Until recently, whenever I would buy refried beans at the grocery store, I’d simply scan the price rail, grab the cheapest can, and toss it into my cart. But the truth is, one brand can taste vastly different from the next. If you, like me, are not making refried beans from scratch, it’s worth seeking out the next best thing. We deserve it.
That’s why the Bon Appétit team recently indulged in a refried bean taste-off to determine the most delicious brand on the market. Our test kitchen knows that the ideal refried beans require balance. A dollop might anchor dishes like spiced beef tostadas or cauliflower nachos, or simply provide a nest for a fried egg and some pickled red onions. The beans should be well-spiced, with some character, but they shouldn’t overpower a dish. They should be structured but not starchy, fatty but not oily.
The term refried is actually a mistranslation from the Spanish frijoles refrito. Refrito translates more accurately to “well-fried,” which is truer to the cooking process. Refried beans are a staple of cuisines across Mexico, Latin America, and their diasporas, but ingredients and techniques vary from region to region. Recipes may call for black, pinto, or some variety of heirloom bean. The beans are usually boiled, drained, then cooked in some kind of fat (like lard, vegetable oil, or bacon) with aromatics, such as onions, garlic, or peppers. That cooked mixture gets mashed into a paste.
That’s a lot of variables for a taste test, but as ever, our test kitchen was up to the challenge. For our latest blind taste test, we tried 11 brands of refried beans to find the ultimate winner.
How we picked the products
We started our search by polling the Bon Appétit staff, asking if anyone had a preferred brand of refried beans. Several staffers praised Amy’s, and there was one nod to Old El Paso. Next, we scoured the internet to see which brands had been extensively covered, and which had been ignored.
Once we had our master list, we whittled it down, sticking to what each brand deems its “traditional” offering. We eliminated lower-sodium varieties and cans marked with a specific flavor, such as “green chile” (though some on our final roster do include green chiles among their ingredients). One notable exception is Trader Joe’s refried beans, which are marked “fat-free,” as this variety is the only TJ’s refried bean available in our area at the time of publishing.
The refried beans offered at any store likely include a mix of vegan, vegetarian, and meaty options—so our taste test mirrored that. We wanted to see how plant-based options measured up to their omnivorous competitors.
How we set up our blind taste test
No one likes stodgy, room-temperature refried beans, so our first order of business was to scoop the contents of each can into bowls and pop them into a microwave (nothing is too good for our editors). We then swooped the warmed beans in the bowls to test their spreadability before presenting them to the tasting panel.
.jpeg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "The 5 Must-Visit Nonalcoholic Bottle Shops for Drinks Without the Buzz")
