Frijoles Molidos (Refried Beans)

Deeply flavored and rich, these refried beans are cooked slowly and with care. The results are a big step up from those bland restaurant versions.

Frijoles Charros (Mexican Pinto Beans With Bacon and Chiles)

The ideal potluck dish is one that's easy to make in bulk, inexpensive, and holds up to extended heating and reheating. Frijoles charros is one superlative potluck dish.

Spicy Vegan Refried Beans

A basic refried bean recipe flavored with onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chipotle. 100% vegan.

Chicharrón Burrito

This is deep-fried pork belly on top of a pile of puréed beans enriched with flecks of melted cheese, which can be rolled up into a tortilla so that, depending on when you eat the pork belly, it is either chewy and saturated with bean-y flavor, or still crispy and dry.

Smoky Barbecue Beans

These barbecue beans are deeply spiced with paprika, cumin, and plenty of black pepper, and given added depth with dried red chiles. Chunks of smoked meat (sausage, leftover barbecue, or whatever else you have on hand) add a campfire fragrance to round them out.

Mexican Chipotle Pork & Beans

Mexican Chipotle Pork is a big pot of fall-apart goodness cooked in a spicy, deeply savoury adobo sauce. Stuff in tacos, eat like stew!

Chipotle and Chorizo Red Beans

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz] Canned chipotles in adobo sauce bring sweet smoke, earthiness, and plenty of heat to vinegar- and chorizo-spiked beans. I'm partial to bola roja beans, which are firm, meaty, and handle stewing nearly forever, but any red bean...

Colombian-Style Beans and Rice

The greatest bean dinner is called the bandeja paisa: Beans, rice, arepas, fried green or black plantains, avocado, a thin slice of grilled steak, deep fried pork rinds (known as chicharrones), a chorizo or two, a side of ají to sauce everything up, and a fried egg to top it off.

Bean-Stuffed Deep-Fried Jalapeños With Salsa Roja

Yes, they're derivative of jalapeño poppers, but I love jalapeños, I love refried beans, and I really love golden brown and crunchy, so why not stick them all together?

Huevos Rancheros Verdes (Fried Eggs With Green Salsa and Refried Beans)

Traditional huevos rancheros with refried black beans and a green salsa.