If you have some canned refried beans that you want to use, you could be wondering how to make them as tasty as possible. Is there a reliable way to make them better than normal?
Keep reading to learn how you can make those canned refried beans taste amazing. This should ensure that your dinner will be a big hit with your entire family.
What Can You Make with Canned Refried Beans?
There are plenty of different dishes that you can make with canned refried beans. One of the most popular things to do with these beans is to make a dip.
Warming up the beans and adding other things such as sour cream will allow you to make a very satisfying dip. This can be served with tortilla chips at parties.
Canned beans are also a great way to make nachos for a party. You can make refried beans, seasoned meat, and cheese that can be paired with tortilla chips to make the perfect party food.
You can make burritos using refried beans and many also use them when making enchiladas. There are a plethora of different Mexican cuisine options to consider.
Canned refried beans might not be as tasty as homemade in most instances. However, you can still make them taste great with the right tricks.
Buy Good Canned Beans
This might sound obvious, but you should try to start by purchasing canned refried beans that are fairly tasty. It’s normal to want to add something to make them better, but it’ll be difficult if they aren’t that great to begin with.
If the can of refried beans tastes really poor, you’ll just be doing too much work to try to cover the taste of bad beans. This is less than ideal, and that’s why it’s worthwhile to buy canned beans that you think taste good enough.
Try to buy a can of beans from a reputable brand. This should ensure that you’ll have beans that you can work with to make something even better.
Sometimes it might be prudent to try multiple different types of canned beans. This can help you to figure out which ones you like the best.
You can work from there to improve on what the beans are like fresh out of the can. Some canned beans might never taste perfect if you just outright dislike the way that they taste.
For example, some might have an extreme dislike for fat-free canned refried beans. Take the time to figure out what you like.
Try to Make the Beans Creamier
You can improve the overall taste of the canned beans if you can make them creamier. It’s easy enough to do this so long as you have the right ingredients sitting around.
Adding some heavy cream to the canned beans can change the way that they taste. You’ll be able to get the creamy sensation that you’re looking for.
Some people have also used either sour cream or buttermilk to get this job done. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it can significantly alter the taste of the beans.
You might even find that it will make the canned refried beans taste too sour for your liking. Cream cheese is another option, but it might make the beans too thick overall.
This is why using heavy cream is such a good choice. You get the creamy beans that you desire without making things too thick or altering the taste significantly.
Take the Time to Thin the Beans Out
One of the best things that you can do to make the canned refried beans taste great involves thinning them out. You see, it’s pretty common for canned beans to be incredibly thick.
The thickness of the beans might make it kind of tough to eat them. This can be especially problematic when you want them to be used as a creamy type of dip.
Thankfully, thinning the beans out won’t be all that difficult. To get this done, you’re just going to need to add some liquid to them.
You can add other types of liquid besides water if you want to. Some people use milk to thin out refried beans while others will use vegetable oil.
The important part of the process is to add the right amount of liquid in there. For every thirty ounces of refried beans, it’s recommended to add one cup of liquid.
Stick to this ratio and you should be able to get the refried beans to be way thinner. It should make it easier to enjoy them.
Add a Bit of Fat
Adding a bit of fat to the can of refried beans can help out, too. When you get refried beans at an authentic restaurant, they’re going to add a bit of fat since it provides extra flavor.
Giving the beans more flavor won’t be the only reason to use extra fat. The extra fat also improves the way that the beans feel in your mouth.
How the food feels when you eat it will play a role in your overall enjoyment. Something as simple as adding some bacon fat or lard to the mix can improve things a lot.
Some also choose to go with vegetable oil or olive oil. It really comes down to what you prefer.
To get everything to turn out perfect, you’ll want to bloom spices with the fat. This simply means that you cook spices for a few minutes along with the type of fat that you chose.
You can choose many different types of spices. Something such as ground cumin will work very well, but you could also go with cayenne pepper if you want to give the beans more of a kick.
Many people will choose to add a few garlic cloves to the mix while cooking. Sliced jalapenos would taste great as well if you like things spicy.
Adding Fresh Ingredients
Of course, adding fresh ingredients to the beans will make things taste better. It’s already been mentioned that some people like to add garlic cloves or sliced jalapenos to the beans.
You don’t have to add extra fat to the mix just to add more ingredients to the beans. If you want to, it’ll be simple to marinate some jalapenos and add them.
Using either spices or ingredients such as jalapenos will make a lot of sense. You can do this even when you’re trying to keep the beans fat-free.
A can of fat-free beans won’t be as flavorful as you want, but you can make things taste a lot better by adding fresh ingredients. It isn’t necessary to add extra fat if you don’t want to.
Garnish the Beans Properly
Garnishing the beans properly will add to the overall appeal. When you get refried beans at a Mexican restaurant they’re going to present them to you in an appealing way.
Just putting the beans in a bowl won’t be enough. Instead, you’re going to want to garnish them using different foods. This might involve using ingredients such as cheese or cilantro to your advantage.
One of two garnishing ingredients will make the refried beans look much more presentable. Also, these ingredients can work to complement the flavor.
Placing a bit of shredded cheese on top would be a good place to start. Perhaps you could put some cilantro leaves around the edges of the refried beans.
Don’t be afraid to get creative when garnishing the beans. Everyone will be more likely to enjoy what you’re giving them when you put this type of effort in.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you feel more confident about making refried beans taste good even when they’re coming from a can. Canned beans don’t have to taste bad if you know how to fix things up.
Of course, it’s good to start with a can of beans that you think tastes decent. Then you can add ingredients and alter things from there.
You’ve learned how to thin the beans out as well as how to make them creamier. It should allow you to enjoy whatever type of Mexican dish you want to make even if you don’t feel like making homemade refried beans.
Adding a bit of fat to the canned beans can help and so will adding fresh ingredients. You should be able to get them tasting really close to the homemade beans that you like so much.
Being able to alter the taste of the beans using the methods outlined above will help a ton. You’re going to be able to keep everyone happy with canned beans since you know how to get the most out of them now.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.