This is the Crockpot Refried Beans recipe ever! There are no additives and you’ll love the clean, fresh flavors. Eat these plain, in burritos or mixed with tostadas, nachos or salads.
Have you ever wanted to make a healthier version of refried beans? If so, this is the recipe for you. I love this, but I don’t like all the extra additives and preservatives in the canned versions. No worries! I’ll just make my own. Making it homemade is healthy, easy and very inexpensive.
This is a recipe that hits home for us on two levels! It is a great for meal prep / freezer meals and is extremely frugal. The cost of the beans is just pennies so it is a great meal for those weeks when money is tight.
💥 Why This Recipe Is So Popular
Simple Ingredients – It takes just a few ingredients to make. This is quick, affordable and bursting with creamy flavor. Throwing in a little cilantro (or substitutes) can add quite a bit of flavor while keeping the ingredients simple.
Weight Watcher Friendly – This refried beans recipe is WW friendly at zero points. It is a great option to incorporate into your diet.
Quick Prep – It literally takes minutes to throw together and get it cooking in your crock pot!
🍲 Ingredients
You aren’t going to ever want to buy a canned variety again.
Pinto Beans: This takes a bag of dried pinto beans. Rinse them and remove any bad beans or anything else you find that doesn’t belong. You don’t need to presoak the beans using this recipe, so it’s a simple dump-and-go.
Garlic: We love the flavor of garlic cloves. Adjust the amount based on your taste.
Jalapeño: We only use half of a seeded jalapeño. It’s not a ton of heat, but just enough to give it the right flavor. You will adjust this based on your own liking.
Onion: Use a regular or sweet onion in this recipe.
Salt & Pepper: Season to Taste.
🥣 Instructions
These are just so easy you are going to question why you don’t make them all the time.
Step One: Spray the crockpot with nonstick spray. Cut up an onion into quarters and place in the crockpot. Split a jalapeño in half, remove the seeds, and add it to the crockpot.
Step Two: Add seasonings and beans followed by the water. Stir it all together and cover. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.
Step Three: Once they are done, drain into a large pot and allow it to cool. Reserve the water.
Step Four: Once cooled, blend them in a sturdy blender or a food processor. Add small amounts of the reserved water to get the consistency you would like.
Alternatively, you can also use an immersion blender inside the slow cooker.
Use immediately or you can store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
🍱 Meal Prepping
These are great for meal prep! In fact, these are one of our family’s favorite recipes to make ahead and make burritos for those emergency meals when we don’t want to cook. I talk about it a lot in the Meal Prep 101. Here are just a few ideas to get you started!
- One way to meal prep this is to cut the onion and jalapeño the night before. Measure out the seasoning and get the slow cooker on the counter so that in the morning it is simply a two minute dump-and-go.
- I love using these for meals throughout the week. Pull out the frozen beans the night before you will use them for the following night’s dinner. Add tortillas, cheese and other toppings and this is a five minute dinner!
- Meal prep this for a Seven layer dip for a party on the weekend. Grab 1-2 cups of the beans from the freezer the night before you want to use them. Stir them up and start the layering process of the dip. You can have a dip ready in under 10 minutes and be out the door.
- I love nachos. I mean L O V E! In 15 minutes, you can make them for dinner on a busy, stressful night. Pull the beans out of the freezer and microwave them on defrost. Once they are ready, layer the beans with cheese, jalapeños, olives over chips on a sheet pan. Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with homemade guacamole, homemade salsa and sour cream.
🧅 Storage
You can store any of the beans you don’t eat right away in the fridge for 3-4 days. Just warm them up in the microwave, or even on the stovetop. If you do stovetop you might need to add a splash of water, to thin up the beans as they warm up.
Recipe FAQ
Here are a few common questions when making this crockpot refried beans recipe!
These will stay fresh if they are sealed in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you can’t use them in that amount of time, freeze them for up to three months.
Yes, these freeze so well that we make batches just to freeze them and pull out to eat or make burritos. To freeze: Allow the beans to cool after you have blended them up. Scoop 1 cup servings into freezer safe pint size bags, seal and lay flat to freeze. I like to lay them flat as it saves space. Pull out the night before you plan to use them and place in the refrigerator. Heat in the microwave for two minutes and serve as needed. Grab a copy of the Freezer Tips and Storage times to keep your freezer items safe.
Run your dried beans in cold water while in a colander in the sink. Look and pick out any stones or beans that don’t look fresh and normal size and texture. It is that easy to clean through your beans.
If your refried beans are too thick, simply add a splash of water when you are mixing it up. This will thin it out a bit. You can use water from the slow cooker or add some water from the sink. Or to add a splash more of flavor do a vegetable stock.
Related Recipes
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Vegan Crockpot Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Dried Pinto Beans rinsed
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- ½ Jalapeño seeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 6 cups Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 8 hours.
- Remove all the ingredients. Save all the excess liquid until you are finished.
- Allow the beans to cool.
- Blend the beans in a sturdy blender and add saved excess liquid until you have reached the desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Let me know if you try this Crockpot Refried Beans recipe!
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
I don’t like canned refried beans, so this is perfect. It’s hands off and I can come back to it at the end of the day.