Jalapeno Bean Dip
Jun 27, 2026
Strange things can come out of reminiscing. This recipe, for instance. Although it had been around for much longer, my introduction to jalapeno bean dip happened when I was about 19 years old, and at the time the Frito-Lay company was my only available source of the product.
This was a problem, because , while not hugely expensive, the dip wasn't cheap enough for me to enjoy with any regularity. I got out of the habit of buying it, and then a lot of the stores I patronize stopped carrying it; then, when it started re-appearing on the shelves, I was shocked at the cost! Not that I couldn't afford it, but I just felt that the product was over-priced. As a result, I sometimes went years between having any bean dip.
Then (decades later) came the Internet... and people posting their own recipes... and one class of recipes that greatly abounded was "copycat Frito bean dip". A Google search for "how to make jalapeno bean dip" returned over 12 million hits, most of which are copies of copies, and which are mostly unattributed. Many of the posters put their own "foodie" spin on what should be a very simple product, sometimes making wholesale ingredient substitutions; or adding things that created flavors that I don't appreciate; or even changing the appearance of the final product.
This recipe, like many of mine, is a distillation of knowledge gained by reviewing numerous such recipes, and straining out the things the I felt didn't contribute well to the product; sometimes substituting or eliminating a component, sometimes just adjusting the amount used. In the end, I managed to assemble a working recipe.
There apparently is a record documenting that one Dr. William Magee Chambers of Sequin, TX, invented the original recipe, not this one! I was unable to find a record of the date of invention, but in 1955 the Frito Company acquired rights to sell and started advertising the product.
Suggested Equipment:
- Your favorite type of blender or food processor - minimum capacity 3 cup
- Seal-able storage container, minimum capacity 1 pt
- Common kitchen measures and tools
Ingredients:
| 1 | ea | Refried beans, nominal 15 oz can | |
| 6 | ea | Pickled Jalapeno nacho slices | |
| 2 | Tbs | Pickling brine from nacho slices | |
| 1 | tsp | Sugar1 granulated | |
| ½ | tsp | Common salt | |
| ¼ | tsp | Onion, dry powder | |
| ¼ | tsp | Paprika, dry ground, smoked | |
| 1 | dash | Garlic, dry powder | |
| 1 | dash | Cayenne, dry ground |
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients except the beans and liquify in your favorite mixing device.
- Add the contents of the can of beans to the mixing device, and puree until smooth.
- Decant the resulting paste into the seal-able 1-pint container, seal and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before use.
- Serve with your favorite salty, corn-based snack chip, or use as a substitute ingredient for the commercial product, in another recipe.
Makes at least 1 pint of dip. You may find that the amount of dip made exceeds the capacity of your container, when sealed. Simply remove the excess, and continue with sealing. Use the excess first.
The result was pretty tasty, when used with Aldi's Clancy's® Corn Chip Dippers, but pretty spicy.
This recipe resulted in a very satisfactory product to from my viewpoint; but it may prove too spicy-hot for some others. For now, it should be considered a work in progress; so while you should feel free to bookmark this page, you probably shouldn't print it until I've completed all modifications and further testing. This could take years.
Catagories: Vegetables, Beans, Dips, Snacks, Party Food