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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.
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients in Restaurant Style Refried Beans
- How to Make Canned Refried Beans Better
- Authentic Refried Beans (Using Dried Beans)
- Recipes Using Restaurant Style Refried Beans
- Frequently Asked Questions about Restaurant Style Refried Beans
- More Mexican Food Recipes
- How to Make Restaurant Style Refried Beans
- Cheater Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe
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.
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.
Authentic Refried Beans (Using Dried Beans)
Have a little more time on your hands and want to try a more authentic recipe? Try our easy guide on How to Make Refried Beans. Make restaurant style refried beans by starting with dried pinto beans. This is truly a more classic and authentic version that you don’t want to miss!
Recipes Using Restaurant Style Refried Beans
Retired beans are the perfect side dish all on their own, but they are also great as an ingredient in a wide variety of recipes! Use them to add flavor, creaminess, and a protein boost to your favorite dishes, including:
- Burritos and Tacos: Spread a layer of refried beans on tortillas before adding your choice of protein, veggies, cheese, and toppings for delicious burritos or tacos.
- Enchiladas: Use refried beans as a filling for enchiladas along with shredded chicken, beef, or cheese. Top with enchilada sauce and bake until bubbly.
- Quesadillas: Spread refried beans on one tortilla, top with cheese and another tortilla, then cook until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are crispy.
- Bean Dip: Warm up refried beans and serve as a dip with tortilla chips. Add toppings like melted cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, and salsa. You can also serve cold and make a 7-Layer Bean Dip.
- Tostadas: Spread refried beans on crisp tortillas and add toppings like lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese, and salsa for a tasty tostada.
- Navajo Tacos: Much like tostadas, you can layer the refried beans with some chili and toppings on some Indian Fry Bread for a delicious meal.
- Nachos: Layer tortilla chips with refried beans, cheese, and toppings like sliced olives, jalapeños, and guacamole for loaded nachos.
- Bowl or Plate: Create a bowl or plate by layering refried beans with rice, protein (like grilled chicken or beef), sautéed vegetables, and garnishes like avocado and cilantro.
- Dip for Vegetables: Serve refried beans as a dip for raw veggies like carrot sticks, celery, and bell pepper strips.
- Huevos Rancheros: Top corn tortillas with refried beans, fried eggs, and a zesty tomato-chili sauce for a hearty breakfast.
- Mexican Pizza: Use these refried beans to make your favorite taco pizza or Mexican-style pizza.
- Mexican Lasagna: Layer corn tortillas with refried beans, cheese, and a meat or veggie filling to create a Mexican-style lasagna.
- Use as a Chili Thickener: This is one of my favorite secrets for thickening chili! Add refried beans to chili for extra thickness and flavor. They work particularly well in Mexican-style chilis.
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.
Thank you, Bev! It’s always fun to get new ideas and variations on recipes.
Love this! I make something similar. I start with canned pinto beans that I rinse thoroughly and then either mash them with my potato masher (when I want more texture) or put them in my Bullitt or food processor. I sauté a couple tablespoons of chopped onion and a clove of garlic til soft in either olive oil or a little bacon grease. Then I add the mashed or processed beans along with the sour cream, hot sauce and cheese. I also usually add a couple dashes of chili powder and smoked paprika.
Loved these. Delicious.
I love the idea of adding sour cream; however, I followed your recipe to a tee, and I made refried bean soup. I don’t think 1/3 cup sour cream to 1 can of refried beans is the right measurement. I’d probably go with 1/4 cup or maybe even just 1 TBL. No disrespect intended. Just adding my experience when following your recipe. God bless.
I have found that the consistency of different brands of refried beans varies from almost solid to runny. So, if you start out runny, you’ll end up “runnier”.
How many servings do you think this makes? Thanks!
I would say 4 to 6 servings.
My family loves this! Also great as a cold bean dip for chips. So light and fluffy. Thanks,Leney
Thank YOU, Leney! I have always served it hot. Thanks for sharing the idea of serving it cold!
Looks like and easier version of Sonoran style refried beans. The long version involved making beans from scratch then blending them with a bit of milk and adding dried chilies and cumin then baking them with a bit of veg oil. They are to die for. But your version is much quicker and tastes great!
Can o’ beans and some sour cream….brilliant! Made these for a big family bbq to go with my carne asada. These are so simple & delicious!
My lactose intolerant friends and family appreciate controlling their own sour cream dosage. Now with years of hindsight one must wonder, is adding cheese and cream to the beans really a brilliant idea? Ah, it was such a simple time back then.
Why can’t I print this recipe? The recipe comes up, but the heading says “about.blank” and won’t print when I hit my print tab
I’m not exactly sure– the recipes print through ZipList so I will check it out. Thanks for letting us know!
Highlight the recipe. click on copy. Print it as a word document. Mine came out in color.
My refrained beans take just a few minutes longer but are not just a bowl of goo. Melt 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in a 10″ frypan. Pour in 1 can of pinto beans. Add 1/2 can of water. Start on high heat then lower to simmer once they begin to boil. Stir occasionally. After half the liquid is cooked away, mash the beans with a potato masher leaving some beans roughly mashed (not smashed all the way). If they get too thickened add a little more water. You can add chili powder, ground cumin, or your favorite spices if you wish.
Use as is for a side with a sprinkle of shredded cheese, or pour into a serving bowl and pour some Tostitos salsa con queso on top for a nacho dip. Add sour cream if you wish, or your favorite chunky tomato salsa works well too.
I meant to say refried beans, so much for auto correct.
Perhaps you should have your own blog & submit your own recipes there instead of cluttering up this comment section with your unsolicited recipes.
Amen!
Amen again!
Wow, pretty rude….
I’m going to try both recipes….
Amen!
Don’t be such a grumpyass
I agree rude! And I don’t want bacon in mine either. I’ll take the goo as you call it. Ugh
I make my beans the same way. Can not stand the stuff that the restaurants try to pass as refried beans.
Thank you for sharing a non-dairy option.
What size can of refried beans do you use?
Just the typical 12oz-ish one. 🙂
Valentina hot sauce and I have a love affair going. 🙂
Sour cream, huh, who would have thought:) Sharing on my Facebook page 🙂
Where do you find Valentina hot sauce?
In the Hispanic food section of the grocery store.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added”
checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get several e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
In the emails that you are getting is there an “unsubscribe” button?
Making these tonight 🙂
I just discovered and LOVE Valentina hot sauce. I will have to try these beans.
Seriously, the best recipe I have found. So simple, unlike other websites.
Saw the recipe and added the refried beans to a homemade taco salad. The outcome was uber delicious. Have left overs and looking forward to another taco salad tonight. Yummy!!!
I made these for dinner as a side dish for tacos, and it was fantastic! I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, and they were just as good.
I love just plain canned refried beans, LOL , in my tacos right from the can. Wish they made small cans, we are a retired couple and only one in this house likes stuff like this. My husbands Idea of a taco it meat and cheese. 🙁 However, I love every thing on top. Now I am in to avacadoes and wondering if there is a dip to make with the two. Would love the recipe if you have one to offer.
We do have a delicious 9-layer bean dip using canned refried beans and guacamole (which can be as simple as mashing an avocado with a fork and some lime or lemon juice and a dash of salt). Thanks for asking! Here is the link to the recipe: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/9-layer-bean-dip/
Try a little white corn black bean salsa mixed into your mashed avocados. I use Walmart brand salsa. Or even cantina salsa is very good with it. Great over fa heita chicken I also use Wal-Mart brand fa heita mix.
You can freeze the leftover beans in a freezer bag. And that way you just have to pot it out of the freezer.
Can you freeze this
I don’t know if I would recommend freezing refried beans. :/
I freeze refried beans all the time but just make sure the beans are room temperature before you put them in the freezer.