Vegan Refried Beans (THE Refried Beans)

Do you know how many years I've been looking for THE refried beans? I've tried them on the stove, in the crockpot, with bacon or garlic or cumin, or something to make my kids not say, "I just want the red lady beans."

So, I could hardly contain myself when my brother-in-law and his wife made these delicious vegan refried beans. My kids love these, and I learned this week that they'll eat more if I don't mash them.

These beans plus Sour Cream Enchiladas makes a meal where no one missed the meat.


El Cucui's Awesome Refried Beans
Christian and Sarah Schumann-Curtis

1 pound dry beans (pinto or black) or 4 14-15oz cans of cooks beans makes this dish so much easier)
1/2 cup oil we used canola, Christian and Sarah use olive
6-7 garlic cloves
1 T water
1/2 c veggie broth we use chicken broth
1 t salt
1 t coriander (heaping)
1 t cumin (heaping)
1-2 T lemon or lime juice
1 tomato I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and drain them

If using dry beans, rinse beans and soak overnight. Rinse again and with fresh beans, bring to boil, then simmer until beans are soft, even falling apart (about 1 hour).

If using cooked beans, open cans, drain, and rinse.

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel garlic and put cloves in the oil in a cast-iron skillet. Place in oven while getting the rest of the ingredients together.

Put beans, tomato, cumin, coriander, broth, and salt in a large pot. Then, add garlic and oil (I take the garlic out of the oil and mince it before adding it to the beans) to the pot. Bring to a boil. (I then simmer the beans, with the pot lid on, while I make the rest of dinner. Sometimes, I mash with a fork a bit, but my family seems to like this recipe better with whole beans.) When you're ready to serve, stir in the citrus juice (I like lemon for pinto, lime for black beans) and add a chopped banana for a Cuban flair.