These Slow Cooker Refried Beans are right up my alley! About 5 minutes prep, turn on the slow cooker and leave them! Go to work all day, come home and they are perfect!!!
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.
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 stock
- onion
- mild pepper (optional)
- granulated garlic
- cumin
- chili powder
- adobo seasoning
- salt & pepper
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 a nice refried bean consistency.
Serve with all of your favorite Mexican dishes. See a list below.
If you are looking for another easy, no soak bean recipe, check out my 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.
Also, in honor of Cinco de Mayo on Friday, I thought I’d give you a little taste of the easy and delicious Mexican Style Recipes that I have put on blog over the years! Can you say,
“pásame una cerveza?!” (Pass me a beer! If it’s not correct, it’s google translates fault! 🙂 )
I’ll leave you with Slow Cooker Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by today!
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
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Slow Cooker Frijoles (Refried Beans) with a Mexican Round-up For Cinco de Mayo
Ingredients
- 5 cups dried pinto beans , rinsed and picked over
- 7 cups water
- 2 2/3 c Chicken , beef or vegetable stock (2 – 11 oz. cans)
- 1 medium white onion , chopped
- 2 Tbsp garlic, granulated
- 2½ Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp dry adobo seasoning
- 2 tsp pepper to taste
- 2 tsp salt to taste
- Garnishes:
- Shredded cheese (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- Inspiration for this recipe came from Food, Folks and Fun
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something. See FTC Disclosure, here.
Kathryn - FoodieGirlChicago
Refried beans are always so yummy! Love the idea of making them in a slow cooker!!
Binky
Thank you Kathryn! They are very food in the slow cooker!
Kelly
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo festivities! Looks like a great bean dip!
Binky
These beans are certainly good for dipping tortilla chips! Thanks, Kelly!
Geoffrey
The refried beans look absolutely amazing! This would be an awesome dip for chips!
Binky
Certainly, by far one of the best dips for your chips, with a little salsa, of course! Thanks for your comment, Geoffrey!
Sandhya Hariharan
I was introduced to Refried Beans two years ago and we totally love our grilled sandwiches with them. Your slow cooker versions sounds like a great idea!
Binky
Grilled sandwiches has me totally intrigued! Do share, Sandhya!
Natalie
Oh, I’m with you girl on this one. I hate cooking beans too 😀 and YES, canned beans can be quite expensive. I don’t have a slow cooker yet, but I’m planning on getting one. Don’t need to mention reasons right?! hehe 😉 Frijoles looks absolutely delicious. I love all the spices you used here. So flavorful. This is perfect for dipping crackers or chips. All recipes look amazing 🙂
Binky
I have links for great buys on slow cookers on this post, Natalie! Cooking beans has always eluded me! Thanks for checking it out!
Platter Talk
Easy recipe and great ideas to go along with! Love the photos.
Binky
Thank you Dan! I appreciate you taking a look!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
Ive never made refried beans in the slow cooker before, but it’s a great idea!
Binky
Genius, I believe is the word! I love it! I am making them like this every time from now on! Thanks Lisa!
maria closetohome
so many yummy applications with these beans. Love that they are homemade and in the slow cooker.
Binky
They are really easy and the beauty is you can control the ingredients! Thanks Maria!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
This is the way I do my beans, it’s the best method!!
Binky
Why didn’t you tell me, lol! I have been struggling all these years, soaking beans that end up underdone! Thanks for checking this out, Sue!
Jas @All that's Jas
Nice roundup! I love Mexican food (who doesn’t, right?). Your recipe is making my mouth water….
Binky
Thanks for taking a peek, Jas! My favorite foods ever!
Lindsey @ Lito Supply Co.
I love using my slow cooker whenever I can. This is a great recipe to try at home!
Binky
I do too! They make life so much easier, don’t they, Lindsey? Thanks Lindsey!
Regina
All of these recipes would be great for a Mexican/Cinco de Mayo feast! Yum
Binky
Thank you for visiting, Regina, I appreciate your comment!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
Yum!! I love refried beans. And your recipe looks fabulous! I also love the round up of recipes, especially the taquitos!! Mmmmm.
Binky
Thanks, Elaine! So do I! Taquitos are my all time favorite!!!!
Monica | Nourish & Fete
You described my experience with dried beans to a tee! We eat a lot of black beans, so I would absolutely love to get comfortable preparing them from dried, but it is SO frustrating letting them soak for what seems like forever only to still have that crunch. Love the idea of putting the slow cooker to work on this – seems like the perfect tool for the task! 🙂
Binky
I feel exactly the same, Monica! I’m so happy I found this idea! Let me know how you like it when you give it a try!
[email protected]
I love re-fried beans. They are actually one of my favorite things about Mexican food. I’ve never thought to make them in the slow cooker. I’m loving your recipe and will be trying soon.
Dannii
I never thought to try these in the slow cooker. I am going to try this for our next Mexican night.
Binky
Neither had I! I always hated cooking dry beans but this makes it so easy, I’m going to do it all the time! Thanks Dannii!
Luci's Morsels
These look so good! I lLOVE how easy they are to make and all of the ways you used them! I am definitely going to have to try this recipe and add it to my Cinco de Mayo spread! Thank you for sharing! Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Binky
Thanks, again, Luci! Tag them with #binkysculinarycarnival so that I can see them. And let me know how you like them!
Luci's Morsels
These beans looks delicious and I LOVE all of the ways you used them. I am definitely going to have to try this recipe and add it to my Cinco de Mayo spread! Thank you for sharing! http://www.lucismorsels.com/2017/04/white-chocolate-bark-easter-spring.html/
Binky
Thank you Luci! They are very versatile! And super delicious!
Shashi at Savory Spin
Being a cheap-skate myself, I like using dry beans but -like you- so unhappy with the cooking process – though I never attempted to cook ’em in my slow cooker – this is brilliant! And, looks mighty tasty!
Binky
Agreed, Shashi! All the soaking and hours of cooking and they are still not done enough! These are premier!
Amy
Beans in the slow cooker is definitely the way to go! We just had some this week.
Binky
I had never seen them in the slow cooker but they are far superior! Thanks for checking out the post, Amy!