If you have read any
of my articles on our blog, then you know that beans and other legumes
play an important part of our dietary needs. They are, inexpensive,
provide a good balance of both protein and carbohydrates, and store
easily, and will last forever when packaged properly. Because they
are so inexpensive, I am amazed by the prices people will pay for
some items their local grocery store stocks whose major ingredient is
beans. And that is what brings me to the heart of this article.
Bean dips such as
hummus (made with chickpeas) are popular throughout the Medetarrian
and have become increasingly popular here in the United States during
the last 5 to 10 years. However, Texas has it's very own bean dip
made with pinto beans that was first marketed by the Frito Lay
company in 1951 affectionally known around here as 'Frito Bean' Dip.
I am not sure why,
but for some reason football season seems to be the time of the year
when Frito Lay begins to market their 'bean dip' pretty heavily.
While I grew up loving this stuff as a kid, (my grandmother owned and
grocery store and corn chips and bean dip were free) the reality is
that while it is made with beans, to much extra crap has been added
to make it not so healthy. And secondly, it is just down right
exensive for what you get ($2.68 for 9 ounces).
I usually make a
small batch of bean dip when I make my bean burritos which I wrap in
foil and place in the freezer. I eat these bean burritos a couple of
times a week on my hour drive home from work when I am not eating a
sandwich. However making bean burritos is a subject for another
article.
The Recipe
Now there are a lot
of recipes on the internet on how to make your own Frito bean dip
using canned refried beans, and making it this way definitely is a
cheaper alternative ($0.99 for a 16oz can of Great Value Refried
Beans at Walmart), however you still get all of the unwanted fat and
other preservatives found in the original version. To make a healthy,
inexpensive Frito style bean dip, you only have one choice, and that
is to start with dried beans and cook them yourself. In this article,
I have included both a small and large batch of my versions of
'original' and 'hot' Frito style bean dips.
Original Frito Bean
Dip (Regular Recipe)
½ lb dried pinto
beans
1 – 2 tablespoons
Taco Sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic
powder
¼ teaspoon onion
powder
¼ teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon chili
powder (optional)
Sort though and
remove any small rocks you may find. Yes, I said small rocks, as I
generally find at least one in every bag of pinto beans I buy and you
really do not want to break a tooth. Add the pinto beans to your
pressure cooker and cover with 2 to 4 inches of water, then soak the
dried beans overnight. They will absorb a lot of water and will
double in size overnight.
In the morning drain
the water (pour it in your houseplants or garden, why waste it) and
add enough fresh water to cover the beans in the pressure cooker by 3
to 4 inches. Bring your pressure cooker up to pressure and cook for
30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow
the pressure to release it's pressure on it's own.
Drain the beans and
reserve about 1 cup of the cooking liquid (I usually save the rest
for making a three bean or other type of soup, but you can discard it
if you wish). Add the remaining ingredients and take a potato masher
and mash the pinto beans to combine all of the ingredients throughly.
Add a little of the reserved bean water as needed until you get to
the desired consistency. Check seasoning and adjust to suit your
personal preferences.
Chef's Note: You can
also add all the ingredients into your food processor and blend until
you achieve the desired consistency. You can find my recipe for the Taco Sauce that I use in my earlier article: Fast Food Style Taco Sauce.
Original Frito Bean
Dip (Family Size)
1lb dried pinto
beans
3 to 4 tablespoons
homemade Taco Sauce
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic
powder
½ teaspoon onion
powder
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon chili
powder (optional)
Hot Frito Bean Dip
(Regular Recipe)
½ lb dried pinto
beans
4 pickled jalapeno
slices
1 – 2 tablespoons
Taco Sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic
powder
¼ teaspoon onion
powder
¼ teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon chili
powder (optional)
Hot Frito Bean Dip
(Family Size)
1lb dried pinto
beans
1 whole pickled
jalapeno or 6 to 8 jalapeno pepper slices
2 tablespoons
homemade Taco Sauce
1 tablespoon pickled
jalapeno juice
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon garlic
powder
½ teaspoon onion
powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon chili
powder (optional)
The Ingredients
Better ingredients,
better dip, not much more that you can say. By making your own dip
you avoid using extra oils and maltodextrin. Other than that, believe
it or not the Frito style bean dip is not to terribly high in fat and
has almost no preservatives. When it comes to taste and freshness
however you cannot beat homemade.
Frito Original Bean
Dip Ingredients: Water, Pinto Beans, Corn Oil, Vinegar, Salt, Corn
Maltodextrin, Dehydrated Onion, Sugar, Jalapeno Peppers, Spice, Chili
Pepper, Dehydrated Garlic, Natural Green Bell Pepper Flavor, Natural
Garlic Flavor, and Natural Onion Flavor.
Homemade Frito Style
Bean Dip Ingredients: Water, Pinto Beans, Salt, Taco Sauce, Onion
Powder, Sugar, Jalapeno Peppers, Paprika, Chili Pepper, and Garlic
Powder.
Homemade Hot Frito
Style Bean Dip Ingredients: Water, Pinto Beans, Salt, Taco Sauce,
Onion Powder, Sugar, Jalapeno Peppers, Paprika, Chili Pepper,
Vinegar, and Garlic Powder.
Cost Breakdown
This one is easy,
store bought Frito's brand bean dip is $2.68 for 9 ounces or $0.30
per ounce. Dried pinto beans purchased at my local Dollar Tree cost
me $1.00 for 2lbs or $0.50 per pound. So for $0.50 plus the cost of
spices (about $0.15) for a total of $0.65 I can make 4 cups of
original Frito's style homemade bean dip. That's $0.02 per ounce,
that's right 2 cents per ounce as opposed to 30 cents per ounce. That
is a savings of $0.28 per ounce making it 94% cheaper to make your own bean
dip at home!
Frito's Brand
Original and Jalapeno Bean Dip $2.68 for 9 ounces.
Home made Original
Frito style bean dips $0.65 for 4 to 5 cups (32 to 40 ounces) of bean
dip.
Now, making the hot
version which includes the pickled jalapenos does increase the cost
about 3 to 5 cents depending on the brand of pickled jalapenos you
buy. I canned and pickle my own, so no extra cost for me. Of course,
you could omit the jalapenos and use cayenne pepper for the heat or
even Tabasco, Louisania Style Hot Sauce or Sirachi for the heat.
Conclusion
Making your own
Frito style bean dip at home is not only good for your health, but it
is good for your bank account as well. My famiy loves this bean dip,
and sorry Frito's we buy the $1.00 bag of corn chips as well. Use
this heathly dip as an alternative or as a complement to hummus
(which is another great bean dip). Remember making your own bean dip
saves you over 95% off the cost of the popular Fritos brand. I do not
know about you, but if you have that much extra money lying around
please feel free to send me some. As always, if you have enjoyed this
article and found it informative, please share it with your friends.
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