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Today I wanted to share this recipe on How to make refried beans in the crockpot. You will save so much money plus Crock Pot Refried Beans taste amazing.
With very little effort, you will have refried beans that are so healthy and delicious.
Crock Pot Refried Beans
Instead of paying around $1 per can, you can easily make your own refried pinto beans and place them in the freezer to save your family a ton of money. Then you only have to heat them up to eat.
Plus, you can make them in your crockpot with very little effort and have them ready and waiting.
Also check out our list of Mexican Side Dishes for more easy recipes.
How to make refried beans
This recipe starts with dry pinto beans seasoned and slow cooked to perfection. Once cooked, you mash them until the desired consistency. It is that simple.
We freeze them for later use. It is so quick once you can grab them out of the freezer.
No more canned refried beans. This recipe for Crock Pot Pinto Beans is so tasty and I absolutely love it.
Traditionally, they are always filled with lard and grease that they never have seemed appetizing to me.
And even the supposed best canned refried beans are less than appealing to me. However, this easy recipe is delicious and much healthier for you.
Are refried beans bad for you?
Well the ones laden with grease and fried in lard definitely are not good for you. However, this recipe is not only cheaper but they are also MUCH healthier for you.
These are packed with protein and healthy. Plus, instead of paying around $1 per can, we can now easily make our own and place them in the freezer for WAY less.
Not only are they cheaper to make, but they are also MUCH healthier. You will love this refried beans healthy version.
Ingredients for Crockpot refried beans:
- pinto beans
- onion. We peel and chop the onion. However, you can just cut in half, if you want the flavor, but want to take the onion out later.
- Water. You basically just want double the amount of cups of water in the crock pot than there are beans.
- salt
- Garlic salt
- Cumin
- Black pepper
- Jalapeno pepper. This is seeded but you can leave it in for those that like it hot.
How to make refried beans from scratch
- First, rinse the beans really good.
- Next, put the pinto beans in the crockpot.
- Then add all of the other ingredients. My first time to make the beans, I put the onion in whole (I just cut it in half). The second time, I threw in chopped onions and the onions stays in with the beans. I prefer this way, but if you are not an onion fan, you might just want to toss them in whole so you can strain it easier.
- Finally, cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 8 to 10 hours. Make sure to stir the beans every now and then once you bring to a boil.
- When the beans have finished cooking, use a slotted spoon to scoop out some of the bean mixture into another bowl. Start to mash the beans with a potato masher. You could use an immersion blender but it is easy to do it by hand because they are so soft and tender.
- As you mash the beans, you can add liquids from the crockpot as needed until you get them to the consistency you prefer. This is all personal preference and you can decide how “mushy” you want them.
- After the beans are ready, put them into containers to freeze.
How to freeze:
- 1 pound of dried beans will make about 4 “cans” of beans. Place the beans in airtight freezer containers until you are ready to serve.
- The beans will keep up to 5 to 6 months in the freezer.
How to reheat:
When you are ready to eat, just thaw in your fridge and cook on low in a sauce pan, until heated through.
Alternatively, you can make these over medium heat in a large skillet or large pot. However, we prefer refried beans in the slow cooker with this tasty refried beans recipe.
Tips for easy slow cooker refried beans:
- I highly suggest that you cook 2 pounds of pinto beans at a time. This will yield 8 cans in one sitting. Since you are doing the work, you might as well make as much as you can. It really isn’t anymore work and you get double the amount.
- Also, if you use chopped onions in this recipe, save time by learning how to freeze onions . It’s so handy for this recipe and many other recipes being able to just grab already chopped onions from the freezer. I use a small food chopper or processor to quickly and easily chop onions and freeze them in bulk. It is such a time saver.
- If you want the traditional flavor of refried beans, add a stick of butter or olive oil to the mixture and blend together. this will give you the flavor of frying without the mess.
- You do not need to soak the beans overnight. They are cooked long enough where they will be tender.
- If the beans are to thick, add more liquid. You can also save some of this to use when reheating. Water can also be used but it is not as flavorful.
- Now if you want to save yourself even more time (don’t we all? ) then I really recommend these Crockpot liners. They make clean up a breeze when slow cooking.
- Instant Pot . You can make refried beans in the pressure cooker if prefer.
Uses for Refried Beans:
Once they are frozen all you have to do is heat them up to enjoy with your favorite Mexican dish. You can freeze them in ½ cup servings as well if you want some individual sizes.
- You can add refried beans to Mexican casseroles like this Crock Pot Mexican Taco Casserole Recipe.
- Serve the delicious beans as a side dish with Easy Crock Pot Street Tacos Recipe, Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe or The Best Crockpot Chicken Tacos Recipe .
- You can make bean burritos. We love Beef Burritos with rice and beans.
- Taco Dip.– This is such an easy appetizer or snack. The refried beans are delicious in this.
I like to top the refried beans with shredded cheese and sour cream. It is delicious.
What kind of beans are refried beans made of?
Traditionally refried beans are made from pinto beans. However, you can make refried kidney beans or black beans if you prefer.
Homemade refried beans make the best side dish. These cooked beans are tender and delicious.
Is it cheaper to make Crock Pot Refried Beans?
Normally, 1 can of refried beans run about $1 on sale. You can get one pound of beans for $.99 which yields about 4 cans of beans.
That means they only cost $.25 per can. Now you can normally get a better price on the dried beans if you buy the 2 pound bag, so double check that.
Obviously this is worth the effort. Plus, they are healthier and taste better too.
The results:
These are quite delicious. I did add more garlic salt when I was mashing them up, but they are delicious.
I have never been a fan of refried beans, because of all the oil and fat in them. These have none of that, so I feel very good about feeding this to my family.
These slow cooker Refried Beans are so yummy. Give this slow cooker recipe a try.
Try these other delicious Crock Pot Recipes, too.
Print this easy refried beans recipe below:
Crock Pot Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pound pinto beans (dry beans)
- 1 onion peeled and chopped (you can just cut in half, if you want the flavor, but want to take the onion out later)
- 12 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 jalapeño pepper (deseeded)
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the beans. Place in crockpot and add all other ingredients.
- My first time to make the beans, I put the onion in whole (I just cut it in half). The second time, I threw in chopped onions and the onions stays in with the beans. I prefer this way, but if you are not an onion fan, you might just want to toss them in whole so you can strain it easier.
- Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours. They will start to get really soft.
- Once they are cooked, use a slotted spoon to scoop out some of the mixture into another bowl. Begin mashing with a potato masher (you could use a food processor here but it is easy to do it by hand).
- Add liquids from the crockpot as needed to get the consistency you prefer.
- You get to decide how “mushy” you want them. Continue to do this until all beans have been mashed.
- Then place the beans into containers for the freezer until ready to eat. 1 pound of dried beans will make about 4 “cans” of beans.
- When you are ready to eat, just thaw in your fridge and cook on low in a sauce pan, until heated through.
Nutrition Facts
More crock pot Mexican recipes:
- Crock Pot Street Tacos
- Easy Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
- Crock Pot Mexican Taco Casserole Recipe
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada casserole
- Crockpot Beef Tacos
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
Oh my this was good. I am not a fan of refried pinto beans but my husband loves them so I had to make them for him. And I enjoyed them. I did not mash them. My husband liked them that way better. Thanks again Carrie. You will not be disappointed. I halved the recipe. For us two that worked better for us.
Sorry for the confusion – I made this recipe and I used 6 cups of water per pound of beans so it would be 12 cups to make 2 pounds and this was about to fit into my 6 quart crock pot. I updated the recipe so that it is more clear.
I don’t understand the recipe. If you do 2 pounds of beans, that’s 18 cups of water. That’s a really big crockpot.
ohhhh, good idea for and easy way how to make these homemade!
This is such a handy recipe. Especially with all the winter cooking i have coming up. Thanks for sharing.
I can’t wait to give this a try!
Refried beans are such a staple for me! Love this recipe!
The jalapeno adds such wonderful flavor here. So easy in the crockpot too!
What a terrific technique!
That is a great idea! I’m going to have to try that.
These are delicious. I freeze in quart size freezer bags and lay them flat in the freezer. We like to make bean dip out of them by adding sour cream and a little cheese to them while they are heating up. It’s great with tortilla chips or fritos. I also use them to make burritos.