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!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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
How long would these keep in the freezer?
There is no exact time limit since the lifespan of frozen goods varies on many factors, but I usually try to use them up within about three months. Frozen food slowly degrades in texture and flavor quality over time, rather than going straight from good to bad, so there’s quite a bit of grey area.
You just CHANGED MY LIFE. It’s 11pm and I literally just sat here and ate the beans straight out of the food processor with a spoon for about 10 minutes… while texting everyone to immediately go make some. Truly, thank you :)
But in all seriousness, my boyfriend’s family is Hispanic and they make the most delicious beans, however they are often full of lard, oil, and cheese. I’ve been wanting a healthy, vegan recipe (new vegan here) that didn’t sacrifice in flavor. This is hands down more flavorful and hearty than any other refried beans I have ever had. I will never go back.
You don’t know how happy your comment just made me. :)
I got a new crockpot for Christmas – an upgrade from my old one for sure- and used the medium setting for 6 hours, I think, they weren’t done. I put it on high for an hour after that, still not done. We went with Plan B for dinner and have the beans continuing in the crockpit on Hi for another 2 hours.
Not sure what the issue was. I didn’t add salt at the start, I know that can cause toughness. We’ll see how it goes, I’m encouraged by the above reviews!
Hi Erin, one of my friends, who was one of the best Mexican food cooks, said that when beans get old they get tough. She even remarked that the color of them is different. They are more pink while they’re cooking when fresh. When they’re older it means a longer cooktime. Maybe that was the problem with batch you made. I hope you tried again. 😊
Hi Erin, one of my friends, who was one of the best Mexican food cooks I’ve ever known, said that when beans get old they get tough. She even remarked that the color of them is different. They are more pink while they’re cooking when fresh. When they’re older it means a longer cooktime. Maybe that was the problem with batch you made. I hope you tried again. 😊
You don’t have to soak the pinto Beans over night ?
Nope! :)
This recipe is phenomenal – I have been eating these straight from the slow cooker with a spoon for hours. My only (extremely small) tweak was that I didn’t seed the jalapeno because I like a little bit of heat. Absolutely stellar. I think the genius of this recipe is adding the salt at the end, rather than earlier in the process. It brightens the flavor without bogging it down with a ton of salt earlier. I ended up using about 2.5 tsp of salt total. Thanks so much for sharing such a great recipe!
Has anyone tried these in the Instapot? I’m looking for pressure/timing/release method suggestions.
I just did a batch in my IP – sauteed the onion, garlic (used 4 cloves instead of two), and jalapeno for a bit, then added the rest of the ingredients. 45 minutes manual high pressure, natural release (probably could just do 25 minutes or so, but I did full NPR). Reserved about 1.5 cups of cooking liquid, blended with immersion blender, and added 2 tsp of salt plus some smoked paprika. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
Great recipe, perfectly seasoned! We’ve had them in our tacos and on the side, and there is always enough left over for bean burritos for my lunches.
I left out the jalapeño and put in bacon and ciltantro and it came out amazing!
These made the best bean and cheese burritos. I’m feeling a little lazy right now and cooking isn’t on my priority list. It’s super simple to make a bean and cheese burrito and have a delicious meal. Thank you!
I love a good slow cooker pot of beans! We ate these with rice, a vinegar-y slaw, and pan-fried plantains. It was a delicious and super filling meal, which I realized halfway through is also vegan AND gluten free. Definitely keeping this meal in mind when I have to accommodate lots of diets.
These beans are amazing! I had to comment because yesterday I pulled some out of the freezer to serve to a guest I had over (in a burrito with greens, salsa, guac, cucumbers and very little else) and they reheated BEAUTIFULLY! So easy, so yummy. I left some seeds in the jalapeno for some heat.
I love this recipe. We make it often for the weeknight enchiladas and your black bean enchiladas. If I were to double this recipe, would I just double the amount of time on the slow cooker? Or instead of 8 hours on low, would 12 work? Thank you!
I made these today. OMG, I ate it with tortilla chips right out of the still-steaming crockpot because I couldn’t wait! SO GOOD. I used the whole TBSP of salt, but used Kosher salt, and it was perfect (to us). My question is about freezing- I know it says 9 servings, But about how much do you put into a freezer bag/container? Maybe 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups? Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
This is my second recipe I have tried from the Budget bytes site and again I am so excited! I am on a sodium restricted diet and canned refried beans are not on my shopping list because of the sodium content. Last night before I went to bed, I put all the ingredients for this recipe in my crockpot. When I woke up this morning, the house smelled so good and finishing the refried beans was a snap. The taste…well, I certainly have been missing out, there will never be another can of refried beans in my pantry and weekday enchiladas are on my menu for tonight (another budget byte recipe)! My foodie world just got a little bit broader. Thank you so much!
These were delicious! I used the immersion blender for about 1/2 of the mashing and then finished with a potato masher for a chunkier texture. I thought 1 TBSP of salt was perfect to bring out all the flavors! I did sub 1 cup of water for vegetable broth and would consider increasing that a tad in the future. I just love the ease of this recipe and that it doesn’t use oil or lard.
We used in your Weeknight Enchiladas for our NYE dinner and it was delish. Thanks, Beth!