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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 260 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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Who doesn’t love tacos? We used to love putting together a spread of ingredients for a DIY taco night. It turns out, we can still do this on our whole food, plant-based diet… and it’s really tasty!
One of the things we loved using on taco night was a can of fat-free refried beans, so I was pretty sad when I realized all of the canned versions have a lot of added salt. We decided to buy a few cans of no salt added pinto beans and attempt to make our own!
It was kind of an accident how this one came together. Brian and I kept debating (surprise, surprise!) whether to leave the beans whole or “blitz” them in a food processor, so we decided to throw in a can of each – one whole and one “blitzed,” as Brian likes to say.
At first, we thought they were going to be way too “soupy,” so it looked like Brian was correct in leaving them whole, but then the magic happened! As they cooled down a bit, they became the perfect consistency. We added in some salsa and a few other ingredients, and these turned out pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself!
Our favorite way to enjoy them is on tacos, but they would be great as a dip, in a salad or simply as a side dish. Check out the recipe below and let us know if you try it out! Scroll down for more information on the products featured in the video.
Spicy Refried Pinto Beans (Oil-Free, Vegan, Fat-Free)
These refried pinto beans have the same consistency you would get from a can, but without all of the extra salt, oil, fat, etc!
Ingredients
- 2 15.5oz cans of no salt added pinto beans (1 can drained/left whole + 1 can pureed with liquid)
- 3 Tbsp salsa
- 1 Tbsp mushroom powder (OPTIONAL)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (OPTIONAL – leave out if you don’t want it spicy)
- salt to taste (OPTIONAL)
Directions
Start with one can of no salt added pinto beans and all of their liquid (don’t drain or rinse this can). Pour the entire can (including liquid) into a food processor or blender. Add the salsa and blend until smooth. We use a stick immersion blender for this part and blend directly in the sauce pan, but any food processor or blender will work.Then drain/rinse your second can of pinto beans. Add both the pureed bean/salsa mixture and the whole, rinsed beans to a medium sauce pan on medium heat.
As the pan heats up, add the remaining ingredients.
Mushroom powder is optional, so no big deal if you leave it out! We make ours by grinding up dried mushrooms in our spice/coffee grinder (don’t use the same one you use for coffee, unless you want coffee-flavored powder OR mushroom-flavored coffee).
The cayenne will make it spicy, so adjust to your taste!
After everything is combined, partially cover your sauce pan and bring to a simmer, adjusting the temperature as necessary. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
During the simmering process, it can get a bit messy since the beans tend to splatter. We like to a put a lid on, but leave a gap on the side for the steam to escape since you do want some liquid to evaporate from the mixture as it cooks.
After 10 minutes, remove from the heat and let it cool. It will thicken as it cools!
Store in a glass container in your refrigerator for 4-5 days and enjoy!
Featured Products:
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to purchase through these links, we receive a small commission from each sale at NO extra cost to you. All proceeds go back into making more content!
365 Everyday Value, Pinto Beans, No Salt Added, 15.5 ozUltra-Stick 500 Watt 9-Speed Immersion Multi-Purpose Hand Blender
*Note: This is NOT the exact model we have. Ours is an older Cuisinart that is no longer available. The updated Cuisinart version has bad reviews, so we included a link to an immersion blender with a lot of good reviews, but have not tried this one out ourselves!
Farberware Millennium Nonstick Aluminum 12-Piece Cookware Set, Bronze
Pyrex Storage 2 Cup Round Dish, Pack of 4 Containers
I love that you have Peef in your videos but I thought it was a name that you had given it. I had no idea that it was a whole thing based on a book/books TIL I saw the link in this blog post. My
Kids are grown but if I ever get any grandchildren I will be making Peef a new tradition in my family. I don’t know the end of the story but it must be pretty nice.
Hi Wendy! Yes, Peef has a few books! It is a great story. The Peef in our videos has gone on every single trip I’ve been on for the past 16 years… he is well traveled! We don’t have children, but I have been sharing Peef bears & books with all of my nieces and nephews 🙂 I am their crazy aunt Jessie with the Peefs. LOL. Thanks for watching!
Hi there. Made these yesterday minus the mushroom powder, as I was out of mushrooms. Very delish….put it on my salad!
Mushroom powder…what a great idea!!! Just curious…how do you store it..fridge, cupboard. How long does it keep?
Hi Christina! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 We store the mushroom powder in a glass container in our pantry. I think the longest we’ve had it in there is a couple of months and it doesn’t seem to go bad! I think of it as similar to any other spice in your pantry since they are dried/dehydrated mushrooms!
Christina,
I also use this recipe as my go to salad dressing and it’s perfect! It adds texture, flavor and nutrition: everything you can ask for in a Nutritarian dressing!
Great idea!!
Yummy. I make mine very similar. There is a really good vegan “taco” recipe on All Recipes dot com that is very similar with a few additions. Just found you yesterday and binging on your content.
Thanks! We will have to check that out 🙂
What type of dried mushrooms do you use for your mushroom powder? I have some Asian ones, would those work?
I think any would work – we just bought whatever the cheapest ones at Whole Foods were – I forget the exact kind!
I have made these twice in the last week and a half! Made just as recipe says minus cayenne, what a wonder mushroom powder is! Who knew?? Thanks so much you guys…
We just made some yesterday… I’m always amazed at how delicious they are 🙂 I don’t know what made Brian think to add mushroom powder… but I love it!
do you have to have a dehydrator to make mushroom powder? or is there another way I can make it? do you have a recipe you can share? thanks in advance.
We just buy dried portabella mushrooms from Whole Foods and then use our spice grinder to make them into powder!
I too am gorging on your videos! Thanks and keep those recipes coming please.
Thank you Joan 🙂 We will!
Have you tried freezing this and if so, how long do you think it will last in the freezer for?
We haven’t tried freezing this one yet! But I imagine it should be good in the freezer for a few months!
Made this last for our vegan taco dinner and everyone loved it! I wasn’t sure how it would go over as we love beans, but have never had refried beans. There was very little leftover – darn it! Very easy to make too and can be made ahead of time then just warmed up. Trader Joe’s has a Umame mushroom powder in the spice section that I used.
Yes this is a quick and easy one! Now I want to make some tonight 😀
My new stalking victims 😀 discovered you during my research in plant based diets and seen first (at least for European eyes) one of your weites ( but obviously a video what get me hooked) videos like talking about what the deal with Peef was.
I will be honest I may would have been discouraged from your channel if I wouldn’t have seen the preview picture which show you in June 18 vis June19!
What a transformation. But hey after watching 2 to f3 additional videos I realized what an inspiring couple you are. I just cook this refined beans to incorporate them in a nice vegan chili and watch a few videos in the meantime.
2020 will arrive forme with a few challenges
1.) Whole food plant based diet
2.) Sober 2020 ( no alcoholic beverages)
3.) Zero wate challenge
4.) Give back to community as much as I can.
Thanks for helping me in your own way.
Give Peef a kiss from me
Peef says hi!! Sorry this response is so delayed. I got really behind on comments and am trying to catch up. I hope 2020 is going okay for you… as much as it can in the weird situation we are in now!
This is the BEST refried bean recipe I have made!! My omnivore husband even likes it and my toddler….such a winner!! I don’t have mushroom powder do I use liquid smoke (1:1) and it’s a great substitute.
Thank you so sharing!!
I just came across this video! No idea how I missed it! They were fantastic! Just like all your other recipes!