Slow Cooker Refried Beans Recipe
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Slow Cooker Refried Beans are a flavor-filled Mexican Side Dish that you never knew was SO easy to make. A perfect homemade addition to any plate, you won’t believe how easy it is to whip out the crock pot, kick the can aside, and make your own refried beans.
Even better than a restaurant, you will be able to taste the LOVE in this recipe.
Homemade Refried Beans
Did you know you can make your own homemade refried beans with nothing more than a few ingredients and a slow cooker? Yes!
Perfect to feed a crowd and can free, these refried beans are not only a side dish but a delicious appetizer dip (just add chips or baked taquitos!) as well.
A true dump and go recipe, these beans are not at all spicy hot and provide a great basis to additional additives like jalapenos and tons of garlic.
It’s totally OK to get creative with your flavors!
Video of Recipe
I also included a video, made at a later day, on how easy it is to make the beans. They were SO hot when the recipe was done, I had to wait till the next day to film the results because it kept steaming up my camera. That means the beans in the video had less moisture than when I made them to eat as they sat overnight. You can easily adjust your water and how much moisture your beans have by the tips below.
Slow Cooker Refried Beans
Note about making Refried Beans:
This recipe makes a lot of beans and I’m adding a note about water.
I used 6 cups of water for 6 hours of cook time. If you happen to cook them longer, add one additional cup. If you are worried about these being runny, you can drain, reserving the liquid, then mash and add the liquid back in until you reach the consistency you like. I did not do this as my 6 cups of water was perfect for these.
- 1 bag, 16 oz, dry pinto beans
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
Need a slow cooker?
I own this slow cooker
and this slow cooker
.
Crock Pot Refried Beans
Place all Refried Beans ingredients into a slow cooker (crockpot
) and mix well.
Cover your ingredients and heat on high for 6-8 hours.
When cooking is complete and beans are soft, mash beans with a potato masher and mix well. I would not use a power mixer, it does much better as a masher.
Serve your homemade refried beans topped with your favorite toppings.
(Pictured with shredded cheddar cheese and fresh cilantro)
This refried beans side dish goes great with any of the following Mexican recipes:
- Burrito Pie
- Mexican Chicken Chili
- Salsa Chicken
- Mexican Cornbread Casserole
- Enchilada Dip
- Queso Blanco Dip
- Taco Dip
- *NEW RECIPE* Wonton Jalapeno Poppers
Slow Cooker Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 1 bag 16 oz, dry pinto beans
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion diced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and mix well. Cover and heat on high for 6-8 hours. When cooking is complete, mash beans with a potato masher and mix well.
- Serve topped with your favorite toppings.
- (Pictured with shredded cheddar cheese and fresh cilantro)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: The nutritional data provided here is auto-calculated and intended for your convenience only. As it’s generated via automation, its accuracy may be compromised. For precise nutritional insight, please compute the values utilizing the actual ingredients in your recipe through your chosen nutrition calculator or application.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Do you soak the beans first? If so for how long?
I do not soak the beans. 🙂
What size crockpot did you make this in and how many servings did you get out of this recipe?
Holly, I really wanna kick my own butt but when I made this, I forgot to measure before we ate…ugg. I am going to put this on my list to make this month so I can update my recipe with that information.
I agree these are the best beans ever!! Made these this past Saturday as part of a Mexican dinner. Everyone- even the non-bean eaters in the crowd loved them. The recipe as written was perfect. I was worried when I mashed the beans that they were going to be too runny but they set up nicely after just a few minutes and were perfect. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Michelle! I am so happy you enjoyed these slow cooker refried beans! It really is just so simple to make them fresh. Thank you for coming back to share your thoughts. 🙂
~Trisha
I attempted to make these yesterday. I put all the ingredients in the crockpot, turned it on and went about my day. I came back about 6 hours later only to find out that I didn’t plug it in. So the beans soaked for 6 hours. It was late so I left everything as it was. This morning I plugged it in and turned it on. I think they only cooked for 4 hours. I had to drain a lot of water. The beans are a little on the bland side for me. I eat lots of spicy foods and have a palate for hot. I think next time I’ll put a spicier pepper in it. Otherwise, it turned out great. In my mistake, I learned you can soak the beans and that will reduce the cooking time. Basically, I’m saying, you can screw up and these will turn out just fine. Lol. I’m so happy for this refried bean recipe.
Oh no!! I have def been there on not turning the crock pot on – at least it wasn’t chicken! You are right, this is a basic recipe, so adding more spice is def a great option. I personally always find refried beans a bit bland (even out of a can) unless I spice them up a bit. Thanks for leaving me a note and letting me know how they turned out for you.
Can you freeze them
Yes, you can freeze refried beans. Personally I would put them in a sealed gallon sized zip lock baggie and then when you want to defrost, put the whole baggie into a bowl of cold water to unfreeze and then reheat. You may have to add a little water on reheat to add some moisture, but the taste should be fine.
I freeze these all the time. I use silicon muffin inserts, so they freeze as individual portions. Put them in the inserts, freeze, and then pop out and put them all in a resealable plastic bag. Take out and thaw only what you need.
Can you half water/vegetable stock or chicken stock??
No, that would likely burn the beans – you need the water.
RD, I always add chicken stock to my refried beans. You could probably dump the water before you mashed them and add the chicken stock.
I use chicken (or beef) stock to replace the water. It doesn’t burn and adds flavor
I was wondering do you have to add the jalapeño?. My husband doesn’t like a hint of spice at all will that affect the taste
You can skip the Jalapeno!
I add Chirezo to mine. I cook it in a pan and chop it up like you would ground beef. It adds wonderful flavors to the beans.
Looks good, but NOT refried! I will try them anyway. Thanks for the recipie.
Technically you are correct. Refried comes from the idea that beans are softened and then “refried” in a skillet, however, most cooks widely accept refried beans as making twice in any capacity, including slow cooker, pressure cooker, stewed or skillet versus just literally “frying” them in fat. You can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refried_beans or on a lot of cooking websites that dive into the complex history of double baking beans. In either case, they taste great, are inexpensive to make, and are way better than a lump out of a can. For most Americanized home cooks, its the best way to take a fresh bean to “refried bean” recipes without actually frying. I hope you give them a shot!
Trisha
These are not what I would say refried beans.
But nevertheless sound good . Try some leftover bacon grease to fry your beans in that’s now my mom an grandmother would make there refined beans … Delicious
I am having 10 people for dinner in a few days. Is one bag of beans enough or do I need to double all ingredients ?
I suppose it depends on if this is just a side dish or part of a main dish?
What would be the purpose of a second “fry” in bacon grease? I love them just the way they are. Does it change the flavor? Texture? I’ve ate a lot of retried beans since gastric bypass surgery and I’ve never retried in grease.
I am not sure where you are referring as I don’t fry in grease?
I like to add a ham ebone or three tablespoons of bacon greese. Adds to the flavor
One critical ingredient you neglected is fat.
Growing up my mom always added salt pork to her pot of pinto beans. A chain restaurant I worked at added lard. You can also use bacon ends or even thick bacon in a pinch. It makes a world of difference to the final flavor.
Refrigerating overnight and reheating in a skillet with your choice of fat is the traditional method. This recipe makes a great pot of southern style pinto beans OR refried beans.
Can they be frozen
Yes! Freezing Refried Beans:
Cool: Let the beans cool to room temperature.
Portion: Divide into usable portions.
Store: Place in airtight containers or freezer bags, leaving some space at the top.
Label: Mark with the date. They last up to 6 months frozen.
Thawing and Reheating:
Thaw: Overnight in the fridge or use the microwave’s defrost setting.
Reheat: Warm in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Add water or broth if needed to adjust consistency.
Made these today and they were Great! Mine only took 4 hours so I would suggest that they be check around then as Slow Cookers can vary in cooking times.
Thank you for feedback. You are right that brands, heat level, and size can all make a difference in slow cookers or any kitchen item (especially ovens!).