Looking for instant refried beans – Santa Fe seems unavailable

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

I just started using backcountry foodie recipes and the Santa Fe dehydrated powdered instant refried beans are not available. Tried to find Cookquik Instant Refried Beans to no avail.

Nor do I have any idea what instant beans to buy.  Can you provide your fav pre-prepared refried beans where I don’t have to buy a 5 lb tin or such.

Thanks!!!

[DWR D]

Mexicali Rose

Also… that old saying: “Goggle it” and I think you will find other options also.

[Matthew / BPL]

Mexacali Rose is good.

Do you have a Natural Grocer / Vitamin Cottage where you live? They have a FD refried black bean that I liked.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Cool thanks. Happy to get any names and I’ll search them out. Good to know Mexacali Rose is good – that’s what I was looking for. I’ll look up FD refried black bean to see if can get that online (no Natural Grocer in MN)

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I have found that drying canned beans and then tossing them in a blend is a good substitute for instant beans.  My 2 cents

[Jerry Adams]

I cook dried beans.  With onion, spices.  Smash them while they’re cooking to make them the consistency of refried beans.  Try not to use more water than needed.

When they’re done, put in glass bowl and microwave for about 2 hours at power level 2.  Stir occasionally.  Then put in oven at 170 F over night.  (Or you could use dehydrator.  When I put wet beans in oven at 170 F, the lowest setting, evaporated water gets into places in the oven that make it not work).

Food processor to powder it.

[Jerry Adams]

packitgourmet.com has dried, whole black beans and lentils.  You could food process and it would have the consistency of refried.

[Greg Pehrson]

When I can, I prefer to make my own beans and dehydrate them, I have to admit, though, I’m much more likely to run to the store right before a trip and pick up something like Dr. McDougall’s Vegan Black Bean and Lime Soup, and just rehydrate it with less water to make a bean spread instead of soup. They’re usually found in the “healthy” or organic section of a supermarket (I know I’ve bought them in Whole Foods and Shaws), or you can buy them online. They come in a cardboard cup like a Cup-a-Soup so I empty the contents into a ziplock and add a bit of adobo (mostly garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano), and sometimes a little instant coffee for energy! Easy to pick up one for $2 to try out at home.

[Ken Larson]

https://countrylifefoods.com/pages/search-results-page?q=instant+refried+beans*

[JCH]

Seems to be quite a few options on Amazon.

 

[Bruce Tolley]

Mary Janes Farms has various dried cooked bean offerings as meals and in bulk. The meals can be purchased at REI.

https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/store/c/33-Beans.aspx

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Some of your comments made me stop and think, “what, exactly, are refried beans.” duh. Cooked mashed beans. My takeaway is OTS premade refried beans may have different flavors.  I can get instant beans by any cooked, dehydrated, and ground up, or maybe even just ground up raw dry beans and flavor them on the trail. I”ll have to up my flavoring game, and that’s kind of a challenge for me.

My question must have looked a little…naïve.

[DAN-Y]

Best deal is in #10 cans

https://rainydayfoods.com/refried-beans-10.html

 

https://beprepared.com/products/refried-beans-large-can

 

also here:

https://www.foodstorage.com/products/instant-refried-pinto-beans-10-can

[JCH]

If you go DIY, not only are you in complete control of spices, you can also ditch the excessive sodium in the commercial products.

[Tom M]

I use these guys. https://www.thrivelife.com/instant-refried-beans.html however it looks like they are out of stock.

[JCH]

^ 5 mg sodium per serving…that’s what I’m talking about.

[Tom M]

JCH,

I home make most of my backcountry meals using Thrive products because of there lack of crap mixed in like sodium.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Yeah – low sodium, low sugars, low fat, and … junk that I cannot pronounce.  Off-topic slightly I reversed the slow expansion of my waistline by (mostly) eliminating processed foods / excessive fat content / excessive sodium.  Now I can’t eat a processed cheese brat w/o … consequences.

I want to be able to eat less expensively and control where the calories are coming from when I’m canoe trippin’ and hiking.

[JCH]

Eugene – I too tired of processed/packaged/sodium-laden “backpacking food”.  Bought a dehydrator and went to work.  Never looked back.  Now I eat real food and I am in control.  Yeah, it takes some of your time to cook/dehydrate/package, and a small investment (a good dehydrator can be had for $50-$90), but meals in the woods never tasted better, or more diverse.  Thai green curry? Yep.

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