I have been on a black bean kick lately. My favorite thing to do is heat them up in skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil and smash them along the way so they end up with a bit of a refried bean texture. I don’t know if this counts as technically making “refried beans” (because I am certainly not “frying” them), but I’m going with it.
I’ve also taken to adding ingredients that I have available that might add texture and/or flavor. Everything I have tried so far has been fantastic!
For this round, I used canned pumpkin and chopped strawberries. It came out pretty sweet, so next time I might do a little less strawberry, or I’ll add another half can of black beans. I didn’t want to start with it spicy because of differing preferences, but I added some hot sauce when I ate it and that was a delicious flavor balance!
So, 5 ingredients – 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 can organic black beans (rinsed), 1/4 cup organic pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup (or maybe a little less) chopped strawberries, and a dash of salt!
I started by washing and chopping about 10 strawberries. Again, I’ll note that this turned out a little sweeter than I might have wanted, so next time I’ll probably add a little less strawberries. But it’s entirely up to your taste preference. There is no required reason for quantity!
Then I poured about a TBSP of olive oil in my pan which I started heating at about medium/medium high. I added the strawberries and coated with the oil and cooked down for about a minute or two. Then I added the 1/4 cup canned pumpkin and mixed around for another minute or so.
Next, the rinsed can of black beans and a dash or two of salt. I incorporated it all together and smashed the beans and strawberries as I went so that some beans stayed whole, while others broke down with the fillings and slowly it became a refried bean texture. I kept the heat on the fairly high side of medium the whole time so it started to get a bit of a crust on the bottom where the beans got really warmed up.
Not the prettiest thing to look at, but here are the steps to see the process!
When it was done (the whole thing took maybe 10 minutes?), I put onto a warmed tortilla and quinoa and topped with sauteed red bell pepper. YUM!!
I fortunately ended up with leftovers too, so mixed those with quinoa to heat up the next day and wrapped up with amazing roasted sweet potatoes and hot sauce. SO insane.
…oh, and I just found a vegan brownie recipe using the liquid from a can of black beans (in place of egg!), so now I’ve gotta use up a can of black beans…hmmm…what shall I try next?
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