As you gather ingredients for your next round of ground beef tacos with zesty guacamole, you might wonder if you're better off making refried beans or homemade bean dip to serve alongside your crispy chips and queso. Yet, are refried beans and bean dip just different names for the same food?
These two savory dishes include beans, spices, and aromatic ingredients like onions and garlic. However, traditional refried beanrecipes usually have fewer ingredients than classic bean dips. Bean dip can be made in several ways and may incorporate very few ingredients or include a wide range of additions like sour cream, green chilis, and hot sauce.
The texture of these two bean-based foods is also quite different. While refried beans usually resemble a chunky, mashed mixture perfect for spreading on tortillas or serving alongside warm rice, bean dip can be made with whole beans with a fresh appeal similar to classic pico de gallo or puréed into a smooth consistency with several different ingredients. The application of these two foods differs as well. Depending on the resulting flavor and texture, bean dip has several uses beyond serving as a delicious pre-dinner snack. Alternatively, refried beans are often consumed as a trustworthy side dish or meal-building anchor. To further understand the differences between these two dishes, let's delve more into recipe specifics regarding refried beans and classic bean dip variations.
Classic refried beans are traditionally made by combining dried pinto beans with water until fully cooked and broken down. The soft beans are mixed with onions and garlic and fried in bacon fat or lard. While you can dress up refried beans with various spices, this veritable side dish usually contains a mild, versatile flavor that relies heavily on beans, a few aromatic ingredients, and a bit of salt and pepper.
Refried beans can also be made from whole canned varieties, including black beans. Fat or oil and spices of your choice are heated in a skillet. Rinsed canned beans are added and mashed to create that signature thick and chunky refried bean texture. Many people also enjoy buying pre-mashed beans. In actuality, there are many unique ways to use canned refried beans. Even though you can serve this convenient food on toast or as your next veggie burger base, canned refried beans typically don't pack an overwhelming flavor. Most varieties are primarily made up of cooked pinto beans with less than 2%each of flavorings like cumin, tomato paste, and lard. Homemade refried beans may include more than one unexpected ingredient, such as lime juice, bacon, or queso fresco, but bean dip can be made with an extensive range of extra ingredients.
There's More Than One Way To Make Classic Bean Dip
What primarily sets bean dip apart from traditional refried beans has everything to do with what's in it. Bean dip isn't a one-size-fits-all recipe, and this satisfying snack can be made with whole beans, fresh corn, and herbs, or you can make a smooth and robust dip that includes cheese, bacon, and sour cream.
In the most general sense, bean dip contains puréed pinto or black beans, a range of spices, and some added water or stock to achieve the right consistency. Most recipes are made from whole canned beans or, believe it or not, canned refried beans. Depending on the dip you're making, you can make either hot or cold bean dip varieties.
Combine canned refried beans and a bit of salsa to serve as a hearty base for chilled seven-layer dip, including layers of guacamole, cheese, and black olives. Alternatively, blend canned black beans with onion, tomato, jalapeño, and lime juice to make a warm and tasty black bean dip with cheese and cilantro. The options are endless when making bean dip. While making refried beans follows a predictable set of guidelines with a few variations here and there, bean dip can be made using several ingredients, served hot or cold, and made light and smooth or extra chunky.
While refried beans usually resemble a chunky, mashed mixture perfect for spreading on tortillas or serving alongside warm rice, bean dip can be made with whole beans with a fresh appeal similar to classic pico de gallo or puréed into a smooth consistency with several different ingredients.
Meanwhile, we include whole pinto beans as an ingredient in our Bueno Bowls and offer them as a side. Refried beans are pinto beans that have been mashed and pan-fried, and they are typically seasoned with a little chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Refried beans, however, are pretty new, introduced about 100 years ago in northern Mexico. Their still growing popularity is from use in American Tex-Mex cuisine that originated as unique refried bean recipes specific to individual border town restaurants of Mexico and Texas.
Although beans contain carbohydrates, their glycemic. index (GI) is low, and hence consuming them does not. cause significant spikes in blood sugar levels.
Refried beans are a nutrient rich food! They provide plenty of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. People who are at higher risk for heart disease may want to watch for the saturated fat content, but the average person can fit them into an overall healthy diet with minimal problem.
However, traditional refried bean recipes usually have fewer ingredients than classic bean dips. Bean dip can be made in several ways and may incorporate very few ingredients or include a wide range of additions like sour cream, green chilis, and hot sauce.
Why Do Restaurant Refried Beans Taste So Good? Most authentic Mexican restaurants use lard in their refried bean recipes which adds another layer of flavor and helps achieve the ideal creamy texture.
Kidney, pinto, navy or black beans are packed with vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and potassium. They are very high in fiber too. Beans do contain carbohydrates, but ½ cup also provides as much protein as an ounce of meat without the saturated fat.
Choose grilled or sauteed dishes with less cheese and a lot of lean protein and vegetables. Examples include chicken fajitas, sopa with vegetables and chicken or fish, gazpacho, tacos al pastor and dips like guacamole and salsa. (Just aim to eat more of the dip and less of the chips.)
Even though pulses contain carbohydrates, they don't give sharp rises to blood glucose levels compared to other carbohydrate-containing foods. The make-up of the carbohydrates in pulses, the fibre content and the fact that they are high in protein slows down the breakdown of the carbohydrates into glucose in the blood.
Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that transfers oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Iron is also necessary for normal growth and development.
Beans are high in minerals and fiber that may boost your digestive health and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Yet, since refried beans often contain added fat and salt, they may be higher in calories, saturated fat, and sodium than other beans.
Other beans will still work, but we think that black and pinto beans have the best flavor and texture. Salsa: use any salsa you like! Chipotle and fire-roasted salsas are some of our favorites.
"Refried" doesn't mean the beans have been fried twice. The word comes from the Spanish name for the dish—frijoles refritos. In Spanish "refritos" means "well fried". To make the beans you have to cook them in water first to soften them.
Though the name “refried beans” implies the beans are fried twice, they're actually only fried once. Traditionally, pinto beans are cooked and mashed, then fried on the stove until thick. This recipe starts with canned beans, which cuts the cooking time considerably.
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