Food Friday: Refried Beans to Compliment Your Mexican Dish!

Mexican meals make good dishes after being outdoors. Tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos, and rice all makes delightful, hearty, and simple family meals. Of course these meals are not complete unless you have a side of home made refried bean dip and chips.

Refried beans provides an excellent source of protein for the picky eaters who forgo any kind of meat. Since canned beans add so much sodium, we like to cook our own batch of beans. Plus, beans are cheap, easy to fix, and definitely fill up a house full of boys. The leftover bean mixture even stores nicely into the freezer for a later date.

You can have bean burritos. You can make beans and cornbread. Personally, I like to make bean dip as a side dish with our main Mexican course.

A bag of pinto beans usually costs just under a dollar in the store. When I get home after grocery shopping of an evening, I open the bag of beans to sort out the old, discolored beans and rocks I might find (there will be just a few). I then put the sorted beans into my colander to wash. After a good initial washing, I fill up a bowl of water, placing the colander down inside for soaking overnight.

The following morning, I will rinse off the beans one more time before pouring them into the crock pot. I only add four cups of water. The beans cook all day on high prior to supper. At supper time, I will turn down the heat for them to slightly cool and then puree them in my blender.


To make the bean dip, I will pour the mixture into a pie plate/tin or 9 by 13 pan (depending on amount needed), layer taco sauce and salsa on top, and coat the top with both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I bake the dip in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese melts.

My mom also makes a dip but after warming the beans in the oven, she tops the mixture with sour cream followed by lettuce, tomato, and black olives. These dips are great for parties as well. Just serve with a bag of tortilla chips!