Homemade Fritos® Bean Dip

One of my favorite party foods to make is 7-layer dip, and I like to use a recipe that calls for Fritos Bean Dip.  When I lived in suburbs, I never had issues with finding this product at the big grocery stores and made one stop at the store.  Unfortunately, it can be harder to find some big brand products like the Fritos Bean Dip because NYC grocery stores just don't carry everything.  I've probably only made 7-layer dip once since I moved back to the city, and I really wanted to make it for an upcoming party.  Surely there would be at least one store that would carry it, so I was determined to find Fritos Bean Dip, or even another brand, in a national retail store.  I checked Target (who has it online but showed out of stock in all NYC stores), Walgreens, Kmart.  I even checked Food Emporium and Pathmark, which is huge like a suburban grocery store.  When Pathmark didn't have it, I knew I wasn't going to find it in the city.

I already had the rest of the 7-layer dip ingredients, so I set out on Google to find a recipe for homemade Fritos Bean Dip.  The top search results basically had the same recipe with slight differences in measurements.  I used this copycat Frito Lay Bean Dip on Food.com as a guide.

I already had everything in my pantry except refried beans, jalapeños, and onion powder.  Since I'm using the beans in the 7-layer dip, I made some adjustments when making the bean dip and wasn't concerned about any sacrifice to flavor.  If I were having the bean dip alone (but I probably won't), I'd try to follow the recipe exactly.

My adjustments:
- Used no onion powder.  Since I didn't have this at home, I chose not to buy any because I haven't used onion powder on a regular basis.  And, I bought Ortega Refried Beans (Traditional version) which has onion powder, garlic powder, vinegar and other spices.  (Old El Paso was the other brand available at the store and doesn't include some of the spices that Ortega does.)
- 4 oz. can of diced jalapeños in water.  The store only had one large jar of jalapeños in vinegar brine that cost over $3.  I also don't cook with jalapeños often and the jar would go to waste.  So I found a small can of diced jalapeños in water (no sliced options available).  I eyeballed an amount of diced jalapeño that would equal 4-5 slices.  I barely used any of the can and have a lot left over.
- Substituted 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar for the jarred jalapeño brine.  Since I used canned jalapeños in water, I could have added more vinegar to boost flavor.  But I started with small amounts so I can add more vinegar to my taste.  Plus, the Ortega refried beans has vinegar.
- Used 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar.  I just prefer to start small and add more to taste so it doesn't become too sweet to me.

This is how it turned out.  Consistency was smooth and spreadable.  Flavor was good with mild heat.  I've only had Fritos Bean Dip when making a 7-layer dip, so I leave it to aficionados to rate how close the copycat recipe comes to the original.

Pinto beans (used in refried beans) are not the most appetizing color so I apologize if it looks unappealing.  (Please don't hate these photos like Martha Stewart's!)

I made the bean dip a day ahead so the flavors can meld before I make the 7-layer dip.  I pressed plastic wrap on the surface of the dip just to prevent any drying or a skin from forming.

My Rating (out of 5): 3