Enchilada style refried beans! Take that can of refried beans and make it sing with enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, white onion and fresh cilantro. (p.s. – this is also an incredible bean dip!)
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Enchilada Style Refried Beans
Do you have Taco Tuesday at your house? Or love going out to your local Mexican restaurant? Or maybe you’re looking for a new idea to spice up your rice and beans habit? Make yourself some enchilada style refried beans! This the BEST way to doctor up canned refried beans. Seriously!
The Easy Ingredients
I like to use vegetarian refried beans to avoid the lard, but use your favorite canned refried beans. Next, and this is the important part, get another can, but this time make it the best red enchilada sauce you can get your hands on. I personally love the Hatch brand. Enchilada sauce is made from chili powder simmered with broth, tomato sauce, garlic and onion and it’s good for so many things besides enchiladas! These enchilada style refried beans, of course, but also eggs, hot dishes (or casseroles), and even southwestern lasagna.
You can stop at the refried beans and enchilada sauce and have a delicious side dish, but why stop there when you can top the beans with extra deliciousness? So please get yourself some shredded cheese, white onion and fresh cilantro.
Break Out the Can Opener
Super difficult instructions for making the enchilada style refried beans. You’ll start by opening two cans! First put your canned beans into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Next you’ll add about half the can of red enchilada sauce and start stirring to incorporate it into the beans. Keep adding sauce (about a cup) until the beans are more of a “bean dip” consistency (you may have heard this somewhere before, but this is also an incredible bean dip!). Make sure to save about a 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce to swirl over the top at the end.
While the beans are heating up, you can grate the cheese (more on that below), and then chop a little white onion and cilantro to sprinkle on top. White onion and fresh cilantro are classic in a lot of Mexican recipes, and they are perfect here.
Break Out the Grater
Have you ever noticed that the bagged grated cheese has a weird powdery coating on it? That coating is called cellulose, and cellulose is…. are you ready? Wood pulp! It’s used in lots of packaged foods, and in this case, it coats the pieces of cheese and keeps them from clumping. What I think it does is make the cheese melt less smoothly! So for recipes where you want the cheese to melt, I would suggest buying the (cheaper) block cheese and grating it yourself. (plus it tastes better when you grate it yourself – I don’t know why.) I love my box grater! It’s also got a handy little container that fits on the bottom and catches all the delicious cheese (or carrots or whatever you’re grating).
Once the beans are warmed through, you’ll add about a cup of your hand shredded cheese (doesn’t that sound artisanal?). I like either cheddar or cojack cheese for this, but use whatever easily melting cheese you like.
Add Your Toppings
And now, it’s time to eat! To serve your enchilada style refried beans, first you’ll pour the beans into your serving bowl, and then add the toppings. Sprinkle the beans with more cheese, then add a generous amount of diced white onion and chopped cilantro on top. For a final flourish, swirl the rest of that red enchilada sauce over everything!
To confirm it’s delicious, I would suggest dipping a bunch of tortilla chips into your enchilada style refried beans (this is also an incredible bean dip – did I mention that?). To make it a meal, how about making a delicious rice and beans bowl? A little restaurant style Mexican rice, a little avocado, black olives (for a little old school flare), maybe even a Mexican lager on the side! You get the idea.
Make a Taco!
That’s right, these beans also make great tacos (or burritos). Just warm up a corn or flour tortilla, add beans, shredded cheese, a little chicken and whatever toppings make you happy.
p.s. – I like to keep the tortillas in a tortilla warmer! You can either toast the tortillas on the stove then add to the warmer, or put the stack of tortillas in the warmer and microwave them.
Enchilada Style Refried Beans
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Enchilada style refried beans! Take that can of refried beans and make it sing with enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, white onion and fresh cilantro. (p.s. – this is also an incredible bean dip!)
Ingredients
- 1 can (16oz) refried beans
- 1 can (15oz) red enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup diced white onion, to taste
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the beans in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add about a cup of the red enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Add more enchilada sauce as you need it until the consistency is like a bean dip.
- Once the beans are heated through, add a cup of shredded cheese and stir until melted into the beans.
- Pour the beans into your serving bowl. Top with the remaining cheese, diced onion, and cilantro.
- Swirl about a 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce over everything, then serve!
Notes
- Grate your own cheese if possible. I used cojack, but cheddar is good too.
- If you don’t have enchilada sauce, you can use your favorite salsa instead.
- This also makes a great bean dip!
