We started our search by polling the Bon Appétit staff, asking if anyone had a preferred brand of refried beans. Several staffers praised Amy’s, and there was one nod to Old El Paso.

Simple food gets a bad rap. Chefs tweak it, add to it, transform it. But sometimes, as in the case of refried beans, simple isn’t just good, it’s addictively delicious and comforting.

It may be shocking to learn that what we call refried beans have actually never been fried even once. Frijoles refritos translates from Spanish to something like rehashed beans, a reference to the ...

Now for something a little different, we have El Mexicano's frijoles bayos refritos, or refried bayos beans. Also known as bayo beans, they share a lot of similarities with pintos, but have a ...