Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Slow Cooker Refried Beans is an easy authentic refried bean recipe you can make right at home — never buy the canned stuff again with this delicious and easy recipe. 

I do have a bit of a confession, I don’t love refried beans, *gasp*! But after having made my own refried beans, I’m a goner. I’ll never buy the canned stuff ever again. We love serving these crockpot refried beans as a great side dish for Mexican food or with some Healthy Guacamole and Pico de Gallo in my delicious Layered Taco Dip! 

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy slow cooker refried beans. This homemade refried bean recipe is such an easy recipe! Gather the ingredients, throw them in your crock pot, and let the slow cooker do the work for you.
• No need to pre-soak pinto beans. The beauty of this recipe is you do NOT have to pre-soak the pinto beans! 
• Affordable to make at home. Dried beans, particularly these pinto beans, are high in protein and fiberand are very affordable; I think I paid $1.33 for a 24 oz bag of dried pinto beans. So it’s easy to make your own homemade refried beans! 
• Delicious refried beans. It would be crazy not to mention the flavor of this refried beans recipe! These slow cooker refried beans have phenomenal flavor! It’s the perfect balance of spices without being too overpowering. 

Ingredient Notes

• Dry Pinto Beans:Thoroughly rinse the pinto beans before placing them in the slow cooker. We want them to be nice and clean. 
• Water: You’ll need to fill your slow cooker up 3/4 of the way full. We need lots of water to help cook the beans! Add more water to the crock pot as needed while it is cooking. 
• Chicken Bouillon Cubes: I use a mortar and pestle to crush the cubes. 
• Spices: I find using a combination of garlic salt, onion powder, and ground cumin give us the perfect amount of flavor without becoming overpowering. 
• Sweet Onion: You’ll need 1/2 an onion. Remove the skin, but keep the onion half whole. 
• Butter: The butter helps to add a buttery flavor and a nice texture. 
• Reserved Bean Juice: Keep the bean juice in the slow cooker. We need it to add to the beans as we are mashing them to create that refried bean texture. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add beans and water to the crock pot. Rinse 3 cups dried pinto beans and place them in a large slow cooker. Fill 3/4 full with water (about 8-10 cups of water).
2. Add spices and cook. Place 1/2 a sweet onion (with the outer skin removed) into the crock pot. Add 5 crushed bullion cubes and 1 tablespoon garlic salt. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours or low for 9-10 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water during the cooking process if needed.
3. Transfer soft beans to large bowl. Once the beans are soft, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked beans to a large bowl. Discard the onion, but keep the bean juice in the crock pot. 

4. Add remaining seasonings. To the bowl with the soft pinto beans, add 1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, and 1/2 cup of the bean juice. 
5. Mash or blend. Using a potato masher or immersion blender, mash the beans until they are your desired consistency. Add more bean juice as needed (I used 1 1/2 cups bean juice). 
6. Serve! Once you’ve mashed the beans and added the amount of reserved liquid to get your desired consistency, the refried beans are ready to be served! Serve as a chip dip or as a side to your favorite Mexican dinner! 

Recipe Tips

Use a large crock pot for this easy refried beans recipe. I used my 6 quart slow cooker and it was perfect. If you want to use a smaller slow cooker, half the recipe.

Crushing bouillon cubes can be challenging, I know! Use a mortar and pestle to grind the cubes down to smaller pieces or a powder. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle place the bouillon cubes on a cutting board and carefully cut them into smaller pieces.

Stir the beans once or twice throughout cooking. If you notice the water level is getting fairly low, add more water to the slow cooker.

A major bonus to making refried beans from scratch is that you control the texture and consistency of the beans.

Add more bean juice to get the right consistency. If you prefer thick refried beans don’t add too much liquid; if you prefer a smooth and thinner refried beans recipe add more liquid.

Keep in mind refried beans will set and thicken as they sit so take that into account as you’re adding the reserved bean juice.

How to Use Refried Beans

• As my pictures illustrate, you can use this slow cooker refried beans recipe as a bean dip with tortilla chips. YUM!
• Refried beans are also perfect as a side dish to any Mexican style meal or in a layer dip.
• I love making homemade bean burritos; add 1/4 cup of these homemade refried beans down the center of a tortilla and sprinkle a generous amount of cheese over the beans. Wrap up the burrito and place it on a hot skillet to crisp up the sides.
• Or grab a spoon and eat them plain because quite frankly this is the best refried beans recipe I’ve ever had.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

These slow cooker refried beans will need to be made ahead of time since they take time to cook in the slow cooker. 

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Homemade refried beans will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

If you want to freeze homemade refried beans for later use, portion out the refried beans into smaller servings, storing in freezer bags, then freeze. This way you can pull out a small bag of frozen refried beans and thaw it for your meal, rather than having to thaw the full batch of beans.

Recipe FAQs

More Mexican Dishes

• Doritos Taco Salad
• Walking Taco Casserole Recipe
• Taco Turkey Burgers
• Taco Soup with Fritos
• Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave