These Slow Cooker Refried Beans take only 5 minutes prep, turn on the slow cooker and leave them! No soaking the beans is required.
PinPhoto Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.
I don’t know if you are like me, but if you are, you hate cooking dry beans! I have tried them so many times. They are soaked over night and rinsed thoroughly. Then I place them in new water or stock.
They are then brought to a boil, the heat is reduced and then they are simmered. For 1 hour, taste them, they are not even close to done. For 2 hours they are a little better but still not even close.
So I let them go for 3 hours and they are still slightly crunchy. It drives me nuts, so I just end up using canned beans to make frijoles.
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The only thing that draws me back to dried is that dry beans are so cheap and being the cheap-skate that I am, I always want to give them another try.
I usually end up disappointed. For this reason when I learned to cook the beans in the slow cooker, I was elated. Feel free to tweak the spices to suit your taste.
Here is a quick YouTube Video to show you how to go about the process.
What you need
dry pinto beans
water or chicken broth
white or yellow onion
mild pepper (optional) or substitute jalapeno pepper if you’d like the beans hotter
granulated garlic or fresh cloves garlic
cumin
chili powder
adobo seasoning
salt & pepper
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How to make them
Rinse and sort beans. Remove any small stones or foreign objects.
Place beans in slow cooker.
Chop vegetables.
Add remaining ingredients.
Cook beans on low for 6-8 hours until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Mash beans with a potato masher or use an immersion blender, adding enough of the cooking liquid back to the beans to make them the desired consistency.
Traditionally, after the beans were cooked they were “refried” in a frying pan with lard (you can substitute olive oil).
How to serve them
Beans are delicious served with shredded cheese and used as a bean dip for tortilla chips. Use them in tacos, taquitos, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas and more.
Serve with all of your favorite Mexican dishes. See a list below.
In a hurry for beans? Check out these Instant pot pinto beans. They are as easy as these but take about 30 minutes total to cook. A perfect time saver when you’re in a hurry.
Here are more delicious recipes to serve with frijoles.
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Cumin spiced Leyden Cheese makes these burritos extra special!
Chorizo Huevos Rancheros, literally takes less than 10 minutes! Chorizo Huevos Rancheros is a Cook once, eat twice recipe! Do all the work on day one and enjoy for two days! The first day, you eat Chorizo Tacos.
What is a girl to do when she is craving Chicken Enchiladas but she doesn’t have the ambition to make them? Why come up with an awesome, easy recipe for Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole, of course!
These Stacked Enchiladas are a vintage recipe that has been a family favorite for years. Since they aren't rolled, they are super easy and incredibly good.
These Instant Pot Pinto Beans are so incredibly easy and so delicious! Perfect on all your favorite Mexican dishes and there is no need to even soak them!
This Strawberry Salsa is so versatile! You can literally use what you have in the pantry! One of the reasons I love Strawberry Salsa is that it’s so easy!
What do you do with all of the green tomatoes left on the vines in September, October? Why you make this amazingly delicious Green Tomato Salsa! Green Tomato Salsa couldn’t be easier, and it cans and freezes well!
This Chipotle Salsa has a wonderfully deep, smoky flavor that adds an irresistible flavor to each bite. It's one of my favorite salsas for canning, which means you can enjoy the bold taste of summer even when it's snowing outside!
It is easy to make your own chipotle peppers with the jalapenos in your garden! Chipotle peppers are smoked and dried and indispensable in many Mexican dishes!
This habanero recipe is an easy way to use up all of the habanero left on your plants in the fall! Hot Pepper flakes are a great habanero recipe to add to your pantry! Use a little bit of heat in all of your dishes throughout the year!
There are many methods you can use for dried, or dehydrated peppers. A commercial dehydrator, or the oven, your grill, even your air fryer can be used for dried peppers.
Fermenting peppers is an easy way to lock in heat and build tangy, complex flavor you do not get with fresh peppers. Use this updated guide for exact salt ratios, two safe methods, and clear timelines for a short ferment and a long ferment. You will also find storage tips, flavor ideas, and troubleshooting so your jars turn out right.
Making fermented peppers at home, to make hot sauce, is easy! Fermented Hot Sauce is a great way to use your all of your chili peppers at the end of the season!
Here is another easy, versatile spice mix to make at home! Making your Easy Taco Seasoning will save you a bunch of money and takes less than 5 minutes!
Please ask any questions or share your comments in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.
I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
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Slow Cooker Frijoles (Refried Beans) with a Mexican Round-up For Cinco de Mayo
Such an easy way to make your own tasty refried beans at home in your slow cooker!
See Step by Step Photos Above!Most of our recipes have step by step photos and videos! Also helpful tips so that you can make it perfectly the first time and every time! Scroll up to see them!
Add all of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper to the crock-pot. Cook on high for about 9 hours. Adjust salt and pepper after about 8 hours. After the 9 hours the beans should be tender and a bunch of them will have popped open. If they are not quite soft, let them go for a while, checking every half hour for done-ness.
Use an immersion blender or potato masher to smash the beans to desired creaminess. I like mine a bit chunky. Add more water as needed! Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Traditionally, frijoles refritos were placed in a cast pan with lard and fried (hence the term refried) and mashed by hand, adding lard as you go to make a creamy paste. But I find this step unnecessary.
Serve with shredded Mexican cheese (optional).
Note This makes a huge batch (about 4 quarts) but the quantities can be reduced or the leftovers can be frozen up to 2 months.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!
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Notes
Leftovers can be refrigerated for 3-4 days.Reheat in microwave until hot.For longer storage, freeze up to 6 months.Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat per above instructions.
Beth Neels is an entrepreneur, blogger, photographer, author, and recipe developer. She founded Binky’s Culinary Carnival in 2014, focusing on “Crafting delicious recipes with sustainable ingredients.” She has been featured in multiple online publications, including MSN, Reader’s Digest, AP news, and Parade.
47 Comments
Another one I’ll be trying! I love refried beans. I have some homemade tacos they will go perfectly with!
I so hate using canned vegetables and fruits so try and use fresh and dry beans as much as possible. Unlike any other beans, kidney beans and black beans are a headache to use. Sometimes they don’t become soft even after cooking them in a pressure cooker! I would love to try cooking them in a slow cooker.
They worked out very well! I have always had a hard time with pinto and black beans not getting soft. I don’t have a pressure cooker, it’s on the list! Thank you Mayuri!:)
Simple and honestly just great beans. Nothing fancy, nothing fake, just great beans. I did use oil to re-fry the beans as instructed and that was great but lard would even be more authentic and oh so, delicious. I had both Oaxaca and Cotija cheese available for topping. Note: when re frying, scoop out the beans without a lot of juice – you can add a bit more bean juice if needed but there will be a lot of extra bean juice in the pot.
Thank you so much for your comment, Melissa! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Lard would absolutely be more authentic but it’s hard to find here. I agree about the water, too. Just add as much back to the beans that you need to achieve a great consistency!
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!
Another one I’ll be trying! I love refried beans. I have some homemade tacos they will go perfectly with!
I love homemade tacos but haven’t made them in years! I’ll have to dig out the taco press! Thank you for your comment, my friend!
I so hate using canned vegetables and fruits so try and use fresh and dry beans as much as possible. Unlike any other beans, kidney beans and black beans are a headache to use. Sometimes they don’t become soft even after cooking them in a pressure cooker! I would love to try cooking them in a slow cooker.
They worked out very well! I have always had a hard time with pinto and black beans not getting soft. I don’t have a pressure cooker, it’s on the list! Thank you Mayuri!:)
Yay no more canned refried beans! Time to make this at home~! Thanks for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
This is far superior to canned! Thanks, Joyce!
Simple and honestly just great beans. Nothing fancy, nothing fake, just great beans. I did use oil to re-fry the beans as instructed and that was great but lard would even be more authentic and oh so, delicious. I had both Oaxaca and Cotija cheese available for topping. Note: when re frying, scoop out the beans without a lot of juice – you can add a bit more bean juice if needed but there will be a lot of extra bean juice in the pot.
Thank you so much for your comment, Melissa! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Lard would absolutely be more authentic but it’s hard to find here. I agree about the water, too. Just add as much back to the beans that you need to achieve a great consistency!