Wondering how to make white refried beans? This easy step-by-step tutorial will show you how . And best of all, you only need five ingredients. Plus, they're vegan, dairy and gluten-free!
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There's something so satisfying about creamy, buttery refried beans. Typically refried beans are made using black beans or pinto beans, but I've used mild and nutty cannellini beans. Add some rosemary, garlic and a squeeze of lemon and you're in refried bean heaven! Perfect for tostados, tacos and even nachos!
Canned refried beans are almost always made with pork lard, but here we will only be using olive oil for a healthy, vegan twist on the classic Mexican recipe.
Tip: You might also love my Chipotle pinto beans recipe.
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
✅White refried beans are packed with protein, fiber and calcium.
✅The texture of white beans is much creamier than the traditional black (or pinto) beans used in most refried bean recipes.
✅They only take 35 minutes to make, and most of that is hands off time. No soaking or long boiling times required!
✅They're budget friendly and can be used as fillers from everything to quesadillas to enchiladas.
Ingredients
- Cannellini Beans: Nutty, creamy cannellini beans stand in for the traditional pinto beans.
- Rosemary: Aromatic, lemony rosemary is what makes this version of refried beans so subtle and sophisticated.
- Garlic: The foundational pillar of so many dishes!
- Olive Oil: Olive oil plays a key role here, so be sure to use a good quality extra-virgin variety.
- Lemon: A squeeze of lemon juice brightens up this mild dish, adding a little background zing.
- Salt: Sea salt makes all the flavors pop!
How To Make White Refried Beans
- Put your cannellini beans in a medium sized saucepan, add salt and cover with water. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small saute pan and add the minced garlic and rosemary. Saute until the aromas release, being careful not to burn the garlic. Set the pan aside while the beans finish cooking.
- Drain the beans, reserving a mugful of the cooking liquid. Now return the beans to their pot, remove the sprig of rosemary from the saute pan and pour the garlic flavored oil over the beans.
- Mash your beans with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add the cooking liquid. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the cooking liquid has been absorbed.
- Squeeze in your lemon juice, taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serving Suggestions
🧡White refried beans make a nice change to black beans in tacos and taquitos.
🧡I love to eat these with a big bowl of Mexican rice.
🧡Make a burrito or quesadilla with white refried beans and serve with a side of Mexican fruit salad.
🧡The perfect ingredient for a modern taco bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, refried beans will stay fresh for 3-5 days.
Yes, put them in an airtight container, drizzle with a bit of oil and cover the container with a piece of aluminum foil before putting the lid on. This will keep the beans from drying out. They should keep in the freezer for about 4 months. Leave them in the fridge for a few days to defrost them.
You could try adding chili pepper for an added spicy kick. Alternatively, replace the rosemary with coriander and the lemon with lime.
Craving More Easy Vegan Recipes?
Roasted Chickpea Salad With Tahini Sauce
📖 Recipe
White Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 oz) cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoons sea salt divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Put the cannellini beans in a medium sized saucepan, add salt and cover with water. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small saute pan and add the minced garlic and rosemary. Saute until the aromas release, being careful not to burn the garlic. Set the pan aside while the beans finish cooking.
- Drain the beans, reserving a mugful of the cooking liquid. Now return the beans to their pot, remove the sprig of rosemary from the saute pan and pour the garlic flavored oil over the beans.
- Mash the beans with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add the cooking liquid. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the cooking liquid has been absorbed.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice, taste and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, refried beans will stay fresh for 3-5 days.
JONESCRUSHER
Your recipe sounds interesting. but your mashed beans need to be fried in LARD to be 100% authentic.
I lived in Houston, Texas for over 50 years. So I've ate Authentic refried beans before.
Keri Bevan
Hi there! Yes, I know, but this is a vegan blog, and lard isn't vegan, so I've made substitutions. I hope you liked it!
Ana
I'm excited about making this recipe! At what point do you add the diced white onion? Apologies if I missed that step. I reread through a few times and am not seeing it. Thank you!
Keri Bevan
Hi Ana, Oh my gosh, you are right! Thank you for letting me know. I will fix that straight away. You saute the onions with the garlic and rosemary. I hope you like the recipe!
Callum
We made quesadillas with this! Very delicious 😋
Keri Bevan
Thanks so much for your feedback! Glad you enjoyed it!
Elizabeth
I never would have thought to make refried beans from cannellini beans - this is a genius idea! Thanks for the recipe, it's great in burritos!
Keri Bevan
I love it in burritos too. Thank you for your feedback!
Adrianne
Yum! This beans look healthy and I love all of the flavours you infused into them. Perfect on nachos, sounds like a good combo. Can't wait to try them. Thanks
Chenée
So glad I tried this! The flavors of the rosemary and lemon complemented the cannelini beans so well!
veenaazmanov
Sounds like a healthy vegan dish or an amazing dip too. This is so easy and quick to make.
Beth
Yummy! I loved making this recipe and everyone here loved it! Saved to my bookmarks and I will be making this again very soon!
Keri Bevan
Hi Beth, Thank you for letting me know!!