Homemade Refried Beans
These Homemade Refried Beans are so flavorful and they couldn’t be easier to make. I promise, once you make them you will never want to go back to canned again.
We love Mexican food at my house. Tacos, nachos, burritos, quesadillas, you name it, we love it. And of course, these foods all taste better with refried beans in the mix. Whether you dollop them on top of your favorite dish or put them on the side, they are always a requirement on Mexican night.
I’ve always used canned refried beans….until I found these homemade refried beans on my good friend Michelle’s blog, A Dish of Daily Life. Make sure you check her blog out, she has so many fantastic recipes and her Refried Beans are no exception. They have so much more flavor than the canned variety and they couldn’t be easier to make.
These refried beans come together in about 20 minutes from start to finish and use regular ingredients that you probably already have on hand. The recipe says to use either vegetable oil or bacon grease but I HIGHLY recommend using bacon grease. It’s only 1 tablespoon for the whole recipe and it adds a lovely smoky flavor to the beans.
Give these homemade refried beans a try on your next Mexican night and see for yourself just how much better they are than canned.
Refried Beans

Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease or vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3 (15.5 oz) cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions

ENJOY!
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I get so tired of buying the same mediocre canned refried beans for every taco night- this recipe is MUCH needed! These look so fresh and so tasty– definitely trying them soon!
You’ll love these, Karly. They’re SO good!
I use bacon grease most of the time. I LOVE cooking with bacon grease!! I’m glad you enjoyed these…they are so easy to make and so good!
These were SO good, Michelle! I will definitely be making these often!
Lisa, can these retried beans be frozen? Thanks.
Sandy, I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think it would work just fine. It may be possible that you’d have to add a little more liquid to them when you heat them up, but otherwise I don’t see a problem with it.
Lisa