Refried beans or frijoles refritos is a popular side dish that can be topped with cheese or used in other foods like tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Refried beans are never actually refried. To make them, all you have to do is sauté 1 chopped onion or a bit of minced garlic in 1 tablespoon canola oil or lard, until the onion is translucent. Add 2 cups cooked or canned pinto beans. Mash the beans and then continue cooking until they thicken up. You may need to add a little bit of water or broth to the mixture.

Soaking Dried Beans

If you want to switch from canned beans to dried beans, you need to know how to soak dried beans. If you soak beans for just a couple of hours, you will bring them back to life. This boosts their nutritional value as it activates minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. There are some other great reasons to make the switch from canned beans to soaking dried beans:

• Saves you money
• Salt-free so you eliminate all that sodium
• Free from preservatives
• Taste better
• Environmentally friendly and reduces the need to recycle
• Greater variety of beans to choose from
• Greater control over how firm or mushy your beans are
• Takes up less space in your kitchen/pantry

Soaking beans is pretty effortless. There are two ways that you can do this. Before soaking your beans you need to rinse and sort through them, eliminating any blemished beans or pebbles.

If you are short on time, they can be soaked on the stovetop. Put the dried beans into a pot and fill with water. You need enough water to cover the beans and then some. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for one hour. Drain and they are ready.