Once you try these delicious, healthy slow cooker refried beans (minus the refry), you will definitely be ditching your blah can of store-bought refried beans. No need to soak the beans, and it takes just a few minutes to toss the ingredients into your crockpot. Ideal for burritos, tostadas, or an easy side dish on Taco Tuesday. 

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Refried beans are another one of those things that my parents, as well as all of my friends’ parents, and my aunts and uncles, always made from scratch. It always looked like a lot of work to me, so when I got married I started buying canned refried beans.

The first time I had them, I was highly disappointed, but I continued to buy them anyway. When I visited my family in Chicago, I always loved when someone made me homemade refried beans. There really is no comparison to the canned version. My sister Kelly’s are ahhhmazing! 

When we started clean eating, I decided that it was time to start making homemade refried beans. I was not about the soaking and the cooking for hours the way I watched my family make them. Nor was I about the refry part.

Technically in traditional recipes, the beans are not fried twice anyway. Refried beans are know as frijoles refritos in Spanish which means well-fried. After the beans are cooked in water, they are then seasoned and fried in a skillet with fat.

If you have been around here for a while, you know I’m all about quick and easy weeknight meals. The slow cooker is my answer to quick and easy, so that’s what I decided to try. The first few times they were better than canned, but still lacked flavor. After a lot of experimenting, I finally came up with a delicious recipe that has become a staple for our Mexican meals!

Tammy’s Tips

Here are a few ways to add flavor to the beans.

• • Add a whole jalapeno and poblano pepper to the pot while cooking. Discard the peppers when the beans are done. 

• • Use chicken broth instead of water. Most of the time I use about 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water, depending on what I have on hand. I usually have homemade broth in the freezer, if I don’t have broth, I just use water.

• • Add a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce to the beans while they are cooking. Homemade enchilada sauce is another thing I usually have in the freezer. I freeze it in ice cube trays and once frozen, I store in a glass container. Dropping a few cubes to into soups, sauces, taco meat, and these refried beans adds an additional depth of flavor.

Refried beans are perfect for tostadas, burritos, quesadillas, or as a side dish to your favorite Mexican meal. I love them for breakfast with huevos rancheros. They are also great for nachos or as a dip! Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Once you try these delicious, healthy slow cooker refried beans (minus the refry), you will definitely be ditching your blah can of store-bought refried beans. No need to soak the beans, and it takes just a few minutes to toss the ingredients into your crockpot. Ideal for burritos, tostadas, or an easy side dish on Taco Tuesday. 

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 6 cups water or chicken broth can use either or combination of water and broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 whole poblano pepper
• 1 whole jalapeno
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp chili powder
• enchilada sauce *see notes
• salt and pepper to taste
• cilantro, queso fresco, and/or avocado for topping

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and stir to combine.

2. Cook on high for 8-10 hours until beans are completely soft.

3. Once beans are cooked, remove the jalapeno and poblano peppers and discard. If there is a large amount of liquid left, drain, and reserve.

4. Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach desired consistency, adding in reserved liquid as needed. We like some texture to our beans, so I leave some of the beans whole. If you would like completely smooth beans, you could use an immersion blender instead of a potato masher.

5. Add favorite toppings and serve.

Recipe Notes

*I usually have homemade enchilada sauce in my freezer. I freeze it in ice cube trays and once frozen I store in a glass container. Dropping a few cubes to into soups, sauces, taco meat, and these refried beans adds an additional depth of flavor. 

We recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible.

What’s your favorite way to eat refried beans?  Let me know in the comments below. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!