Olive Oil Refried Beans Recipe (2024)

The issue of whether to use or discard the soaking liquid becomes a point of discussion (sometimes contention) in almost every NYTimes recipe using dried beans.The answer is: it's your choice.

Samin leads in the article, in which this recipe is discussed, by saying it is her last column for the magazine. I will miss reading her columns as I hear her voice as I read. She has taught me much and I am an old...umm...well seasoned...passionate home cook. I also do not 'get' Instant Pots. Thanks for making me not the only person to not use one. And her technique here for refried beans leads to luscious outcome. I eat beans like this for breakfast at times. Truth.

I do discard the soaking liquid. But I keep the cooking liquid (in the freezer) and use it as broth in soups. It adds a nice depth.

You don’t discard the soaking liquid? Do you use this liquid in all bean recipes?

The “soaking liquid” is after the beans have been rinsed, so that liquid doubles as the water they’re brought to boil in.

Salt actually soften the skins and it's better to soak the beans in salted water. But there is a lot of contradictory advice for bean cooking - never use salt/always use salt, keep the soaking water/discard the soaking water. In the end the beans will soften if you cook them long enough regardless of what you do. The baking soda makes the water slightly alkaline - beans will not soften in an acidic environment. But just a pinch or your beans will taste like soap.

Chef Louis Szathmáry of The Bakery in Chicago taught me 50 years ago to take out several beans from the pot and blow on them."When the skin pops on the beans and turns away from the air, the beans are done."All of our chefs swear by it.

I eat beans like this for breakfast sometimes, too. Heat them up to a simmer, crack an egg in the center, cover and let steam till the egg is perfect, about 4 minutes for a single serving. Serve with salsa of choice and warmed corn tortillas.

In México you boil the beans with no seasoning. Seasoning is added later depending on how the beans will be used. Sometimes they are refried and other times they are prepared in another manner. And an important step in making refried beans is to bring the lard or oil to almost smoking before adding the beans. You can throw a whole green chile (chile serrano) into the oil before you add the beans. Plus you never add cold oil.

After years of struggling to make baked beans in a bean pot, I finally hit the target. Overnight soak, simmer 45 minutes, then 5 hours @300 degrees in oven. Use filtered water. Discard soaking water, use less cooking water. Also gave up on grocery store dried beans, that look like they were shipped from a 3rd world country after we shipped the beans to them. I bought Camilla beans online. Had to buy $35 worth to get free shipping, which is 12 lbs but was was worth it. 1st batch eaten in 3 days

Eat more beans - all kinds - and your digestive system will adapt.

Best homemade refried beans EVER. Made it today. Superb technique. I made it using white beans. Best white beans EVER! Thank you, Samin Nosrat! I grew up in Southern California, loving the delicious taqueria refried beans of which Chef Nosrat writes, and miss them like crazy. But OMG, this recipe is a bullseye. Made it exactly as written except that I added a dash of plain shio-koji instead of salt for flavor at the very end. We all just kept saying "Wow" with every bite.

I used dried cranberry beans to make this recipe, and the results were absolutely delicious! The only change I made was to add another dried chili to the beans because I prefer things on the spicier side. One tip: after serving, I stirred the rest of the bean water into the leftover beans before putting them in the fridge. That way, when it's time to reheat, they'll stay just as creamy the second time around.

Salt does not inhibit cooking. Acid does, though, so don't add vinegar or citrus juice till they're done.

As for joy, you've helped spread much joy through our house with your writing and enthusiasms - Thank you. Now its off to plan for beans.

A wonderful condiment to go with this is a mild chile crisp:https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022366-chile-crisp?smid=url-share

I’m very exited to make this later in the week. In the meantime, thought I’d add my $0.02 on bean water. Soaking water goes directly to my house plants as does any cooking water, diluted, if not otherwise engaged. It feels like I’m “giving back” to the plants who kept me company during the pandemic.

I made this with "Iberia" brand dried red beans with no alterations. It is delicious.

Remember the slow cooker? It's great for preparing dry beans. It will hydrate and cook them at the same time. Set up your slow cooker, add the beans, add enough boiling water to cover the beans (about 2 inches) and then select the temp setting. Add salt midway through cooking. The slow cooker method allows you to check along the way for tenderness. Note: as the beans cook the water level decreases so add boiling water along the way to keep the beans covered.

When I worked in an institutional kitchen, we never salted bean cooking water until the end because it made them take forever to cook through, yet this recipe asks for "pleasantly salty" cooking water. Does this not extend your cook time?

This is my most repeated NYT recipe. Whole Calabrian chilies in oil are easier to find than the chili paste and when finely chopped are just as good.

Made this yesterday and turned out so good! I used an immersion blender at the end since I like my refried beans super creamy with no chunks. I also used some shio-koji like another reviewer suggested which worked well. I think you could blend some miso with the bean stock for more umami.

Super easy, simple, good flavors. I halved the recipe and used one small dry birds eye chili. It added subtle flavor, but next time I would use a couple more for extra spice. I didn't have any Calabrian chili, but that would have been delicious, I can only imagine. I do think next time I would use a little less oil - up to maybe 50% less. It does add nice flavor, but it can be a little strong and is also just unnecessary.

The beans were delicious after the first cook, however the amount of olive oil is excessive and overwhelmed the flavor of the beans, I will cut in half next time.

Delicious! Overnight soak. Cooked bean for about 2 hours. The magic is in the aromatics. The beans really taste flavored from within in an earthy and rich way. Will make beans like this every time and have committed to a weekly bean cook of some sort. Yum!

I used a mix of beans and was worried about differing cooking times but they ended up incredibly creamy! I also used a little less oil and a little more cooking liquid for smoothing them out and they were still wonderfully rich.

All three times I’ve made the recipe, I’ve had voluminous clouds of foam appear on top of the beans as they come to a boil. When I skim, I sadly remove bits of chile and find I have to add more later on. Now I wait until the beans have been skimmed and reduced to a simmer before adding the chile. The beans are perfect and delicious every time!

This was absolutely delicious made with dried cannellini beans. I add rosemary and peppercorns while cooking and freeze into 2 cup portions for later use. TUTTOCALABRIA Crushed Calabrian Chili Pepper Paste takes this from standard comfort food to restaurant worthy. Thanks Samin!

Can this be done with canned beans, already cooked?

Made a bootleg version of this tonight when I found myself staring down the barrel of 9PM with no clear plan for dinner. Fished half a can of black beans out of the freezer, quick-thawed them in warm running water, then sautéed them in a big glug of olive oil with chopped garlic and jalapeno. Salted generously, then mashed with a spoon and ate with leftover arepas. Absolutely delicious! Quick, creamy, flavorful and comforting. Didn't have chili paste but might quick-pickle some onions next time!