Succotash
Farideh Sadeghin
103 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
103
35 minutes
Frijoles de Fiesta (Fiesta Refried Beans)
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1pound dried pinto beans, rinsed (see Note)
- ½large white onion
- 1tablespoon kosher or sea salt, plus more as needed
- 4dried Colorado chiles (also known as California or New Mexico chiles), or guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 to 2whole canned chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 3tablespoons vegetable oil or lard
- 8ounces asadero, quesadilla, Monterey Jack or Oaxaca cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
- 1ounce crumbled Cotija (about ¼ cup), for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
348 calories; 11 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 431 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Place pinto beans in a large pot and cover with 14 cups water. Add the onion and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, skim off any foam that may have risen to the top, partly cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour.
- Step 2
Remove the lid, stir in salt, partly cover with the lid, and cook for another 15 to 30 more minutes, until beans are completely cooked through and tender and the liquid is tinted from the pinto beans.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, place the dried chiles in a small saucepan, cover with water and set over high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until chiles have rehydrated, softened and plumped up.
- Step 4
Remove the lid on the beans, and, using a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs, discard the onion.
- Step 5
Working in batches if needed, add the cooked beans along with 2 cups of their cooking liquid, the dried chiles, the chipotle chiles and the adobo sauce to a blender or food processor, and pulse until the mixture forms a coarse purée.
- Step 6
Heat the oil in a large, heavy casserole or sauté pan set over medium. Once hot but not smoking, carefully add the bean purée, as it will strongly sizzle and splatter. Stir well, incorporating the hot oil into the bean mixture. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan as the refried beans continuously attempt to create a crust, until the mixture thickens.
- Step 7
Stir in the grated cheese, and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom and the sides, until the mixture thickens to a thick purée that holds its shape, and a clear trail can be traced in the bottom of the pan.
- Step 8
When ready to serve, scrape into a bowl and garnish with the crumbled Cotija. Beans will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a saucepan or skillet with a couple tablespoons of water over medium and mash as they warm up, since they have a tendency to thicken once chilled.
Tip
- Starting with dried beans yields the most flavorful results, but you can substitute 3 (15-ounce) cans of cooked beans to save time. If using canned beans, start the recipe at Step 3. If using canned beans and they don’t have enough liquid for 2 cups, the dried chile cooking water or water can be added.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
cook.bot
Made these exactly as written, using mayocoba beans, guajillo chiles and asadero cheese. So delicious it could almost be an entree on its own! I was lucky to find mayocobas, but would bet it's equally good with pintos. The only thing I'd do differently is maybe mash the beans by hand, and not completely puree them in a processor. I like a chunkier texture.
Alex
Perfect for making enfrijoladas --when the bean puree is nicely hot, dip a fresh tortilla to cover both sides, fill to your desire, including some cheese, roll and place in a single layer in casserole with a bit more of the bean puree dribbled on top. Finish with cheese and bake until pretty.(this was the only description of baking time ever given by my grandmother, and I pass it on) So much more fulfilling --and filling-- than enchiladas.
Csamora
Let me suggest that you look to Colorado for the beans, specifically Bolitas from Dove Creek, CO. As for the chiles, New Mexican chiles from Hatch have a flavor that beats out those from Pueblo, CO or any chile from CA. I know these debates flare up every growing season, but even Denverites line up on Federal Blvd. for their Hatch green.
Ben Colkitt
Beans benefit from being slowly cooked in an olla, a clay pot available at many Hispanic mercados/grocery stores. I usually simmer mine with some whole garlic cloves, Mexican oregano, cumin, chopped onion and a jalapeño or two. Cooking times vary depending on the age of the beans and elevation (and of course the cook’s preference... I usually start mine mid-morning and let them simmer for at least three to four hours as we are at over 5,000 feet.
lynn rogers
And then ... Rancho Gordo beans are prized ... and awesome. They sell varietal beans, many being sourced from heirloom bean stock in Mexico. RanchoGordo.com
Pati Jinich
It had not crossed my mind to use these for enfrijoladas and it sounds brilliant!! I have some leftover in the refrigerator, so will make some for my boys tonight. And that description of baking until pretty couldn't be clearer :)
Joe A.
The best place to get excellent lard is from your local Mexican market, one that makes their own carnitas. They will sell little tubs of lard that are cheap and delicious, and keep for weeks in your fridge!
easydoesit
Delicious. Made exactly as written, with oaxaca cheese from the grocery store and dried guajillo chiles from amazon. I just added one chipotle in adobo thinking the heat factor would be too much, but not so - next time will add two. Used an immersion blender - gently - instead of a food processor. I cooked Step 7 a bit too long - about 15 minutes - when the beans cooled they were very thick. Still delicious, though. Great recipe.
Sam
Cooked the beans in an Instant Pot. Dried, no pre-soak. Used the onion as instructed, but also added some garlic and 2 bay leaves. Salted the water (the old wisdom that salt prevents beans from cooking is thoroughly untrue). 60m high pressure. Natural release. Followed the rest of the recipe pretty much exactly. FANTASTIC. Except when I burned my finger with splattering, refrying beans. But the beans = SO GOOD.
megan
i think this means two chipotles from the can, not two cans
Mark B
I love this recipe & have made these many times for my family, everyone loves it as a side, as a dip, in tacos and enchiladas. I use my own dried peppers (1 cayenne, a few slices of jalapenos) and puree the onion with the beans.
Lauren
I have a specific type of refried beans that I love and these are not quite that. I probably just need to try again. I found this as written with 2 cans of adobo chiles quite spicy—I like spicy food but IMO refried beans shouldn’t be so spicy they linger in your mouth. The guanjillo peppers needed to be simmered for closer to 15 minutes. Next time I would use one can of chiles, maybe even only 2 guanjillos, simmer beans with garlic and bay leaf. overall quite good but definitely too spicy
Deanna
Yum! I am not a refried beans expert like many of the comments below, but I made this as presented (vegetable oil because I couldn’t source lard), and this was pretty much amazing. I do LOVE all the comments here to help me step up my game if I want to!
Jamie
Weeknight variant: canned pinto beans, mostly drained, canned hatch chiles, onion powder, garlic powder, into the blender, then cook as instructed.
c
cooked 2 c’s mayocoba beans in instant pot, used 4 guajillo with 3 tblspns okive oil and followed directions remaining. Delicious! only needed half the stove time to thicken but my stove runs hot. Added beans to oil and stirred under cover of a good splatter screen. burns from this would hurt.
Henry Parsons
This is a great recipe but requires careful heat modulation. I followed the recipe as written the first time around and modified the cooking temperatures when I made it again. Beans should be cooked at a lively simmer after boiling - not on medium heat - and at medium-low after the purée is added into the hot pan with oil or lard. In addition to yielding a wonderful, creamy texture, this will help avoid any scorching.
Julianne Vordtriede
Add your chilies one at a time to the blender. I added only 1 1/2 guajillo chilis, tasted, and that was enough spice for me. I think 4 plus the chilies in adobo would have destroyed me. Love the smoky taste of the adobo kind though, so next time I’ll probably just do those.
KaneSugar
"1 to 2whole canned chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce" QUESTION: What size can, there are several? I generally buy the small ones to avoid too much waste since I cook stuff like this only occasionally.
megan
i think this means two chipotles from the can, not two cans
Debra Harrow
I love how this recipe turned out! I mashed the cooked beans and used an immersion blender to add smoothness before adding the cheese. I also added oregano, chopped fresh garlic and cumin as I cooked the beans. The dish is full of protein, so it can stand on its own as a hearty entree. I served it with chorizo and street-taco flour tortillas, and guacamole on the side.
Seeds Ruined It!
The seeds in the Chipotles ruined the dish! I blended like crazy and the seeds just won't break up.
RT
Should the chipotle chiles in the Adobo sauce be seeded before adding? I ground them up in the food processor and saw all the seeds so I threw those out and then added 2 that have been seeded. However they kind of fell apart when they were seeded.
Elisa
I want to remind people that they should be soaking their beans. Pinto beans overnight, rinse and then cook.
HazeGray
Made it exactly as per the recipe--imagine that! Outstanding result! Love the chilis and the quesadilla cheese. The only modification I will add next time is to reserve a handful of beans pre-food processor to mash by hand and combine with the food-processed bean mixture to add texture. Agreed that this could be an entree on its own. I keep finding mysterious spoon divots in beans while stored in the fridge-its really good for cold snacking too!
Ruth
These are bomb! Made them last night for a party as a side to enchiladas and they were the absolute HIT! They are smoky and savory and downright delicious. These will be our new go-to befriend bean recipe.
Marg
Flavor is amazing! So worth the time it takes. Start the night before with dried beans. You won't be sorry.
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