Casa Corona Instant Mexican Style (Refried Beans 3lb Bag)

I use this product primarily to make a quick veggie bean soupp - bring plenty of water to a boil, reduce to simmer, add cut veggies (I tnd to add zucchini, leaf spinach, bell pepper, and/or diced onions - and when the veggies are well on their way to being cooked, stir in an appropriateamunt of the bean mix. "Appropriate" is something you'll need to figure out for yourself, but if this is your fist time using this, start with a little less than yu need, it does soak up the wate. Increase e heat a little, reduce heat when the bean chips are starting to break down, stir occasinally until it's creamy. It's not instant, but it's quick and rally no-hassle prep.Sometimes I stir in some sour cream at the end to make it creamier.I toss in various spice combos, not all of them "Mexican." This product has some salt, so I never add salt to anything I make with it.I personally use it less often to make refried beans because tht requires more care in the amount of water and more hovering to make sure I don't burn it.On receipt, I pour the bean mix immediately (using a wide mouth funnel) into a lidden gallon jar. the bag it comes in is much too easy to spill.

Taste great. Better than anything that comes in a can or package. I like my refried beans thick and you can make these as thick as you like.

I use about 1:1.5 cups flakes : water for refried beans style, but I usually prefer to turn this into a bean soup, about 1:3 or a bit less water.While it can be microwaved for 2-3 minutes from cold tap water, the larger flakes will still be crunchy, and if you microwave it long enough to start boiling, it can foam and make a mess. My best process for a 2/3 cup dry (2 nutrition label servings, 1 serving for me) is to microwave (1300 watts) at 100% power for 1-3 minutes depending on how much water I'm using, and watching it for that time to stop it before it boils, then switch to 30% power for 7-10 minutes. Alternately, 30% power for 12-15 minutes, or preboil the water then 30% power for 7-10 minutes. Before starting the cook I'll add any seasonings to give them some time to meld, an easy go-to for bean soup is some dried herbs, Better Than Boullion, frozen corn, tomato salsa, and some olive oil (a little fat helps a lot for flavor and mouth feel especially when working with dry (even if hydrated) ingredients). It is also pretty useful to stir/mix the flakes and water well in the beginning, and then again after about 2-4 minutes in hot soak.I don't know how it compares to canned refried beans, let alone preparations from dry or canned whole beans, but I think the main thing to figure out if you're new to this dehydrated stuff is to figure out how to keep the soaking liquid hot without letting the bean flakes boil/foam over, and to dial in the minimum amount of (hot) soaking time so you're minimizing your prep time while still ending up with soft enough beans. Feel free to add some fat or cream to tweak the flavor and texture, but if you use milk like the back of the bag suggests as an option, keep in mind that you also increase the risk of foaming over, so keep an eye on it or keep the flame/microwave to a low enough setting so it stays below a simmer.

Seems to be the best deal in this line of products. Manufacturer needs to watch the packaging as ours had a couple holes in the bag that do not appear to have happened during shipping.

Recommend this product. Love it

I used to buy dehydrated, refried beans at Winco stores, but just before the pandemic, they stopped carrying the refried beans. Once I found these online, they turned out to be really similar to what we used to get. The quality is very good. The reconstitution is one to one and we’ve been using them pretty regularly. We do add a bit of taco seasoning to them to give them a little bit of spice, but they become a staple in our house.

I like to keep these in my pantry. Makes great nachos and burritos. I like the fact that I only mix what I need. We also take them back packing with some taco seasoning and onion powder mixed with it so it’s ready to go in a tortilla.

For my tatse these fall short. I like the bulk dried beas and WinCo better.