I was never a fan of re-fried beans.
They looked scary and weird.
And in the can they look incredibly unappealing.
But I have been converted after making them in the slow cooker.
Super easy, cheap and a great substitute for meat which is great for you and your wallet.
I read several recipes but was not pleased with the outcome until I I came up with my own combination of ingredients.
Slow Cooker Re-fried Beans
- 2 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 large onion, cut into large chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 1/2 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 slices of bacon, diced (optional)
- 1 jalenpeno, seeded and diced or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- water
In a slow cooker, add dry beans and enough water to completely cover them plus at least an inch. Without turning on the slow cooker, let soak for 2 hours.
Once the beans have soaked for 2 hours, add the remaining ingredients and turn the slow cooker on to high and cook for 4 hours, covered (if the beans have absorbed lots of the liquid you may need to add more along the way).
After cooking for 4 hours, remove the bay leaf. In batches, run the cooked beans, onions, etc through the blinder until they reach the desired consistency, adding some of the cooking liquid as needed.
Enjoy!
Tip: I used about 1/4 of the beans immediately for dinner, kinda like this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Tip: I froze the rest of the beans in small meal-sized batches. Keeps in the freezer up to three months.
Tip: If you are trying out re-fried beans on your family for the first time, “hide” them in a burrito or quesadilla. I promise they will love them.
This “recipe” from Money Saving Mom for freezer bean and cheese burritos is a perfect use for these CHEAP beans (click on the photo for the instructions).
Mr. B. found a recipe similar to yours, but he uses canned pintos. He also actually fries them until they’re a pasty texture. I love them, but only when there’s bacon in them.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I haven’t tried beans in the crockpot but I will definitely be giving this a try!
I make these all the time too! They are for dinner tonight actually :) You don’t even have to soak the beans! Turn them on and go. My friends in Haiti were SO excited to get the recipe for the beans because it saved them a ton of time. You don’t buy canned refried beans there :)
That’s interesting that you don’t soak them. Mine did not turn out well unless I soaked them first.
So excited to try this recipe! I love homemade refried beans and this recipe looks amazing, thanks!
Okay, I made these beans last night. I really like refried beans, but NOT the canned ones. These are so good. SO GOOD I tell you. Thanks again for sharing!! These will be a staple at my house during the coming cool months.
Yay, I am so happy that you loved them. My step sons love them too.
Am I missing something? The directions never mention when you add the other ingredients…..
Sorry, apparently I deleted a phrase when I was editing it recently, add the all the remaining ingredients after the beans soak.