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Glite Dictionary
frijoles refritos

frijoles refritos

5.2
A Mexican dish of cooked, mashed beans fried with fat and spices
  • noun
  • /friˈhoʊlɛs rɛˈfritos/
  • US
translation icon : frijoles refritos
  • He spread a layer of frijoles refritos on the tortilla before adding cheese.

Examples

  • I always order frijoles refritos as a side when I eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant.

  • The recipe calls for pinto beans to make authentic frijoles refritos.

  • I love frijoles refritos with my breakfast.

  • Do you want some frijoles refritos?

  • I always order frijoles refritos as a side when I eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant.

  • He spread a layer of frijoles refritos on the tortilla before adding cheese.

  • The recipe calls for pinto beans to make authentic frijoles refritos.

Synonyms

refried beans
vsfrijoles refritos
4 1.2

Dried beans that are cooked, mashed, and fried and often served with Mexican food

is fried traditionally with lard rather than with oil
refry
vsfrijoles refritos
  • US
2.5

A side dish of mashed cooked beans cooked again in oil, common in Mexican food

is the general dish itself rather than a single serving or side

Surface Forms

frijoles refritos singular
frijoles refritos plural

Morphology

frijoles + refritos

The meaning 'beans that have been fried again' is directly derivable from 'frijoles' (beans) plus 'refritos' (re‑fried), where the prefix re‑ indicates repeated frying; the culinary procedure (cook/mash then fry) is consistent with that composition. This is a simple noun + adjectival cooking description and parallels constructions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would reliably infer the dish.

Etymology

Frijoles refritos comes from the cooking itself: frijoles are beans and refritos shows they are fried again. One popular story says cooks boil the beans, mash them, and fry them in fat until smooth, so the name now means 'mashed and fried beans'.