fat, but it seriously makes refried beans taste better! Even though I am willing to buy beans with lard in the ingredients, I can’t bring myself to actually but a jar of the white stuff. To add that richness to these cheater refried beans, I used butter instead, and the result was fabulous! If you need to watch your fat intake, you could leave out the butter and still have some tasty beans. I hope you love the recipe either way!
PrintCheater Refried Beans
These shortcut refried beans only need a few ingredients and about 15 minutes to prepare!
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 30 ounces canned pinto beans drained
- 1/3 cup fresh salsa like you find in the refrigerator section of your grocery store
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice about 1/2 lime
- 2 tbsp. water
- 1 tbsp. butter
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Add beans, salsa, cumin, lime juice, and water to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add butter to a medium saucepan, and heat over medium heat until melted. Add blended beans, and stir in butter. Heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking over low heat at least five minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Mexican
Here are some other bean-tastic dishes you’ll love!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Love how super easy and delicious these refried beans are. They look great!
Andi says
Thanks, Thalia! Nice to hear from you :)
ATasteOfMadness says
I love refried beans! I gotta try this sometime!
Andi says
Thank you! I hope you like them too :)
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
This is such a great idea! While I don’t always have a can of refried beans in the cupboard, I almost always have cans of whole beans. And I agree with you completely that refried beans are best with a little added richness and butter is perfect.
★★★★★
Andi says
Thanks Marissa! I think I usually have refried and whole beans in the pantry. I’m a bit of a hoarder of canned goods, but who even knows what’s in the back of the cabinet because I can’t get to those cans! I need some sort of slide-out shelf or something.
Joanie @ ZagLeft says
What a great idea and so much healthier too!
Andi says
Thanks, Joanie!
Kelley says
Haha.. I totally agree with the lard thing! Gotta have it in refried beans! Or any Mexican food really. Mmmm.
Andi says
Yes, you don’t want to skip the lard ;)
Nutmeg Nanny says
While I do love the time consuming refried beans I’m all about the cheater beans. I love being able to get that flavor in a quarter of the time. Delicious!
Andi says
Thanks! Glad you like them!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
I do something almost identical. I can tell you quite frankly that THIS
WORKS. It’s good and it’s quick. Everyone seems happy when they eat them. End of Story. Lol.
Andi says
Thank you! Even though it’s still canned beans, I think this way tastes more homemade than canned refried beans :)
Julie @ Tastes of Lizzy T says
I’ve never made my own refried bean but they look super easy!
Andi says
Thanks, Julie!
Dana Flagg says
Can’t wait to try this dish.
Andi says
Thanks, Dana! I hope you like it!
Joanne says
These ‘refried’ beans look quite tasty to me! However, I am looking at your Mocha Poke Cake, and will put that in my recipe file. :-)
★★★★★
Andi says
Thanks, Joanne! I loooove that cake :)
Rebecca Brewer says
I just finished eating a pile of these as I was going through my email and saw your post. Only diffence – black beans. Yummy!
Andi says
Oh how funny! I’ll have to try black beans next time. Thanks, Rebecca!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
ooh. I’m lovin this idea. Refried beans are my weakness.
Andi says
Well you can eat a big pile of these and not even feel bad about it ;) Thanks, Karen!
Deb @ Cooking on the Front Burner says
Great idea and recipe Andi!! Again, I love your new look!!
Andi says
Thanks so much, Deb!
Liz says
Thank you Andi. Have a great day and week.
Andi says
Thank you, Liz!!
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Love this cheater version, Andi! And leaving out the butter? HA! So not an option!
MaryB says
I love the new format! I love all the recipes. So many great recipes!
This is just yet another one! I make mine like this so I know we love it!
Thank you, Andi!
★★★★★
Andi says
Thank you so much, Mary!!
Andi says
I knew I liked you, Melanie. You don’t strike me as someone who would skimp on butter ;)