Refried Bean Dip is a fast and flavorful appetizer that you can whip up in minutes. Serve it with tortilla chips and sliced veggies as a snack, or slather it on tortillas to make your favorite fajitas more filling.
If you love the canned bean dip from the chip aisle of your grocery store, you’re going to love this easy bean dip recipe. You can make it with any beans that you keep in the pantry!
This dip is perfect for a game-day snack or a party appetizer. Made without cream cheese, it’s naturally vegan, dairy-free, and loaded with flavor. With that being said, you can melt some shredded cheddar cheese on top, for a warm dip if you prefer.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Featuring onion, garlic, and jalapeño, this recipe requires just a few minutes of chopping to get started. Be extra cautious when handling fresh jalapeño, as its juices can burn your skin and eyes. (Use a few jarred jalapeno slices as an easy swap, if you prefer.)
Paired with lime juice, cumin, and salt this dip is flavorful and easy to customize. If you keep a taco seasoning blend on hand or want to add in a dash of chili powder, onion powder, or other spices, feel free!
This dip is easy to taste and adjust as you go. Using two cans of beans will make it easy to blend, so if you cut this recipe in half, you may need to stop and scrape down the machine more often.
If you have any leftovers, add them to quesadillas, nachos, and burrito bowls for the rest of the week.
How to Make Refried Bean Dip
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onion and jalapeño until soft, about 5 minutes. Omit the jalapeno seeds, unless you’d like a spicy dip.
Next, add in the garlic and stir for 1 more minute, just until fragrant. Then remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool briefly.
In a blender or food processor, add the drained and rinsed beans, along with the cumin, lime juice, and salt.
Transfer the cooked onion, jalapeno, and garlic to the machine, then secure the lid and start processing.
Blend until the mixture looks smooth, then taste it and make any adjustments. Add an extra pinch of salt to boost the flavor, or add a few slices of jarred jalapenos for a mild spice.
Transfer the blended bean dip to a serving bowl, garnish with fresh cilantro or chopped red onion, and serve right away with tortilla chips or sliced veggies, like bell peppers, carrots, and celery.
For a Mexican-inspired snack platter, serve with bowls of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole, too.
For a warm bean dip, transfer the dip to a baking dish and top with shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese. Bake at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Garnish with any options you love, like chopped tomatoes, black olives, green onions, or fresh cilantro.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a shortcut, you can swap the sauteed onion, garlic, and jalapeno in this recipe for a 4-ounce can of green chiles. In this case, I’d also recommend adding in a few jarred jalapeno slices (like the kind you’d put on nachos) for extra flavor. Or try my black bean dip, which uses salsa for blending.
While they are similar, bean dip often has a softer consistency that is ideal for dipping with chips. Refried beans tend to have a thicker consistency with more texture, depending on how they are prepared.
Pinto beans and black beans are the most common beans used for bean dip. If you’re trying to replicate Frito Lay bean dip, use pinto beans.
Looking for more dip recipes? Try White Bean Dip, Cottage Cheese Dip, Healthy 7-Layer Dip, or the Best Hummus for more easy ideas.
Refried Bean Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion , chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 jalapeño , chopped (white pith and seeds removed)
- 2 (15 oz.) cans pinto beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then saute the onion, and jalapeno until they start to soften, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir for 1 more minute, then turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
- In a blender or food processor, add the drained beans, cumin, salt, and lime juice. Add in the sauteed vegetables, then secure the lid and start blending. Stop and scrape down the sides of the machine, if needed, and blend until smooth.
- Taste the dip and make any adjustments as you see fit, adding an extra pinch of salt if needed. For extra flavor, add a handful of fresh cilantro leaves or a few jarred jalapeno slices, and blend again. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, add any garnishes you like, and serve right away with chips or sliced veggies.
- Leftover dip will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It will thicken slightly when chilled.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this bean dip recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
Can you use black beans instead of pinto?
Yes, it’s delicious with those, too! And even with red kidney beans. We make this nearly every week!
Made this today, and it really is the best bean dip! I thought it was a little salty at first, but once I tried it with a chip the flavor was spot-on. I’ll be making this for parties from now on!
The picture did fool me into a peanut butter illusion. I’m just afraid that the smell of the garlic is too much for the dip, isn’t it?
I guess it depends on if you like garlic or not. I don’t smell it in this dip, since it’s cooked first, but you can always omit it if you’re sensitive to the flavor.
Yummy
Hi! I love this recipe and even though beans are definitely not a base for dips in Brazil (I’m Brazilian), I love that I gave it a try. I am going vegan so I am open to most vegan options, and this one is delicious, plus it provides me with good amounts of iron and proteins.
I just replaced the jalapeños (not something we normally eat or easily find in Brazil) with green bellpeppers.
The taste of the peppers mixed with cumin and lime is wonderful! Plus, the acidity from the lime juice helps you better absorb the iron from the beans.
Love it! Thank you!
This is an amazing dip! Everyone loved it! Dip was gone before the chips! Thank you again!
It really is the very best bean dip, and it couldn’t be easier!
Thank you
Delicious. Never settle for canned refried beans again — or any sort of ready-made bean dip. This is the best. And easy to make.
Didn’t have fresh jalapeno, so substituted some jarred jalapeno slices.
Didn’t have yellow onion, but substituted red onion.
Still turned out great.
So glad to have some left over to enjoy tomorrow!
I can’t make your crackers as I have no almond paste, but I would really appreciate a wheat free cracker recipe, so I hope one is on your list of recipes to develop. I usually eat rice crackers, I am used to them, but they aren’t all that great tasting, and a nutritional powerhouse they aren’t! I find the ones with seaweed in them are more interesting than the ones without. I want try out your hummus dip, and your bean dip recipes, with navy beans and with black beans. Such an easy way to improve my diet. But I gotta be honest, I already eat a lot of raw veg, and I really enjoy having crackers with dip for a change. I am going to try a couple different brands of gluten free bread, cutting them thin and drying them to make something like a melba toast. Maybe that would be a good cracker substitute. I would really appreciate having more options.
I really enjoyed this recipe! I made it for my grandson to eat while he watches his favorite football team on TV. We all love the bean dip that they serve at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, but I worry about the ingredients. This recipe is so healthy! Neither my grandson, nor I could stop eating it!
This dip is SO ADDICTING! It’s so easy to make. I love that it’s all stuff I already have in my pantry. I could eat the whole bowl of this 🙂 YUM! It’s also great on taco night in tortillas (my kiddos loved it!)