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
Instead of mashing, do you think I could use an immersion blender? Or would that make it too runny?
Yes, that would work great! I actually used my hand mixer for this last batch and that also worked. :)
SERIOUSLY. So, so good. Just made them, and will be putting some into the enchiladas tonight. I have tried some other slow cooker refried bean recipes, but this is by far the best.
Hi Beth, I was wondering if I could substitute the pinto beans for aduki beans. Do you have any idea?
Thanks so much for all the great work you do for us all :)
To be honest, I’ve never cooked aduki beans. :) I think this could work with a variety of different beans, though.
Me neither :) It’s just that my grocery store was out of pinto beans and my girlfriend came home with aduki beans! This recipe is on my schedule for Saturday so we’ll have to wait to find out! :)
Yeah, I came here to ask that. What beans would work besides pinto beans? They don’t really sell these in Holland and I’m quite new to the bean-game. They do sell a variety of beans, just not pinto beans. I’d love to try and make refried beans, since I only know them from popculture :D
Black beans are quite nice with these flavors. :)
I don’t suppose there’s any reason to think this technique won’t work with dry black beans is there? I already have those on hand and my mouth is watering!
Any Tex-Mex type are beloved around here so this weeks recipes have made you a hero in our house:)
I’ve done it with black beans. :)
Yay! A reason to pull out the slow cooker AND restock the freezer!
I am not a bean eater. Not at all. Those beans are just something they put on your plate at mexican restaurants to make it look like you have more food.
Until I tried these. Unbelievable. I CRAVE them. If they are in the fridge, I keep making excuses to go out and eat a spoonful. Cold, hot, whatever! Oh and they make AMAZING 7 layer dip.
I don’t like spicy, so I substituted canned green chiles for the jalapeno.
Fabulous!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re a bean convert! Hahahah. They’re so delicious and good for you. :D
i must really have a tolerance for spicy… i always add at least three jalapenos with the seeds and light green flesh part into my beans and sometimes they arent spicy enough! I dont have a slow cooker but i cook pintos on the stove at a slow boil covered for two hours, uncovered for the last, and black beans for three hours covered, uncovered for the final and fourth hour. Hope this helps anyone without a slow cooker
I’ve made this recipe three times now, I love it. I’ve been considering mixing things up and using black beans though. Would this recipe work OK with black beans as is, or do you think anything would need to be adjusted?
I think it should work with black beans. They may take a bit longer to break down, though.
This is now my new staple refried beans recipe! Turned out delicious and oh so healthy!
Just found your site and really love it!!
Quick question about this recipe – in New Zealand (where I live) the most common way to buy beans is in cans. These are uncooked and just in water. Do you know if these canned beans would still work with this recipe? I worry that since they are already moist, it may ruin things.
Any thoughts much appreciated!
Correct, this recipe is for dry beans only. Using canned beans would require changing the liquid to bean ratio and, unfortunately, I couldn’t say exactly what ratio to use without testing it out.
Thanks – I’ll see if I can find any dry beans hiding!
Am I the only one who drinks the bean water? Don’t sleep on it, it’s delicious! And so are the beans of course!!
This is going to sound stupid but,how long to I cook them if i am not using a slow cooker? Mine broke on Monday after having it for 10 years and I have not gotten a new one yet.
Hmm, I’m not sure, but I think if you simmer them on the stove it might take a few hours. You’ll have to just keep checking them to see if they’re fall apart tender.
Thanks. Bye the way I love your site!! Everything we, my son and I, have eaten is great.
I cook beans all the time without a slow cooker. I don’t use cumin, jalapeno pepper or chilli pepper. I give the beans an overnight soak or at least 6 hour soak. I do use 1 or 1/2 a bay leaf.
Combine the beans, garlic, onion, and bay leaf in a pot. Add enough water to reach about 1 1/2 inches over the beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Add more water if the beans are absorbing too much liquid. The beans should be soupy when done, with plenty of liquid remaining. Season the beans with salt and pepper, to taste. I usually freeze. I use throughout the week by reheating in a small pot. I add water if needed and smash with a potato smasher. No frying needed.
I will never buy canned beans again! I soaked, rinsed, and boiled mine (yes, I have to do everything the hard way). I reserved about 3 cups of the bean wage after cooking. I cooked the onion, jalepeno, garlic, and spices on the stove. Then I put everything in a food processor in batches and added the reserved water as needed. I added more salt am cumin to mine. These were awesome. Used some for your taco pizza and then vacumned packed and froze the leftovers. Yum! Thank you!!
Bean water, not wage. Smh, bean wage….I pay in beans!
I accidentally bought pink beans instead of pinto beans (I was distracted by news that there had been a fire in the grocery store that day!). Can I use pink beans for this recipe?
Hmm, I’ll be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never cooked pink beans before. :P
I made these and I will NEVER buy canned beans again.
They taste SO much better and I usually have most of this stuff on hand so they end up being cheaper too.
Thanks for this recipe.
I’d never tried refried beans before (live in UK) but love slow cooker recipes so gave it a go.
I was 90% happy with the result. I kind of guessed at 5/6 cloves of garlic, but I think it was a bit too much as that was the main smell/flavour. Also only had chilli flakes, not powder so i think more than I used would have been better. I would probably use a whole jalapeno next time too.
This is all down to personal taste obviously!
Also, I filled the slow cooker the night before then just turned it on in the morning, don’t know if that affected the end result or not?!
Great website by the way.
I’ve always been taught to rinse the beans after an overnight soak. And start the cooking with fresh water.
I do the same!
Raw beans of any type are actually mildly poisonous. You soak the beans to activate enzymes that will destroy the toxins/to wash the toxins away. So, yes, not rinsing the beans will make them have a different flavor. They taste much, much better if you rinse them after soaking.