Give Canned Refried Beans 10x The Flavor With A Southern Cooking Staple

Canned refried beans are not only easy to prepare (simply open your can, plop into a pan, and cook until warmed through), they're also absolutely delicious. These lovely, smooth legumes make a wonderful side dish, burrito filling, addition to a game day seven-layer dip, or inclusion in a classic plate of huevos rancheros. And that's just the beginning. Refried beans are a staple of Mexican cuisine and are widely available in grocery stores across the United States. While they're great on their own, they're also easy to dress up with a few simple additions, including one quintessentially Southern food that just might change the way you enjoy these beans.

We're talking, of course, about bacon fat. This flavor-packed byproduct of cooking bacon has a smoky, savory flavor that can seriously enhance that can of beans. To make bacon fat-infused refried beans, you can use drippings from a batch of bacon and simply add in your canned beans, stirring and folding in the fat until your beans are heated through and the bacon flavor has suffused. You can also use store-bought bacon fat — just scoop a few tablespoons into a pan before stirring in the beans. You can also combine canned pinto or black beans with some bacon fat to make a homemade batch of refried beans.

While delicious, adding bacon drippings is just the beginning when it comes to a more flavorful batch of refried beans. In addition to using bacon fat as a mix-in for your canned beans, you can also finish off your beans with crumbles of cooked bacon for even more flavor and texture. You can make an even more flavorful batch by using that bacon fat to saute aromatics before adding your beans. Onions, shallots, and garlic will add a whole lot of depth to your beans and a heck of a lot of flavor.

On top of this, adding fresh aromatics such as cilantro or topping with crumbled queso fresco will give even more dimension to this dish. For a spicy twist, add some jalapeños to your aromatics. This will give a lovely, spicy taste to your beans that will perfectly balance the richness of your bacon fat base. Or, if you want even more meaty goodness, add some chorizo to your beans for a real delight. Serve your beans fresh and hot. Even with the smoky bacon, this dish is dynamic enough to go with many a breakfast, lunch, or dinner.