Name: Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 540 min
Total time: 545 min
Yield: 12 people
Ingredients: 3 cups dried pinto beans (rinsed and picked over); 7 cups water; 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules; 1 medium white onion (finely diced); 2 teaspoons garlic powder; 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; salt and pepper to taste; Shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional)

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This Restaurant Style Refried Beans recipe is the best-refried beans recipe! They’re made in the crock-pot and taste just like they came from your favorite Mexican restaurant!

Warning: Once you make my Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe you’ll never go back to canned beans because this is an easy, authentic refried beans recipe!

This Oven Tacos Recipe is so easy to make plus it makes enough to feed a crowd! They're economical and you can customize them to fit your family's taste buds! — Try this refried beans recipe with my favorite oven tacos recipe. {Click on the picture to be taken to the recipe.}

I have been tinkering with this easy refried beans recipe for a couple of months now. I am happy to report that I’ve SO nailed it! They’re incredibly easy to make and so tasty. Not to mention they cost a fraction of the canned refried beans. And who knew refried beans and healthy could be used in the same sentence?! Because they definitely could with this recipe!

I always have a few…ten…pounds of pinto beans in my pantry (Thanks, Costco!). My kids love these beans. And I mean LOVE! They shovel them in by the spoonful.

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Cook’s Note:

*** If you use Chicken broth instead of the chicken bouillon granules then you will need 6 cups of broth and 1 cup of water!
To make this refried beans recipe you’ll need an immersion blender. You can use a standard blender and run small batches through it, but it will take a while. (Also if you go this route you’ll need to hold the lid to the blender on SUPER tight!) The immersion blender that I use will run you about $40. I use it all the time, especially for soups!
When rinsing the beans throw out any that float or that are discolored. Also keep an eye out for small stones, especially if you buy cheaper pinto beans.
This recipe makes roughly 12 cups of beans which translates to about 6-7 cans of refried beans!
These beans can be frozen in Ziploc bags in small batches. They will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. When reheating the beans you may need to loosen them with a couple of tablespoons of water.

Cook’s Tools – Slow Cooker Refried Beans Recipe:

Crock-Pot This is the 3rd one I’ve own and it’s my favorite. Lots of bells and whistles without a hefty price tag! I love that when the timer goes off, the slow cooker automatically switches to warm for 4 hours.
Immersion Blender: I love this immersion blender for making SO many recipes like salad dressings, creamy soups, and these refried beans. Clean up is so much quicker than using a blender!

Recipe Video: