Pouring grease down the drain can wreak havoc on your pipes, and although you can compost grease, we’ve got a much tastier way to deal with your leftovers. So in celebration of Cinco De Mayo, we bring you Reduce, Reuse, Refried Beans!

Delicious with nachos and fresh heirloom tomato salsa, or in burritos or fajitas, this dip is a great way to enjoy all the healthy goodness of pinto beans, while reusing leftover bacon grease to turn down that healthiness a tad, but guarantee they’ll be oh so tasty.

As with all recipes, always try to look for local and organic ingredients, but a special note for shopping for canned beans: be sure to read the ingredients on the can! You’d think the ingredients in a can of pinto beans would be, well, pinto beans… but lots of companies sneak some not so nice preservatives in the can. So look for organic varieties with no other ingredients than maybe sea salt and water, or opt for the bulk organic dried beans instead.

Ingredients:
1 can organic pinto beans, water drained
or
1 cup dried pinto beans, re-hydrated over night in water, and then drained
1 ½ tbsp leftover bacon grease, stored in a can or jar in your freezer from your last brunch (see Greasy Goodness Goes Green tip)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground coriander (aka cilantro- you can save your own seeds from your herb garden and grind them with a mortar and pestle if you like)
1 tsp fresh lime juice
2 cups of water
salt to taste
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack or mild cheddar
fresh coriander/cilantro to garnish

Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat, and then add the bacon grease and olive oil. The pan should be hot enough to melt the grease, but not hot enough to make it sizzle. Once the grease has re-liquefied, add the onions, beans, and garlic to the pan, and toss well to coat with the greasy goodness. (You can also make a vegan version of this dish quite successfully by omitting the bacon grease and increasing the amount of olive oil).

Once the beans are browning a little, add the spices and lime juice, and stir occasionally. If you find the beans are drying out, add a little water at a time, and mix to incorporate.

After 15 minutes or so, you have the option of putting the beans in a food processor to pulse until the smooth consistency of regular refried beans, but if you want to forego this step to save a bit of energy (for both you and your electricity!), just roughly mash them up in the pan with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. They won’t be perfectly smooth, but trust me they will taste just as good.

Continue to cook for another 10 minutes once smooth-ish, again adding water and mixing to incorporate if you find they’re drying out. Add salt to taste.

Serve warm, with some mild shredded cheese on the top, and some fresh coriander/cilantro to garnish.