How to Make Canned Refried Beans Taste Like Restaurant Style!

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This is an easy hack for How To Make Canned Refried Beans Taste Like Restaurant Style! You can serve these as a side dish or as a dip. The secret ingredient is a stick of butter!

It costs about $1.80 to make this canned refried beans hack. The recipe makes six servings, so that is just $0.30 per serving!

These beans are perfect to use in Mexican dishes such as our Mexican Lasagna, Easy Homemade Navajo Tacos, or Taco Pizza.

The finished recipe of How To Make Canned Refried Beans Taste Like Restaurant Style.

How o Make Canned Refried Beans Better

We love making Instant Pot Refried Beans, but sometimes we don’t even have the time to make our refried beans recipe from scratch with dry pinto beans. However, we do not necessarily love the taste of the canned version.

That’s where this how to make refried beans better recipe comes in. These are the beans without the work of cooking dried beans.

This recipe solves all our problems! It is quick, easy to make, cost-effective, and tastes like eating beans from local Mexican restaurants instead of cans.

These faux homemade refried beans are creamy and cheesy. With a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy the creamy texture of these refried beans.

Take a couple of extra minutes the next time you need easy refried beans and upgrade your can of beans into a cheater restaurant style the whole family will love.

The creamy refried beans are perfect for dipping tortilla chips into, using in a bean dip or breakfast tacos, or serving as the perfect side dish alongside some Mexican Rice. This delicious recipe is an excellent addition to your next Mexican meal.

An overhead picture of the finished canned refried beans made better.

Ingredients & Cost:

Recipe Cost: $1.80

Per Serving: $0.30

16 oz can refried beans – $0.88
8 Tablespoons salted butter – $0.80
1 Tablespoon Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce – $0.02
1 teaspoon ground cumin – $0.03
2 Tablespoons Monterey Jack cheese – $0.07

To learn more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained.

All of the ingredients needed to make refried beans better.

INSTRUCTIONS

First, using a medium saucepan, add the refried beans, piece of butter, hot sauce and cumin.
Next, heat the ingredients over medium-high heat until the butter has melted, for about 4-5 minutes. Stir the mixture often.
To finish, transfer the beans to a serving dish and top with shredded cheese and if desired, slices of jalapeño pepper.

A picture collage showing how to make this recipe.

***See the recipe card below for full instructions.

RECIPE VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Cheddar cheese, Mexican cheese blend, or Pepper Jack cheese can be used instead of the Monterey Jack cheese.

STORAGE TIPS

SERVE: After sitting at room temperature for two hours, place the beans in an airtight container in the fridge.

STORE:

FREEZE: Once cooled, place the beans in an airtight container before placing them in the freezer. Freeze for up to 2 months.

DEFROST: Defrost the beans overnight in the refrigerator.

REHEAT: When reheating the beans, you may need to add some cups of water, depending on the amount of beans you are reheating, to help get the beans back to their creamy consistency. Start with one Tablespoon of water until the desired consistency is reached.

COOK’S TOOLS

Saucepan
Mixing spoon
Measuring spoons

An overhead picture of the finished canned refried beans hack.

RECIPE FAQs

What to do with an opened can of refried beans?

The best way to preserve the beans is to put them in an airtight container to store in the fridge with open or leftover beans.

Can canned refried beans be frozen after opening?

Yes! You can freeze beans by placing them in an airtight container before placing them in the freezer. When reheating the beans, you may need to add some cups of water, depending on the amount of beans you are reheating, to help get the beans back to their creamy consistency. Start with one Tablespoon of water until the desired consistency is reached.

How do you heat up canned refried beans?

We prefer to heat our canned beans on the stovetop in a saucepan. However, if you are short on time, you can place them in a microwave-safe bowl and warm them in the microwave.

GET KIDS INVOLVED

Ages 2-3: Have your little one sprinkle the cheese on top of the refried beans. They will be happy to put the finishing touch on the beans!

Ages 4-5: Work on measuring skills with your child as you show them how to count and measure a stick of butter. Guide their hands as you teach them how to slice the stick of butter into pieces.

Ages 6-8: Ask your child to pre-measure the ingredients. They can then add them to the skillet and stir together the mixture.

Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe.

Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!

BUDGET TIPS

Do you love Mexican food as much as we do but don’t love the cost of eating out? For less than two dollars, you can take your refried beans to the next level! Save money on eating out by making a store-bought can of beans taste like you are eating beans from your favorite restaurant!

We recommend stocking up on cans of refried beans when they are on sale at the grocery stores so you can easily make them into your own refried beans whenever you want.

A tortilla chip dipped into canned refried beans made better.

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