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Cheater Restaurant Style Refried Beans taste exactly like what you get at your favorite Mexican restaurant! Creamy, flavorful, and easy to make, this is a perfect side for any homemade Mexican dishes.
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You are going to LOVE these “cheater” restaurant style refried beans. Easy to make and so flavorful, they’re the perfect dip for chips, and make the best side dish to all your favorite Mexican recipes. Have you ever noticed that when you get refried beans at a restaurant, they are creamy and smooth and easy to dip your chips in, but the canned stuff is so thick, breaks your chips, and doesn’t taste nearly as delicious? Well this is my “cheater” recipe to make the canned stuff have that restaurant like consistency and flavor. In fact, I like the flavor of these beans even better than anything I have had at a restaurant.
Be sure to check out all our other tasty Mexican Recipes! We have all kinds of yummy Mexican dishes to round out your meals and celebrations!
Ingredients in Restaurant Style Refried Beans
Your friends and family will be amazed at how delicious and restaurant-like these beans are, but only you will know they are made with four quick ingredients! Here’s what you need:
- Refried beans – one can. I like the Taco Bell brand but you can use any brand you like.
- Sour cream – about a third of a cup, depending on how creamy you want your beans.
- Valentina hot sauce – one tablespoon or so. I like a good kick to my beans, so I tend to add a little extra. Make sure to use the Valentina brand of hot sauce! It is the best! You can find it with the Hispanic food at most grocery stores.
- Monterey Jack cheese – You can also use shredded cheddar cheese or any cheddar/jack blend. Avoid using pre-grated cheese because it doesn’t melt as well as freshly shredded cheese from a block.
How to Make Canned Refried Beans Better
- To get a better flavor and creamy consistency from canned refried beans, adding sour cream and cheese is the answer! You can add more or less sour cream, depending on your desired consistency.
- These cheater Restaurant Style Refried Beans have a little more intensity and kick, which I love. They aren’t too spicy, but definitely have a little more spice than a regular can of refried beans. You can amp up the spice by adding more hot sauce, or tone it down by adding less — whatever your family prefers!
- Dice onion and add to the refried beans for more flavor.
- Add a dash of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt.
- Garnish with cilantro to improve refried beans taste.
Frequently Asked Questions about Restaurant Style Refried Beans
Traditional refried beans are made from pinto beans, but you can make them from black beans as well.
Most restaurants add extra fat, like bacon fat, bacon grease, butter, or other types of fat for all that yummy flavor. You don’t have to add extra fat to these homemade cheater style refried beans though!
Refried beans in most Mexican restaurants are high in fat, calories, and sodium. So making restaurant style refried beans at home is a much healthier option because you control the ingredients.
READ MORE:75+ Best Mexican Recipes
More Mexican Food Recipes
I use these restaurant style refried beans and our Restaurant Style Mexican Rice for sides every time I make Mexican food at home, we honestly never make a Mexican dish without these two sides anymore. Some of my favorite dishes to serve these with are our Carne Asada Burritos and our Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. It also makes a much better base for 7 layer bean dips (it’s perfect for our 9 layer bean dip HERE). You can also spoon these beans right into a burrito, taco, or on top of a big, cheesy pile of nachos. Whatever you do, just get these on your table next time you eat Mexican food!
How to Make Restaurant Style Refried Beans
Cheater Restaurant Style Refried Beans
Video
Ingredients
- 1 can refried beans I like the Taco Bell brand
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon Valentina hot sauce
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese grated (or a cheddar/jack blend)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl combine the refried beans, sour cream, and hot sauce.
- Pour into a glass pie pan or 9×9 dish and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until its hot and bubbly. Remove and stir well.
- Top with grated cheese and heat in the oven for 3 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with tortilla chips and with our Restaurant Style Mexican Rice for a complete side dish to any Mexican meals.
Notes
- You can use an immersion blender or a potato masher to get an even creamier consistency to your refried beans.
- Heat refried beans in a crock-pot or even the instant pot.
- Garnish with diced onion, cilantro or shredded cheddar cheese.
Nutrition Information
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Been making my refried beans this way for years! Thank you for this great recipe. I often take this to family dinners and everyone loves it. So easy yet so good!