I'm embarrassed to admit that until about a year ago I had never made my own refried beans. We just used the stuff in the can. Then, in an attempt to add more vegetarian dinners to the rotation, I started trying different refried bean recipes. Turns out (duh) homemade refried beans are soooo delicious and they don't have to take long to make. In fact, they're so good that if you pair them with cheese and in a burrito, everyone will be quite pleased. These burritos are one for my week night dinner specials. The beans can be made a day or two before, and the burritos can be made ahead of time since they reheat spectacularly well in the microwave.
Note about Tortillas: If your tortillas aren't fresh, it's good to add an extra step to your burrito assembly: before you add the beans and cheese, you'll want to warm your tortilla to soften. You can sprinkle each burrito with a few drops of water, cover them in a damp paper towel and microwave. OR before you assemble your burritos, add a small drizzle of oil to a warmed skillet (and then spread with a paper towel and wipe out any excess). Warm both sides of your tortilla then remove tortilla from skillet and fill and toast as described below.
Note about Peppers: Adding peppers takes this meal to the next level. Green pepper and poblano both work really well, but a note of caution, poblanos benefit from extra cooking time and can range in spice. My kids are spice adverse, so I often sauté a poblano with some extra onion in a separate pan and then add them to the adult burritos. If you're sautéing a poblano on the side, start it first because the more time they have to cook the better they are. Just use a little oil, set it on a back burner, and stir occasionally as you make everything else.
Note about Folding Burritos: The internet is full of demonstrations for how to fill a burrito. They're all basically the same. Here's one from the Food Network.
Refried Bean and Cheese Burritos
This recipe makes 6 full sized burritos. 20 minutes to make refried beans, and 10 minutes to assemble and toast 6 burritos.
INGREDIENTS
REFRIED BEANS
1 small white or yellow onion chopped
about 4 tablespoons neutral oil or olive oil divided
1/2 green pepper or poblano pepper (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
1/4-1 teaspoon salt (depending on saltiness of your beans)
2 cans pinto beans
1/2 cup reserved bean water
1/2 cup stock or water
1/2 cup of your favorite pico de gallo salsa
1/2 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
BURRITO
6 medium-large tortillas
1 small handful cilantro
3 cups (12oz) blend of shredded Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack
More salsa, hot sauce, and other half of lime for serving
6 burrito sized flour tortillas
2 tablespoons neutral oil
STEP ONE
Grate your cheese and set aside for later. Heat a large skillet pan (ideally cast iron) on medium low heat. Add 2 tablespoon of oil and your onions (and pepper if you're using it) sauté until softened about 7-10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and salt and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes. Then add bean water, stock (or water), beans, and salsa and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 8-10 minutes stirring frequently and using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to smoosh about half of the beans. Taste and adjust seasoning. Refried beans are done when they thicken. When you stir them they kind of slowly ooze back to where you make a channel with your spoon. Remove your beans from heat, stir in lime juice and cilantro and put them in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
STEP TWO
Wash out the skillet and then heat on medium low. Fill tortilla with about 1/2 cup of refried beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Fold burrito to close and place in pan seam side down. Allow to toast on the first side about 1- 2 minutes, then flip over and toast on the other side. You can toast two or three burritos at a time.
Serve with extra lime and cilantro, salsa, sour cream and hot sauce. If you're making a bunch and you want to keep them warm, just place the toasted burritos in a warm oven until ready to serve. Beans can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in a closed container in the fridge.
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