This Restaurant Style Crockpot Refried Beans recipe is made in a crockpot, and you don’t need to soak the beans! As a result, the recipe is easy, and the beans come out creamy.
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Homemade Refried Beans Recipe
Warning: Once you make my Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe, you’ll never go back to canned beans because this is an easy, delicious Mexican refried beans recipe!
After a few months of tweaking, I’m thrilled to announce I’ve perfected my easy refried bean recipe! With a well-stocked pantry, I can whip up a batch of these whenever we crave Mexican food. The best part? My kids love them – they devour these homemade refried beans by the spoonful!
Ingredients and Estimated Cost
Per Serving Cost: $0.18
Recipe Cost: $2.13
You need just a few pantry staple ingredients to make these Crockpot Refried Beans.
- 3 cups of dried pinto beans – $1.11
- 7 cups of water – $0.00
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes – $0.16
- 1 medium white onion – $0.70
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder – $0.06
- 2 ½ teaspoons of ground cumin – $0.09
- Salt and pepper to taste – $0.01
NOTE: I calculate the recipe prices by using name-brand grocery prices on grocery store websites.
How To Make The Best Refried Beans
Making delicious, restaurant-style refried beans at home is so easy! Add everything to the crockpot, cook for 9 hours, and blend and serve.
- First, place your ingredients, minus the salt and pepper, into your slow cooker.
- Give everything a quick stir.
- Next, cook the beans on high for 9 hours. Yes, 9 hours. Please don’t cook them for less than that!
- Finally, using an immersion blender, puree the beans until smooth. Add water as needed and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you’re feeling decadent, add a stick of butter to the beans!
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Homemade Refried Beans Recipe (Crockpot)
Video
Equipment
- slow cooker
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried pinto beans rinsed and picked over
- 7 cups water
- 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules (or 2 bouillon cubes)
- 1 medium white onion diced (or 1 Tablespoon onion powder)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
GARNISHES:
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend optional
- unsalted butter optional
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper to the crock-pot.
- Cook on high for 9 hours. At this point, the beans will be tender and a bunch of them will have popped open.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the beans until smooth.
- Add more water as needed, or if you're feeling decadent, add up to 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter to make creamy, out-of-this-world beans.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with shredded Mexican cheese (optional).
Notes
- This recipe makes about 6 cups of beans.
- Some readers have not cooked the beans for the full hours and end up with watery beans. You must cook the beans for the entire 9 hours. I cannot express the importance of this enough!
Storage Tips
SERVE: You can keep these out for about two hours before they need to be refrigerated. STORE: Cover and store the beans in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. FREEZE: You can freeze these beans in Ziploc bags in small batches. They will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. THAW: Thaw the frozen packets of beans overnight in the refrigerator. REHEAT: Heat the beans in a saucepan over medium heat until heated. You may need to loosen the beans with a couple of tablespoons of water when reheating them.Recipe Variations
- If you use Chicken broth instead of the chicken bouillon granules, you will need 6 cups of broth and 1 cup of water!
- To make this recipe, you’ll need an immersion blender. You can also use a standard blender and run small batches through it, but it will take a while. (If you go this route, you’ll need to hold the lid to the blender SUPER tight!)
- When rinsing the beans, discard any that float or are discolored. Also, look for small stones, especially if you buy cheaper pinto beans.
Nutrition
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Restaurant Style Refried Beans FAQs
I love them on a tortilla or with some tortilla chips. Add some salsa with the chips and tortillas, and you’re golden!
This Mexican Rice also goes great with the beans. You could even serve the beans alongside this Mexican Lasagna and have such a great meal.
In America, we might first think that refried beans mean that the beans have been fried twice. However, the word refried comes from the Spanish name frijoles refritos. The translation for this phrase means well fried. Therefore, they are not cooked twice but cooked well until soft enough to mash into the creamy beans we all love.
Most restaurants use lard in their refried beans. That is one reason I prefer to make them at home. I can get the same great taste from the seasonings without adding extra fat.
There are a few things you can add to refried beans to make them creamy:
– Fat: Adding fat to refried beans will also help to make them creamier. You can use butter, shortening, lard, or even olive oil.
– Dairy: Adding dairy products to refried beans is a great way to make them creamy and rich. You can use sour cream, Greek yogurt, or cream cheese.
– Cheese: Cheese is another great way to add creaminess and flavor to refried beans. You can use shredded cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or queso fresco cheese.
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Because of this recipe I will never buy canned refried beans again! Thank you! I followed the instruction and cooked them for the full 9 hours and they came out great.
I’m so glad you’re getting great use out of this recipe!
My hubby is addicted to the taste of refried beans, he could eat them daily but doesn’t. This recipe is so simple , took 6 hours in my slow cooker. So inexpensive to make and better than canned
How big is your crockpot?
I used a 6-quart crockpot.
I will never buy another can of refried beans! These are so good and so easy. There’s no reason to spend money on canned beans.
This recipe is so easy to follow, I added some diced jalapeno to it because we like the spice of it. I have always had a problem making refried beans even after my mom spent years teaching me. This recipe means no more canned beans for me. My household loves them.
Just made these today and they are excellent! Will definitely be making again. Instructions were perfect, thank you!
This recipe makes THE most delicious refried beans! So easy to put together in a crock pot, cook overnight and in the morning all you have to do is add the butter and a little sea salt. I don’t have an immersion blender so I just used a potato masher and it worked great. This will now be my go to recipe for refried beans ❤️
Curious if i can make without the chicken flavoring? Making them vegetarian.
Yes, you can make the refried beans without the chicken flavoring. You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth to maintain a similar depth of flavor.
Wonderful and easy and everyone loved them.
Wonderful and easy!
This is my go-to refried bean recipe. I’ve made it for a few yrs. I’ve been trying to recreate my husband’s Mexican grandfather’s refried beans that were the best beans my husbands ever had. There’s only 1 taqueria with beans that come close. When I make these beans and add the white Mexican cheese his grandpa used it’s pretty close too I always double recipe and it’s perfect! I do have a big family and a big crockpot! Thanks for recipe! They’re amazing!
I have made this recipe a few times and love it. I would like to make a double batch for a church lunch. Wondering if you’ve ever done this and how much to adjust the cooking time?
Hi Rachael,
I’ve never tried making a double batch of these beans, mainly because I don’t have a crockpot large enough for a double batch. However, with that said, If you do have a crockpot large enough for a double batch, the cooking time would be the same.