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Chipotle Refried Beans

28 min

Snack

Appetizer

Side

Spread

10 ingredients or less
Chipotle adds a spicy, smokiness to this refried bean recipe. It's no exaggeration that we've eaten this by the spoonful, it's so good. Have it with baked tortilla chips, raw veggies, crackers, or loaded into wraps and sandwiches.

Servings

(½ cup per serving)

Total

28 min

Prep

8 min

Cook

20 min

Free from

Soy symbol

soy

Peanut symbol

peanut

Treenut symbol

tree nut

Sesame symbol

sesame

Gluten symbol

gluten

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp (30 mL)
    vegetable oil
  • 1
    medium onion, chopped
  • 3
    cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp (4 g)
    ground cumin
  • 1 tsp (2 g)
    paprika powder
  • 1
    vegetable bouillon cube
  • ½ tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 1 pinch
    ground black pepper
  • 3 cups (513 g)
    cooked pinto beans
  • 1½ cups (360 mL)
    water†
  • 1 Tbsp (15 mL)
    chipotle adobo sauce†
  • ½
    lime, juiced

Optional garnishes

Directions

  1. To a large pan on medium-high heat add the oil and onions. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes, or until the onions are golden.
  2. Next, add the garlic, cumin, paprika, bouillon cube, cayenne, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, breaking up the bouillon cube and letting the spices get fragrant and toasted.
  3. Add the beans, water, and chipotle. Stir and simmer uncovered on medium heat for 10 minutes.
  4. Optional step: transfer half of the cooked bean mixture to a tall container or bowl and blend with a immersion blender. Alternatively, blend in a regular standing blender until creamy and smooth.
  5. Use a wooden spoon to roughly mash the remaining beans in the pan, leaving some texture.
  6. Add the blended portion of the beans back into the pan of mashed beans, along with the lime juice and stir to combine.
  7. Allow it to slightly cool before serving. Top with fresh cilantro and chopped onions if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

  • †Reduce the amount of water for a thicker spread that's more suitable for wraps.
  • †The chipotle sauce we use is a blend of chipotle peppers with water, vinegar, and spices. We do not recommend using a mayo-based chipotle sauce in this recipe.

Storage

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Let us know what you think

Nutrition info

We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.

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Discussion & Rating

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Alexis - April 27, 2024, 9:11 p.m.

Is there a substitute for the chipotle adobo sauce?

Reply
Amanat - April 16, 2024, 4:39 p.m.

Your recipe made my family to have beans atleast once a week, I think they are obsessed at this point. Thank you Sadia and Pick up Limes for giving us this app and recipe❤️.The app is awesome for portion management…. but we love to have some leftover refried beans🙃

PUL Team - April 16, 2024, 11:37 p.m.

Aw thanks for sharing your love and support, Amanat, it means so much 🥹🫶 hope you continue to love the chipotle refried beans!

Reply
MJ - April 14, 2024, 8:36 p.m.

This is hands down my go-to refried beans recipe. The flavor is amazing, it is so easy make and is great in meal prepped breakfast burritos. I am the only plant based eater in our home, I can meal prep this and use it multiple times to feed myself, so I am not making two meals at a time. I do share this with them, sometimes, okay maybe I have been known to hide it in the fridge so it lasts for a couple of days for me. What they don't know won't hurt them!

PUL Team - April 14, 2024, 9:06 p.m.

Awe so glad that you're enjoying the refried beans, MJ! It's okay to put yourself first sometimes 😜

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Diana - Jan. 24, 2024, 11:10 a.m.

Beautiful dip or spread, instead of the sauce I used a teaspoon of tomato paste and a small spicy pepper, still came out tasting great. The spice blend was really nice and smelled amazing when added to pan. Definitely recommend making it.

PUL Team - Jan. 25, 2024, 6:37 a.m.

Thanks for the lovely review and vote of confidence, Diana!

Reply
Franziska - Jan. 13, 2024, 5:10 p.m.

In addition to the Flautas it was a feast on the table! muchas gracias!

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Caterina Michalitsi - Jan. 6, 2024, 8:32 p.m.

This recipe was the super replacement of the sooo bad tin refried deans. Love it. Thanks

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Katrien Vanlerberghe - Dec. 4, 2023, 12:27 p.m.

Hands down my FAVOURITE refried beans recipe! Super easy to make and very forgiving, too. I've tried this with several different types of beans and have even swapped out some of the spices for others when I don't have everything on hand. Tastes great EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

PUL Team - Dec. 5, 2023, 6:32 a.m.

Gosh we're smiling from ear to ear! Thank you for the glowing review, Katrien, it means so much that the chipotle refried beans are being enjoyed 🤩

Reply
Camilla - Nov. 26, 2023, 7:40 p.m.

The best recipe for refried beans. Once my stove was broken and I cooked it in the oven instead at it got even tastier.

PUL Team - Nov. 27, 2023, 12:44 a.m.

Ooo we're glad the recipe was enjoyed when made on the oven, Camilla! Thank you ✨

Reply
dirkjebarbara - Nov. 6, 2023, 11:26 p.m.

I made it for a potluck and it was an absolute hit! Served with tortilla chips and it was finished in no time. Absolutely delicious!

Reply
erica bulow - Oct. 16, 2023, 11:27 p.m.

Delicious and easy, also freezes well.

Reply
Natasha Hill - May 19, 2023, 2:02 a.m.

Delicious!!!

Reply
T.A. Weber - April 12, 2023, 5:50 a.m.

Absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe!

Reply
Kerrie - Aug. 27, 2022, 4:42 p.m.

Gorgeous 😍

Reply
Courtney R - Aug. 10, 2022, 2:44 a.m.

Easy and delicious! We served them in soy curl fajitas. Hubby tasted them on their own and loved them. He was so impressed that I made homemade refried beans. : ) I won’t tell him how easy it was. ; )

PUL Team - Aug. 10, 2022, 8:31 a.m.

Awe we're so glad it was enjoyed, Courtney! Your secret is safe with us 😜

Reply
Nhlanhla - July 30, 2022, 9:39 p.m.

Hi Sadia. I am from South Africa and we do not have chipotle. What can one substitute it with?

PUL Team - July 31, 2022, 1:42 a.m.

Hiya Nhlanhla, you can omit the chipotle sauce if it's not accessible. Alternatively, you can substitute the chipotle adobo sauce for a hot sauce of your choosing, such as Tabasco. Sending hugs to South Africa 🤗

Reply
Laura - July 14, 2022, 10:50 p.m.

Just made this - so yummy! Blended half in a NutriBullet and it worked well. Omitted cayenne for less heat. Very tasty (I think more tasty than store bought). And healthy so you can load up your enchilada!

PUL Team - July 15, 2022, 1:06 a.m.

Woohoo! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with it, Laura :)

Reply
Phillipa - Nov. 5, 2021, 1:04 p.m.

Can you freeze this recipe? I'm thinking of batch cooking as the pack of pinto beans need using.

PUL Team - Nov. 5, 2021, 7:01 p.m.

Hi Phillipa, thanks for the question! We've frozen the refried beans in our freezer burritos before and they've kept well. We'd recommend allowing the beans to cool and storing usable portions in air-tight containers for up to ~3 months. We hope this helps for now ☺️

Reply
Dee - Nov. 3, 2021, 11:45 p.m.

Absolutely love this recipe. We eat it as suggested but we are also find of adding a dollop of it to salads or on German rye bread toasted or sourdough bread toasted. I use it like humus in sandwiches and pickles. It really is lovely. So nutritious too as pinto beans are one of the best beans you can consume.

Be interested to see what other recipes you can come up with using pinto beans!

PUL Team - Nov. 4, 2021, 3:53 p.m.

Mmm love the idea to use it like hummus, Dee, that sounds delicious 😍 We'll note down a request for more recipes with pinto beans. In the meantime, you may enjoy our Mushroom & Rice Burger with pinto beans instead of lentils (pickuplimes.com/recipe/wild-r…) or our Make-Ahead Freezer Burritos (pickuplimes.com/recipe/make-a…) if you're interested and haven't seen them yet 😊

Reply
Anna - July 22, 2021, 4:53 p.m.

Absolut best! Usually make this to use in burritos, but most of the time, half of it will be gone already once I get to assemble them because I end up eating it by the spoonful. Heaven!

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Clémentine - July 10, 2021, 12:58 a.m.

Great recipe ! I had never made refried beans but have since made it a few more times, easy and tasty !

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Ana - July 9, 2021, 7:07 p.m.

Great Recipe! I already made it 3 times. Thanks for the amazing site guys.

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Dhrumi Thaker - July 8, 2021, 8:18 p.m.

pickuplimes is literally the BEST page ever! And this recipe is tooo good!!!!

Reply
Sioned James - July 5, 2021, 11:05 p.m.

I made this to go into the freezable breakfast wraps! My local shop was out of refried beans and on looking at the recipe I had all the ingredients, or a suitable alternative, at home. Wow, this was so easy but so delicious...no reason to buy shop-bought again! Thanks so much for sharing, the new website is out of this world! Looking forward for the breakfast wrap in the morning - I have three in the fridge and the rest in the freezer 😁❤️☀️

PUL Team - July 8, 2021, 6:17 a.m.

Thank you for the wonderful feedback, Sioned, it means so much! We're thrilled you enjoyed the recipe and are liking the new website 😃

Reply
Franziska - July 4, 2021, 11:16 a.m.

That's a wonderful recipe, thanks a lot for sharing it with us! It's so easy, quick and yummie! Due to availability I substituted the pinto for red kidney beans, which - at least for me - works great as well :)

PUL Team - July 4, 2021, 6:06 p.m.

We're so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Franziska! A lovely substitution 🤗

Reply
Amelie - June 23, 2021, 10:46 a.m.

Hi,
I would like to make this recipe, it looks delicious! But I wonder if the chipotle sauce is actually the tabasco hot sauce, like shown in amazonFresh list, or do you mean more a chipotle dipping sauce?
Thanks!
Best wishes :)

PUL Team - June 24, 2021, 6:05 a.m.

Hi Amelie, thank you for pointing this out and apologies for any confusion this may have caused! We did not use tabasco, but rather, a chipotle sauce. It is optional though, in case you're local grocery story doesn't carry it 😊 In case you're interested, the one we used is this one: https://www.ah.nl/producten/p… I hope this helps for now!

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