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{{short description|Mexican dish of cooked mashed beans}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2013}}
[[File:Frijoles refritos.jpg|thumb|Refried beans being prepared in a [[skillet]]]]

'''Refried beans''' (from {{langx|es|frijoles refritos}}, {{Lit|well-fried beans}}) is a dish of cooked and mashed [[bean]]s that is a traditional [[Staple food|staple]] of [[Mexican cuisine|Mexican]]<ref name="Bayless" /> and [[Tex-Mex|Tex-Mex cuisines]], although each cuisine has a different approach when making the dish. Refried beans are also popular in many other [[Latin America|Latin American]] countries. In this dish, after being boiled and then mashed into a paste, the beans are fried or baked (though they are fried only once).

The English "refried beans" is a mistranslation, since the essence of "frijoles refritos" is the re''heating'' and mashing of the beans; the term "''re''fried" is misleading.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosengarten |first=David |title=It's All American Food: The Best Recipes for More Than 400 New American Classics |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2003 |page=127 |isbn=978-0-316-05315-0}}</ref> As described by [[Rick Bayless]], "they're ''refritos''—not fried ''again'', as you might assume, but 'well fried' or 'intensely fried'."<ref name="Bayless">{{cite book |last=Bayless |first=Rick |title=Mexico: One Plate at a Time |url=https://archive.org/details/mexicooneplateat00bayl |url-access=limited |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |date=2000 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mexicooneplateat00bayl/page/n96 185] |isbn=0-684-84186-X}}</ref>

==Ingredients and preparation==
In [[Northern Mexico]] and [[Tex-Mex|Tex-Mex cuisine]], refried beans are usually prepared with [[pinto bean]]s, but many other varieties of bean are used in other parts of Mexico, such as [[Common bean#Black beans|black]], [[Common bean#Peruano|Peruano]], or [[Kidney bean|red kidney]] beans.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cloake |first=Felicity |date=2024-04-24 |title=How to make the perfect huevos rancheros – recipe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/24/how-to-make-the-perfect-huevos-rancheros-recipe-felicity-cloake |access-date=2025-03-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The raw beans can be cooked when dry or soaked overnight, then stewed, drained of most of the remaining liquid, and converted into a paste with a masher (such as a [[potato masher]]), or pressed through a fine mesh sieve (to remove the skins). Some of the drained liquid, or chicken or vegetable [[Stock (food)|stock]], is added if the consistency is too dry. The paste is then [[baked]] or fried, usually with onion and garlic in a small amount of [[lard]], [[vegetable oil]], bacon drippings or [[butter]], and seasoned to taste with salt and [[spice]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Refried Beans Recipe |url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024431-refried-beans?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=5706832162043340&req_id=3560457818100065&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=NYT Cooking |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of REFRIED BEANS |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refried%20beans |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> In Mexico, lard is most often used, and this has a large effect on flavor. [[Epazote]] is a common herb used to add flavor to the dish.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Make Great Refried Beans |url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/how-to-make-great-refried-beans-recipe.html |website=Serious Eats |access-date=16 January 2016}}</ref> It is also a [[carminative]] (i.e. it reduces the intestinal gas associated with beans).<ref>{{cite web |title=Mexican Magic: Epazote's Special Flavor |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/02/04/mexican-magic-epazotes-special-flavor/|website=Serious Eats |date=4 February 1998 |access-date=16 January 2016}}</ref>

==Usage==
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In home cooking, refried beans are often served as a [[side dish]] accompanying a larger meal or rolled in a [[tortilla]] to form a bean [[burrito]].

In the United States, refried beans are most commonly made from pinto beans. They are served as a side dish with most Tex-Mex restaurant meals. They also have become very popular as a [[Dip (food)|dip]] for maize [[tortilla chip]]s. Refried beans are also a primary ingredient in many [[Tostada (tortilla)|tostada]], [[chimichanga]], and [[pupusa]] recipes. Additionally, they are a typical ingredient in layered dips, such as [[seven-layer dip]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seven-Layer Dip Recipe |url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019914-seven-layer-dip?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=915536467561476&req_id=3560457818100065&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=NYT Cooking |language=en-US}}</ref> or in [[nachos]].

==See also==
* [[List of legume dishes]]

==References==
{{Commons cat}}
{{Cookbook}}
{{reflist}}

{{Legume dishes}}
{{Mexican cuisine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Refried Beans}}
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:American legume dishes]]
[[Category:Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:New Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:Tex-Mex cuisine]]
[[Category:Salvadoran cuisine]]