My Tex-Mex has a refried beans - sized hole page

[sarasue624]

Hello hungry grokkers,

I'm looking for a sub for refried beans. I adore Midwestern-style, non-spicy, highly cheesed Tex-Mex and have done pretty good in dialing down the cheese required for dishes like taco salad or enchiladas.

But the beans! I really miss the beans. Without beans the salad doesn't hold together in a creamy mass and the enchiladas get all liquidy.

Any ideas for replacing the beans?

Note: I have only ever seen 1 idea - soaked sunflower seeds mashed with tahini. I've not tried this yet. It seems fairly involved and like it would make a lot: I'm a single student gal.

[quelsen]

why are you dialing down the cheese?

i dont have an answer for you except gelatin.

how are you making enchilada without any grain at all?

[naiadknight]

Enchiladas with beans? WTF? News to this Texan.
Anyways, for torta meat and such, my Hispanic mother-in-law puts potato chunks in with the meat while it cooks and then mashes it all together. Maybe try that with sweet potatoes or cauliflower as your "glue"?

[naiadknight]

quelsen- Egg crepes as "tortillas." It kinda works.

[justyouraveragecavemen]

Rub some bacon on it.

[Leida]

Eggplants. Seriously, roasted eggplants taste very similar to beans, and will take on the flavors and soak up fats just the same. Roast them slowly, peel, mush, cook with whatever fat and tex-mex spice... done.

[sarasue624]

Drained mashed eggplant sounds like a fantastic (and easier) addition. Thanks! Yes, quelsen and naiadknight, I've done the eggy "tortillas" before, but I usually make more of an enchilada pie sans tortilla. It's a mess and is soupy but it tastes good! Justyouraveragecavemen, I admit to having mixed bacon into my taco meat Quelsen, have you ever had Midwestern, thoroughly Americanized Tex-Mex before? I expect my "dialed down" cheese is probably your "normal" cheese. I'm not lactose sensitive (European ancestry - and I've experimented n=1) but I am trying to keep my carbs lowish since I'm attempting to lose weight and am female. (I'm not doing a good job, but that's another post.) Any other ideas people have?

[bloodorchid]

or make the beans