Have you ever had refried beans that were so good that you wanted to just eat them plain out of a bowl? If you’ve been getting your refried beans out of a can, I’m going to guess you haven’t.
These (not) refried beans are that delicious. They have an incredibly complex flavor thanks to the jalapeño, chili, and other spices. The beans are so good and so flavorful, you’ll be tempted to serve them as your main dish. Dress them up with some roasted corn, crumbly cheese, and maybe some grilled zucchini and you can make a bowl out of them!
How to Use (Not) Refried Beans
This recipe makes about the same amount as three standard 15oz. size cans of refried beans. The left overs can be frozen so don’t worry about the large volume. You can use them as a chip dip, in a quick batch of Weeknight Enchiladas, to fill burritos, layered into a 7 Layer Dip, or more. These beans are versastile, so you’ll be glad you made a big batch!
How to Freeze Refried Beans
To freeze these beans first make sure you cool them completely in the refrigerator. Then, simply spoon them into a freezer bag in recipe-sized portions, squeeze out the air, and transfer to the freezer. I suggest about 1.5 cups per bag because this is roughly the same amount as a can of refried beans. Oh, and don’t forget to label and date the bags!
How to Make The Beans Less Spicy
My batch was just a tad on the spicy side, but I know not everyone is as big of a fan of spicy as I am. So, to make your refried beans less spicy, use half of a jalapeño and making sure you scrape out ALL the seeds. The jalapeño brings a lot of flavor with its heat, so I wouldn’t suggest nixing it all together. Just be sure to remove ALL of the seeds and white ribs on the inside of the jalapeño because that is where most of the heat lives.
Serve With: Homemade Tortilla Chips, Weeknight Enchiladas, Spiced Chickpea Tostadas
(Not) Refried Beans
Servings 9 about 1/2 cup eachIngredients
- 1 lb. dry pinto beans ($1.45)
- 1 medium onion ($0.42)
- 1 medium jalapeno ($0.13)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbs chili powder ($0.15)
- 10-15 cranks cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 6 cups water ($0.00)
- 2-3 tsp salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- Spread the dry beans out onto a baking sheet to pick through them and remove any stones or bad pieces. Place the beans in a colander and rinse with cool water.
- Dice the onion. Cut the stem off the jalapeño, slice it open lengthwise, and remove the seeds and ribs by scraping with a spoon. Dice the jalapeño and mince the garlic. Place the onion, garlic, and jalapeño in the slow cooker along with the cumin, chili powder, and black pepper. Do not add the salt.
- Add the sorted and rinsed beans to the slow cooker along with 6 cups of water. Stir everything to distribute the seasoning. Secure the lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8. It’s okay if they cook longer, they’ll just be easier to mash.
- After cooking, remove about 1 cup of the water and reserve it in a bowl. Mash the beans and add the reserved water back in as needed. Make the beans a little thinner in texture than you’d expect because they will thicken as they cool. Season the mashed beans with salt, beginning with one teaspoon and adding more to taste. I used approximately 1 Tbsp but add a little at a time until you’re satisfied. Serve warm!
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Equipment
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!The slow cooker I use is an older model, but the newer version of the same model is this Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Slow Cooker, 6 qt.
How to Make Slow COoker Refried Beans – Step By Step Photos
Start by sorting through one pound pinto beans to remove any stones or debris. Transfer the beans to a colander and give them a good rinse.
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Cut the stem off one jalapeño, then slice it open lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and ribs. Dice the jalapeño. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the slow cooker along with 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 Tbsp chili powder, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
This is the chili powder that I use. It’s completely mild and contains very little salt. If you use another brand, it may have spicy red chiles in it, so be aware of the amount that you’re using and adjust accordingly.
Add the rinsed beans to the slow cooker.
Add six cups of water and give everything a stir.
Secure the lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours. After, it will look a little something like this. The longer it goes, the better because the beans will become more tender and easier to mash.
Stir everything up to see how much extra liquid is in the pot. Remove about one cup of water, but don’t throw it away.
Mash the beans with a potato masher or even use a hand mixer. Add more of the reserved liquid back in as you mash if needed. Mash until the beans are fairly smooth. Make them a little thinner than you’d think because when they’ll thicken up some when they cool down to eating temperature. Once mashed, it’s time to finally season with salt. This is when you’ll see the flavors pop. Start by adding 1 tsp of salt at a time until they get to where you like. I ended up using about 1 tablespoon (or 3 teaspoons) of salt.
Eat them with chips, in a burrito, or just with a spoon like I did! :P
Can you use this recipe without a slow cooker? I have a rice cooker, but no slow cooker right now.
I don’t know if beans can be cooked in a rice cooker, but you can probably boil them on the stove top, although it will take a few hours.
First off Beth, I have to give you props for making homemade refried beans in a slow cooker, and to me, that idea is BRILLIANT!! I’m used to buying refried beans in a can, but I’m willing to try the homemade version. Is it possible that I can freeze the refried beans, and if so, how long will it last in the freezer?
Yes, beans freeze reall well! :) I usually try to use up frozen goods within about three months because I find that they start to dry out and lose quality after that, but there’s no solid rule about how long it will last.
I’ve made these beans so many times it’s silly. I have the recipe memorized and they’re in the crockpot right now. Everyone loves them! I prefer to leave them whole instead of mashing…if the leftovers need to be mashed i can do it then. I refuse to buy canned refried beans any more. Thank you so much!
This is the first recipe I’ve made here that I wasn’t fond of, which surprised me seeing all the raving reviews. The taste just was not up to par with actually fried beans. They were certainly well seasoned, but there was no denying that it just tasted like mashed pinto beans. I put them in burritos and they tasted fine, just more like boiled, seasoned beans like the ones from chipotle. Some people really like that taste, so I imagine that’s where all the positive reception is from. I’m giving this recipe a low score not because I think it’s inherently a bad recipe, but because it does not live up the hype of being like traditional refried beans like those you might find at a good Mexican restaurant.
I don’t want to sound rude, but refried beans are made from pinto beans!!!
Um, yes, I know pinto beans are what go into refried beans. I have made them before, as a matter of fact, but thanks for pretending that I must be stupid to not like this recipe even after saying I believed it was a matter of personal taste. These do not have the taste of genuine refried beans. Like many recipes that rely on frying, the fat contributes much of the flavor assosciated with them. This is NOT a bad recipe, but it is being disingenuine to say it tastes the same as real refried beans.
I NEVER said that you’re stupid, so there’s no need for you to put words in my mouth!!!!
Should have been five stars:)
These are our very favorite refried beans! We all love them- the husband, and 7, 5 and 1 year olds! We always easy refried bean nacho salads when we make these beans and dinner is eaten without one complaint! It’s one of my favorite nights:) I never keep jalapeños on hand so I always use a can of green chilies instead and it tastes awesome! Thank you for your recipes Beth! I always like what I cook from your site!!
I noticed that this recipe is nearly identical to the one that was linked and recommended to you, from the site allrecipes.com, by a previous commenter. I find your site incredibly helpful, but I also think it’s important to honor those who originate the recipes even when slight modifications are made.
I don’t see the link you’re referring to, but I assure you, as a long time blogger I appreciate the importance of giving credit where credit is due. If I had worked off of another recipe, I would have cited it.
YUM! Made these for the second time today, turned the leftovers from dinner into many frozen bean burritos for quick lunches. Thanks for sharing the budget friendly yums! I’ve pinned many of your recipes!
If you try these and they don’t turn out – TRY AGAIN! Not sure what happened the first time, they were okay, but very pale and kinda tasteless. Followed the recipe exactly.
This time I tried them – they were out of this WORLD! One difference I noticed was that after several hours in the crock, the top layer of beans was darker in color than the beans on the bottom, so every few hours I’d stir them up. Made a nice dark tan color in the end. That didn’t happen the first time so I’m wondering if I just didn’t cook long enough? Or maybe the onion I used was larger? Or maybe just a different brand of pinto beans?
Also I throw these in the food processor once they are done cooking and I never seem to need to get rid of or add any liquid. Whatever is left in the crock at the end of the cooking time is just enough to help the beans blend up perfectly in the food processor.
If you’re worried about spice – DON’T. Like Beth said, as long as you are getting rid of the seeds and ribs, you’ll get a great flavor without the spice.
Or maybe the pinto beans were older… even if you just bought them. Beans that are older take longer to cook. :>)
So I soaked beans for 24hrs… how would I make this with already soaked beans? Crock pot or stove? And whats the weight ratio to a can.. like ___cooked = 15oz can
It will need less water if they’re already soaked, but I’m not sure how much less. I’d need to experiment. I think 1.5 cups is about equal to one can. usually one pound of beans makes about 3 cans worth, but it may be different if they’re mashed.
Utterly fantastic!! Another winner. I zipped mine through the food processor to make it smooth. Made some great bean dip and taco filling!
This is about the fourth time I have made this recipe but I always use black beans. I’ve tasted the refried black beans with jalapeño from Trader Joes and they are awesome but this is way cheaper and tastes better. Yumm!
I made these today and they turned out fab…as your recipes always do! I noticed that I had quite a bit of the cooking liquid left over even after keeping them thin like you said. It seemed a shame to just pour it down the drain, but I couldn’t think what else to do with it. (I had at least two cups worth.) Any thoughts?
Hmm, I don’t know. I wonder if you could use it in a soup?
Great news! I DID make a soup using the liquid from the beans, a can of diced tomatoes (I drained), 3 oz, cooked turkey sausage (removed from casing), half a bag of frozen spinach and about 2 cups of cooked brown rice. It was so delicious that I recently made the beans again just so that I could also make the soup again. I added a bit of homemade vegetable broth the second time because it needed more liquid. And these beans are awesome in your taco pizza, btw.
That should have said a can of tomatoes UNDRAINED. Stupid autocorrect!
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing how it turned out! :D
I love this! I make this for my coworkers when we have potlucks at work. They can’t get enough! I love this! It’s good on its own or as a simple bean dip. Thanks Beth! I can’t wait to buy your book! :)
I tried this recipe in February for a crowd after finding it on Pinterest. Everyone loved it, I’ve been making it ever since. What has made this a staple for me, is freezing it in silicon muffin liners in a muffin tray. Pop them out, store in a freezer baggie and I can just grab a “bean muffin” to make the kids a quesadilla for lunch. I’ve even snuck greens into the recipe at the end when I blend with an immersion blender and no one is the wiser that they are getting a healthy does of green veggies. Thank you for a wonderful blueprint, and I have now been able to explore your awesome site and really enjoyed everything we tried!
Love the ideas of the muffin cups and the immersion blender. I’ll also try adding some spinach in at the end when it’s in season. Thanks!
I followed your suggestion for the muffin liners and it was such a great way to freeze these in individual portions! Thanks!