Tag Archives: beans

Refried Beans

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  • 3 cups cooked pinto beans
  • 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or sub water but double the amount and add more as needed)
  • 3/4 cup diced white onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4-1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

REFRIED BEANS: To prepare refried beans, heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add oil (or water) and onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender — about 4-5 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn down heat if browning too quickly.Next add your cooked beans and any of the cooking liquid. Depending on your cooking method, your beans may be looking somewhat dry or they may be submerged in cooking liquid. Because we’re going to simmer the beans even more, you want them to be just submerged, so add only as much vegetable broth as needed to just cover the beans.Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Then add your salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes to further cook and tenderize the beans. If they begin looking dry or stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add more vegetable broth to moisten.Your beans should now be tender. Our preferred way of mashing is with an immersion blender. If using an immersion blender, tip the pot to one side so the blade can be submerged and blend until the beans are creamy and smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a bean or potato masher will also work. It just takes more work and they won’t get quite as creamy.If you’re blending or mashing and your beans have become too thick, thin with more vegetable broth as needed.Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to taste. We didn’t find the beans needed more than this. However, you could add chili powder or chipotle pepper in adobo for some heat, or some ground cumin for smokiness.Serve as is, or garnish with desired toppings (lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, red onion, or this vegan Mexican-style queso would be delicious).

Instant Pot Baked Beans (good)

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  • 16 oz. dry navy or pinto beans
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 2/3 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. liquid smoke (or smoked paprika)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water

Cook beans on manual for 25 minutes; allow for natural release, then rinse and cool.

Saute bacon for a few minutes, then add onion and pepper and cook until soft. Add BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and smoked paprika and stir.

Add brown sugar, water and beans and stir to continue.

Cook on manual for 15 minutes, then natural release.

Baked Beans (Maple)

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2 cups dried navy or white beans, soaked in lots of cold water overnight
2 cups water
1 cup maple syrup
6 slices thick-cut fried bacon, diced, fat reserved
1 or 2 large onions, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons any mustard
a dash or two Worcestershire sauce
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon any vinegar

Cover the beans in water and soak over night. Strain the beans out of their soaking water and give them a good rinse. No nutrients are lost in the soaking and rinsing; instead, the beans rehydrate, which will speed up their cooking time.

Toss the beans into a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the beans are tender, about an hour or so.

Drain the beans and place them in a 4-quart ovenproof baking dish with a tight-fitting lid. Add the water, maple syrup, bacon, onions, ginger, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Add as much or as little of the reserved bacon fat as you care to.

Cover and place in the oven at 250 degrees and bake until the beans have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, about 3 hours or so. Feel free to add a bit more water if the beans seem dry.

Stir in the vinegar just before serving.

Boston Baked Beans

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  • 2 cups of white pea beans (navy beans)
  • 1 scant teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 medium onion, peeled
  • 4 pork spareribs, or 8 baby-back ribs
  • ⅓ cup dark brown sugar or molasses
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1. In a large bowl, soak the beans in 2 quarts of water for 6 hours. Drain the beans and put them in a large pot. Add the salt and enough cool water to cover 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the beans are just barely tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain well.
  2. Bring another pot of water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. In the bottom of a large casserole with a tight-fitting lid, place the peeled onion — yes, whole — and spareribs (or baby-back ribs). Spread the beans on top. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar (or molasses), mustard and black pepper and add this to the beans and pork. Pour in just enough boiling water to cover the beans, put the lid on and bake, occasionally adding more boiling water to keep the beans covered, until they are tender but not falling apart, 4 to 5 hours.
  3. Remove the casserole from the oven. Season the beans with salt. Pull the meat from the ribs. Discard the bones and excess fat and stir the meat back into the beans. With the lid off, return the casserole to the oven and let the beans finish cooking, uncovered and without additional water, until the sauce has thickened and is nicely caramelized on top, about 45 minutes more.

Grains and Beans

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  • 1 cup whole grains, such as barley, wheat, emmer, einkorn, rye, spelt or wheat berries
  • 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
  • ½ teaspoon salt, more as needed
  • 6 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced, plus celery leaves for serving
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons thyme leaves, more for serving
  • 3 ½ cups (two 15-ounce cans) cooked red kidney beans, drained
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • Hot sauce, for serving

  1. In a medium pot, simmer grains in chicken stock, adding salt to taste if stock is unsalted. Different grains will cook at different rates, but 35 to 75 minutes is the general range. When grains are just tender, drain, reserving any extra stock.
  2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, reserving 2 tablespoons bacon grease in skillet.
  3. Add onion, pepper, celery and 1/2 teaspoon salt to skillet and cook until vegetables are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes longer, until garlic is fragrant.
  4. Stir beans, black pepper and nutmeg into skillet and cook until vegetables are very tender, 10 to 20 minutes, adding some reserved chicken stock from the grains or water if pan looks dry.
  5. Add drained grains to pan and stir until heated through, adding more stock or water if needed. Stir in bacon, and salt to taste. Serve grains and beans topped with celery and thyme leaves, with hot sauce on the side.

Szechuan Green Beans

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These beans are “dry-fried,” a Szechuan cooking technique that makes them extra tender. The recipe calls for Chinese longbeans, but you can use haricots verts, green beans or runner beans. The recipe normally calls for chili peppers, but I’ve used chili paste – feel free to substitute dried red chilis if desired. Serves 4.

  • 1 pound Chinese longbeans (also called yardlong beans or just longbeans)

  • 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped

  • 2 scallions (spring onions, green onions), white parts only

  • 1/2 teaspoon chili paste

  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • Pepper to taste, optional

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil for stir-frying, or as needed

Wash the longbeans, drain thoroughly, and trim the tops and bottoms.
Cut the longbeans on the diagonal into slices approximately 2 inches long.
Chop the garlic, ginger and white part of the scallions.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the longbeans and stir-fry until they start to shrivel or “pucker” and turn brown (5 – 7 minutes). Remove the long beans and drain in a colander or on paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the wok on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the chili paste and stir-fry for a few more seconds until aromatic. Add the longbeans and the remaining ingredients. Mix together and serve.