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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsHow do you like your refried beans?
I have never understood restaurants that serve refried beans that are about the consistency of cream of mushroom soup and toss a little cheese on top. Only a few places I've been too actually take the cooked beans, break them and leave them chunky and then actually give them a shot on the griddle. I want my beans to have some body.
It must be me.

lastlib
(26,620 posts)At my house, in the trashcan..........
justaprogressive
(5,319 posts)been making refry pie for 4 decades+ One of the Mexican restaurants near us
still does everything the old-fashioned, correct way. Find a better restaurant..
BoRaGard
(7,311 posts)Last edited Mon Sep 1, 2025, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)
si
bucolic_frolic
(52,210 posts)I must try a quality brand. Aldi house brand makes me toxic.
hlthe2b
(111,194 posts)Lots of finely diced onion, a good salsa, and sharp cheddar. So, yeah, my beans are "beans" and not just mush...
The cheese (and sodium) aside, it is pretty darned healthy...
moniss
(7,968 posts)one little place from decades ago used to give the beans a shot on the griddle and then finish off the "patty" under the broiler so that you had just a real light firmness to the top edges of the beans.
hlthe2b
(111,194 posts)
markodochartaigh
(3,797 posts)I wanted bean soup I would order bean soup. Especially since a lot of restaurants tend to have refried beans without any seasoning. I like restaurant refried beans to be very chunky then I mix a lot of the salsa, if they have salsa quemada that is best, into the beans.
GreenWave
(11,436 posts)Let my body make its own protein.
LuvLoogie
(8,242 posts)For enfrijoladas they should be like a creamy soup.
For tostadas they need to be spreadable. Not so moist they make the tostadas soggy. Not so stiff the tostadas breaks from you trying to spread the beans.
On the side, maybe a touch thicker.
In a taco dorado, perhaps even a little thicker.
I make about 2 lbs of beans at a time as frijoles de la jolla. I freeze about three 24oz containers and reserve the rest for the next few days.
Learn how to make a pot of frijoles de la jolla and you'll have the base for a variety of frijoles recipes.
Oeditpus Rex
(42,605 posts)Refried beans have always tasted rather bland to me (and I've never even heard of them all soupy), but El Pal does something with them -- or maybe just makes them the way they're supposed to be made -- that makes me want twice as many with my excellent chicken molé.
(Now we wait for the inevitable and childish "joke" about flatulence.)
miyazaki
(2,509 posts)I slow cook them all day in the crockpot. I don't need to 'refry' them after.
Coventina
(28,623 posts)
Kali
(56,393 posts)Best made with bacon grease. Find some mayacoba beans. They make the BEST refritos.