Refried Beans and Rice Skillet |Cooking With Amanda

You guys know I'm a sucker for a rice skillet dinner recipe. I love mixing up good stuff all in one pan and ending up with dinner a half hour later. That's my favorite! That's why I'm bringing you an all-new beans and rice skillet today, but this one has REFRIED beans.

Did I plan ahead for this dinner recipe? Um, no. I was in one of those "maybe I'll just order pizza" moods because I was tired and wasn't sure what I could make without going to the grocery store. I decided to make some sort of a rice skillet instead of getting delivery. I was sure I had rice, beans, corn, and tomatoes on hand, which sounded like the start of a Mexican skillet dinner to me.

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow, some way, we ran out of canned black beans. Those are a staple at our house, but maybe I made one more batch of salmon and nachos with black beans than I remembered. For whatever reason, the only kind of canned beans I could find in the pantry was refried beans. I was a little afraid that if I tried stirring them into a rice skillet that I would end up with a thick, wet-concrete consistency, but I decided to go for it anyway.

What do you do when you get rice and beans on your dinner plate, like the very first thing? Mix them together, right? Why on earth did I think stirring refried beans into seasoned rice and veggies could be anything but awesome?

We loved this meal!! I think you'll love it too. Top the entire skillet or individual portions with shredded cheese and chopped cilantro if you like, or just enjoy it as is. You'll be happy either way. For more easy dinners, head on over to wearychef.com to find new recipes every week. See you around!

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Refried Beans and Rice Skillet Recipe

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Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 sausage links, diced
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
15 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained
15 ounces canned corn, drained
2 cups water
15 ounces refried beans
1/2 salsa, green or red
kosher salt, to taste
hot sauce, to taste
shredded mexican cheese, optional
chopped cilantro, optional

Directions

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and rice. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes until rice is opaque and sausage has started to brown.
Stir in garlic and cumin, and cook a minute longer until fragrant.
Stir in tomatoes, corn, and water. Bring to a low boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in refried beans and salsa. Replace lid, and simmer for 5 minutes longer or until rice is tender.
Season to taste with salt and hot sauce. Serve topped with shredded cheese and cilantro if desired.