Skip the canned beans and learn how to make this authentic & easy crockpot refried beans recipe! Use dry or canned beans, or make refried black beans! Great for burritos made with cilantro lime rice and homemade tortillas.
I have learned that making crock pot refried beans ALWAYS tastes better.
While refried beans from a can are good in a pinch, nothing beats home-cooked flavors bursting in your mouth. It’s worth it to skip the store bought for this healthier version of Mexican refried bean recipe from scratch!
It’s so easy to make, you simply dump your beans and go about your day while it cooks in the slow cooker ALL DAY LONG. This means the flavors really get soaked up into every little ounce!
Besides the fact that crock pot refried beans are absolutely delicious and it’s the best refried bean recipe, here’s why you should make them:
- Taste authentic.
- Healthy.
- Homemade.
- Freezer-friendly.
- Hands off.
- Budget friendly.
- Pair with other meals.
Here’s What You Need
- Pinto beans
- Onion + Jalapeno
- Garlic + Salt + Pepper + Cumin
- Water (up to half of the water can be substituted with chicken stock)
Note: Some people like to add chili powder to their refried beans, especially when making bean tacos, but I didn’t for this recipe. But you certainly can customize this recipe as you go, especially if you freeze portions for future meals.
Psst! Want to kick this up a notch? Try finishing this recipe with a pinch of finishing salt! I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!! Just add a pinch before serving! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page.)
Notes on Ingredients
Most recipes for ‘refried beans’ are made from pinto beans for that authentic Mexican flavor. But you can make refried beans with black beans also!
Step by Step Instructions for the Crockpot
Step 1. Place all the ingredients in a large slow cooker. I have this 6-quart slow cooker and highly recommend it!
Step 2. Cook on high for 8 hours if using dry or soaked beans (4 hours cooking time for canned).
Step 3. Drain as much water as you can from the beans and temporarily set aside.
Step 4. Using an immersion blender (or potato masher, or alternating batches in a blender), mash the beans adding cooking liquid as needed. If you want your beans to be thick, use very little liquid. If you like the beans to be thinner, add more.
Step 5. Serve hot, or prepare for storage.
Recipe Tips
Here are some ideas on how to customize these refried beans:
- Use chicken stock or chicken broth. Substitute chicken stock for up to half of the water in the recipe. I wouldn’t go any more than that though, otherwise, you’ll lose the bean flavor. We make homemade chicken stock in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot!
- Make it mild. Substitute a 4 oz can of diced green chilies in lieu of the jalapeno. You can also keep the jalapeno for flavor, but remove the membranes and seeds first.
- Make it hotter. Keeping the membranes and seeds of the jalapeno will definitely make it hotter. You can also add a second jalapeno pepper, or choose a hotter pepper altogether like a ghost pepper. As a general rule of thumb, the more wrinkly the pepper, the hotter it is.
- Use different beans. Like “refried” black beans? Swap them for the pinto beans and you have an entirely new, yet delicious, recipe.
- Soak the beans. I’ve made this recipe with beans soaked overnight (to reduce the gaseous aftermath) and with freshly rinsed dry beans. You can’t go wrong, either way, so do whatever you prefer.
FAQS
Try using a food processor or immersion blender. Traditional blender will need more liquid to operate correctly.
Yes, you can convert this crock pot refried bean recipe! Here’s how I learned to convert this recipe to my Instant Pot for when I forget to soak the beans overnight or start them early!
In the crock pot, of course! It’s so easy! I suggest soaking your beans overnight, it’s the best way to ‘de-gas’ the beans and is good for those who have a sensitive digestive system,
To Serve
Need some meal ideas to put these crockpot refried beans to good use? How about…
As a side for:
These refried beans freeze well too…
I suggest freezing in ½ cup portions in silicone muffin liners in a muffin tin.
Once you use this method, it’s EASY to:
- Measure
- Reheat
- Store long-term
However you like crockpot refried beans, I hope you enjoy!
More Easy Bean Recipes
- Slow Cooker Beans
- Our Favorite Black Beans Recipe
- Instant Pot Beans
- Our Favorite Beans and Rice Recipe
- Instant Pot White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale
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Slow Cooker Refried Beans
Skip the can and make these authentic and easy slow cooker refried beans instead! This hands-off recipe made with simple ingredients is packed with flavor, and easy to just dump and go. Pair with Instant Pot Spanish Rice and Homemade Tortillas for your next burrito night!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 5–7 cups 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Slow Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans, thoroughly rinsed OR soaked overnight using this method, OR 6 cans cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed 3 times
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 jalapeno, top cut off and quartered
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 9 cups water (up to half of the water can be substituted with chicken stock)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a large slow cooker. I have this 6 quart slow cooker, but I wouldn’t use anything smaller than a 4 quart.
- Cook on high for 8 hours if using dry or soaked beans. Cook on high for 4 hours if using canned beans.
- Place a colander over a stock pot and drain as much water as you can from the beans.
- Using an immersion blender (or potato masher, or alternating in a blender), mash the beans until they reach your desired consistency, using some of the cooking water to help thin. Remember that you can always add more water to thin, but you cannot make them thicker again.
- Serve hot, or prepare for storage.
Notes
Adapted from allrecipes.
- Make it mild. Substitute a 4 oz can of diced green chilies instead of the jalapeno. You can also keep the jalapeno for flavor but remove the membranes and seeds first for less of a kick.
- Make it hotter. Keeping the membranes and seeds of the jalapeno will definitely make it hotter. You can also add a second jalapeno pepper or choose a hotter pepper altogether like a ghost pepper. As a general rule of thumb, the more wrinkly the pepper is, the hotter it is.
- Use different beans. Like refried black beans? Swap them for the pinto beans and you have an entirely new, yet delicious, recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 333
Christine
I was recently given your recipe as I have gone plant based eating and I am now venturing out on trying to make things more healthy homemade rather then store bought. These are amazing and easy….thanks!
Tiffany
You’re very welcome Christine!
Anna
I’m planning to make this for a church luncheon on Sunday- can I make it on Saturday then reheat in crockpot sunday morning? Or should I set my alarm for 4am (eek early!) to have it ready by noon? thank you!!
Tiffany
Definitely re-heat. Save some cooking water so you can thin as needed b/c the beans will get thicker as they stand. Enjoy!
Anna
Thank you so much for such a quick reply! You saved me much needed sleep with a 12 week old! Can’t wait to try this!
Tiffany
You’re so welcome!! Enjoy those cuddles. ♥
Gina
Made this recipe, it was really good and easy. Thank You,😘
Tiffany
You’re welcome!
Marcella Foster
Is soaking & rinsing enough to de-gass the beans?
Tiffany
To de-gas dry bean, yes! Just follow the soaking method I have linked in the recipe.
Marian Junkman
You have something red in the picture but it is not mentioned in the recipe. Is it chipotle, chili powder, paprika? I have made these and absolutely love them!! (without the red whatever) I use Pueblo hot chilies, but have to use them sparingly or it gets too hot to eat!
Tiffany
That’s paprika Marian, but I didn’t include it in the actual recipe because I liked them better without it. 🙂 So glad you like this recipe!!
Nissa
I made these for the first time on Easter this year. I have made them two more times since then, and we’re having them again tomorrow. This recipe is perfect!
Tiffany
I’m so glad you like the recipe Nissa! It’s one of my favorites too. 🙂
Jenni
Have you converted this recipe for the Instant Pot?
Tiffany
Not officially, but a lot of readers have done it successfully. I’d cook for 45 min in the IP!
Karren
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My kids usually don’t care for beans, but this recipe they love, I used black beans and divided the 9 cups of liquid between water and chicken stock, it turned out great will definitely use more in the future.
Tiffany
Yay!! So glad you liked this Karren!
Angela
I used the 3 cans of pinto beans method and ended up with bean soup. 9 cups is too much liquid if the beans are already cooked.
Tiffany
Angela – one pound of dry beans is equal to 6-7 cans of beans, so you should have doubled your beans. You can reduce the liquid if you’d like, but then you might risk burning the beans. Since you drain the liquid at the end anyway, it’s better to start with too much liquid than too little.
Natalie
The recipe says to use 1 lb dry beans or 3 cans cooked beans. Should it say 6 cans cooked beans instead?
I made these according to the recipe with 3 cans and 9 cups of liquid and I agree that it was a lot of extra liquid to discard, but the flavors seemed right. If I doubled the beans, that would effectively halve the spices/onion/pepper which doesn’t seem right either. But maybe a lot of those are getting tossed out with the water, and more beans would more effectively soak them up?
I’m going to test out the recipe as written but with half the water and see how it goes =) My family loved them the last time I made them! Thanks for the recipe.
Tiffany
You are correct Natalie! And I’m so sorry for the error! I’m updating the recipe right now. Glad you guys like the flavor!
Cheyenne Bishop
My husband, my boy’s and I just love this recipe. Way better then store bought.
Tiffany
Thanks so much!!
Debbie Murphy
So I just put this together in my crock pot and I’m wondering…do I blend the jalapeno up in the beans in that last step? Or remove it?
Tiffany
Blend it up!
Lynn Lewis
Hi Tiffany,
First off, I love your recipes! I just finished the 2nd part of soaking – meaning just about boiled, then turned off and put on a lid (for 2 1/2 hours). Using this method, do I still cook in crockpot for 8 hours?
Tiffany
Hey Lynn! Thanks so much! If the beans are just about boiled, you probably won’t have to crockpot for the full 8 hours. You CAN, if you’re going to go refried (b/c texture doesn’t matter quite as much). Personally, I’d check around the 6 hour mark. 🙂
Jess B
So I’m 34 and have NEVER made anything with beans before….like ever. lol However, my 6 year old daughter does a cooking online program and learning how to soak beans was in there so I had to figure out what to do with them and here I am! Just finished and they are AWESOME!!! I’m so excited. Here’s my question:
QUESTION: What do you do with the strained out liquid (I saved it). It seems like such a waste to throw it out (I did use 4.5 cups water and 4 cups chick stock). Can I use it as a base of a soup or something? I haven’t tasted it yet just wondering if I can make it into something else since I have so much of it 🙂
THANK YOU for the amazing recipe!
Tiffany
Hey Jess! I usually toss the liquid because I use water, but you can certainly keep it for soup!! I’m so glad you liked this recipe!
Gail
I am a Yankee living in the south, love all thing southern, but do not like pinto beans, oh shame, anyways when hubs told me refied beans are made from pinto beans I had to go to our little country store where they are in a big barrel. Found your recipe and have been making ever since, followed your directions exactly, oh happy day, will never use any other recipe, these are the best, thankyou so very much for sharing!
Tiffany
You’re very welcome Gail!
Janice Shankman
So do you have any idea just how many slow cooker refried bean recipes there are out there in internet-land? Zillions. And of those zillions, approximately 99.8% of them have all these crazy, and totally unnecessary, ingredients. I must admit, I thought you were crazy with 2T of minced garlic, but hey – it’s hard to ever have too much garlic, so I trusted you. I used a pretty big jalapeno but cut out the seeds and membranes. I also used all water (cheaper and easier – I’m on board). Got home from work…drained and immersioned the bean and other ingredients, toasted two corn tortillas with a bit of cheese on each, and topped with generous portions of these beans and HOLY COW!! These are awesome! Much better than anything store-bought, and in fact rivaling restaurant quality. Definitely a keeper recipe! PS – I LOVE the freezing ideas too!!
Tiffany
Love this review Janice – thank you for sharing with me!! ♥
Trish
So remove the onion or leave in when mashing?
Tiffany
Leave it in 🙂
Trish
Ok thanks!
Nene
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My family devoured it. Will definitely save this one.
Tiffany
So glad you liked it!
Shirley
Delicious recipe! I use over and over!
Tiffany
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Kristin
This recipe is so wonderful! I add a tablespoon of bacon fat to it and it becomes heaven. 🙂 thank you for the recipe!!
Tiffany
You’re very welcome!
Jessica
Is it really 8 hours on high weather there dried or soaked? I feel like soaked beans would need less time.
Tiffany
Yes ma’am!! For this recipe, it’s not so much until the beans are “done,” rather you want them to absorb as much of the flavorful cooking liquid as possible!