Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Chipotle Jalapeno Refried Beans

I love me some Mexican food baby.  We eat it at least once a week in some form.  One thing I always loved was a nice side of refried beans because it's filling and has a lot of fiber and protein.  But the canned stuff is like a salt lick depending on what brand you get.  My favorite jalapeno refried beans have almost 500mg of sodium per serving.  That's just not something I can afford in my "sodium bank account."  So I made my own for half the sodium and much more taste than I could ask for.



Chipotle Jalapeno Refried Beans
(6 servings)

1 bag small red beans, dried
2 jalapeno peppers
2 servings La Costena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (70g)
Juice of 1 lime
4 oz reserved bean liquid


In a large stockpot, add bag of dried beans to 8 cups of water.



Cook until beans are hydrated and fork tender.  (About an hour)

While the beans are cooking, cut up the jalapenos to give the food processor a bit of a head start on the breakdown.



Weigh out 2 servings (70g) of chipotle peppers from the can.





There are a LOT of seeds in there so unless you want to breathe fire, remove them.  If you're daring, leave 'em in.



Cut your lime in half and keep it on hand.



When the beans are done, reserve about 4 oz of the liquid before draining them.



Add the beans to your food processor/ blender.



 and give them a few whirls to break them up a bit.  Add the reserved liquid.  When they're almost to the consistency you want them, add all of the peppers and the lime juice.


Blend until the peppers are broken down, take a peek inside to make sure it's the consistency you want it.


When it's to your liking, dish it out and dig in!



I purposely don't add salt to this recipe because my main motivation in making recipes like this is to keep sodium on the lower side but if you add a tsp of salt to this, the sodium per serving will change to 515mg.  Obviously you can add some salt free spices to it if you like.  Garlic or onion powder would be a nice addition or even a hit of cumin would add to this already smoky dish.  Experiment and see what you like!

This can be broken down into 6 servings for a good side dish.  Or you can use less for a base on mexican pizzas, quesadillas, in burritos, etc.  A great item to freeze into individual servings for future use.

Nutritional Information per serving:  Calories 143  Sodium 201mg  Potassium 21mg  Total Carbs 51g  Fiber 28g  Sugars 3g  Protein 15g  Vitamin A 11% Vitamin C 9% Calcium 13% Iron 35%

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8 comments:

  1. I'm not a huge fan of beans - but I may try this for hubby.

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  2. Yum! Love refried beans: yummy and SO filling.

    Just curious what you guys keep your sodium intake at per day? I am so bad about tracking that...

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  3. Another Layer- I wasn't a big bean fan either but man these are so flavorful they don't really taste like beans at all. A nice, lingering heat. Yum!

    Jamie- I aim for 2300mg or less. (I consider 2300 a bad day) I know with the new guidelines they recommend 1500mg but I seriously don't see how that's possible unless it eat tasteless crap all the time and I can't maintain that for the rest of my life. I'll just make sure I drink a ton of water and lots of potassium (hence my morning nana) to help flush the sodium out.

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  4. Ohhh, I am loving this! I absolutely LOVE beans!

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  5. The canned stuff is grooooossss. Isn't it made with lard too? I like that you don't have any oil in here at all! This sounds so much better and I bet it would make a mean dip too.

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  6. Absolutely beautiful picture recipe!! Thank you!! I liked seeing the pictures of the stuff you were using in each step. Loved peeping down the food processor, cute idea! The final presentation was great!

    I am not a bean person, she said. Actually, I am trying to add things to the clean diet and this looks just beautiful. You've inspired me to try this "some time soon" and I will know where to come for the recipe!

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  7. This may sound crazy, but I don't care for the "refried" part of refried beans. I like red beans just fine, but smash them up and they just don't taste the same to me. (Told ya, crazy!)

    All that said, I hadn't thought of adding jalapenos to my red beans (or black beans, for that matter). A definite possibility for the future.

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  8. Being from Texas, I like pintos for my refried beans, and I don't mind the canned stuff even, as long as I get the no-fat kind. The lard kind doesn't seem appetizing. But I do love red beans and rice, so I'll bet I'd love this recipe too. I'll give it a try!

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