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The Best Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe

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This Restaurant Style Refried Beans recipe is made in a slow cooker and no bean soaking is required! This recipe serves 12 and costs $2.13 to make. That’s just 18¢ per serving!

Crockpot refried beans in a white bowl with text overlay for Pinterest.

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!

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 these beans cost a fraction of the canned refried beans. 

And who knew refried beans and healthy belong 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 homemade refried beans, and I mean LOVE! They shovel them in by the spoonful.

All of the ingredients needed to make these slow cooker refried beans.

Mexican Refried Beans Rave reviews from readers:

“Made this last night. Truly amazing and so easy!! Walking in the door after work, the house smelled yummy. Thank you so much!”

“Classic recipe I love refried beans! Can’t wait to make this again it was great”

“This recipe is as good as it gets for refried pinto beans; period (for what its worth, I am likely a refried pinto bean addict). Easy, inexpensive, reasonably “healthy”, and always nails.”

2-year-old boy enjoying refried beans on a whip.

How are refried beans made?

Refried beans are made with pinto beans. Pinto beans are a great item to keep in your pantry to be able to make beans as often as you would like at a fraction of the cost. To make the refried beans, just put all of the ingredients into a slow cooker. Cook them on high for 9 hours and then blend with an immersion blender before serving. Easy!

Are refried beans vegetarian?

Many popular refried beans recipes contain lard. Using lard in the recipe makes the beans not vegetarian. However, my recipe does not call for lard. This method also helps to make the recipe a little more healthy than other refried bean recipes. 

To make them vegan, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. 

What do you eat with refried beans?

I love refried beans 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 you’d have such a great meal. 

An overhead picture of the refried beans right after they we're blended with an immersion blender.

How to make Restaurant Style Refried Beans:

  1. First, place all of your ingredients, minus the salt and pepper, into your slow cooker.
  2. Next, cook the beans on high for 9 hours. 
  3. Finally, using an immersion blender, puree the beans until smooth. Add water as needed and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

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 six cans of refried beans!
  • You can freeze these beans 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.

Can you make Mexican refried beans in an Instant Pot?

Yes, you can make these beans in an Instant Pot! I have an excellent Instant Pot Refried Beans recipe over on my other website, Easy Budget Recipes. 

The refried beans cooker in a crock pot right before they are blended.

Cook’s Tools:

  • 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!

LOVE MEXICAN FOOD AS MUCH AS I DO?

Check out some of my favorite recipes:

How much will this restaurant style refried beans recipe cost to make? 

RECIPE COST: $2.13

PER SERVING COST: $0.18

NOTE: I calculate the recipe prices by using name brand grocery prices on grocery store websites.

  • 3 cups dried pinto beans – $1.11
  • 7 cups water – $0.00
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes – $0.16
  • 1 medium white onion – $0.70
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder – $0.06
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin – $0.09
  • salt and pepper to taste – $0.01

More Mexican recipes: 

An overhead picture of the refried beans right after they we're blended with an immersion blender.

Restaurant Style Refried Beans Recipe

This Restaurant Style Refried Beans recipe is made in a slow cooker and no bean soaking is required! This recipe serves 12 and costs $2.13 to make. That’s just 18¢ per serving!
4.77 from 42 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: beans, refried beans
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours
Total Time: 9 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 12 people
US Customary - Metric
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Jillian - a Food, Folks and Fun original!

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
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper to the crock-pot. 
    An overhead picture of the beans after cooking in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for 9 hours. At this point, the beans will be tender and a bunch of them will have popped open.
    The refried beans cooker in a crock pot right before they are blended.
  • Use an immersion blender to puree the beans until smooth. Add more water as needed, or if you're feeling decadent add a couple tablespoons of butter! Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with shredded Mexican cheese (optional).
    The finished slow cooker refried beans with a sprinkling of shredded Mexican cheese.

Video

Notes

This recipe makes about 6 cups of beans. 
Some readers have not cooked the beans for the full hours and they end up with watery beans. You must cook the beans the full 9 hours, I cannot express the importance of this enough! 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 213mg | Potassium: 699mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Follow me @FoodFolksandFun

This post first appeared on FFF on August 15, 2015. I have since updated the pictures and added a recipe video. 

This Restaurant Style Refried Beans recipe is made in a slow cooker, and no bean soaking is required! This recipe serves 12 and costs $2.13 to make. That’s just 18¢ per serving!

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ABOUT JILLIAN

I’m Jillian, the creator behind Food Folks and Fun. I have over 30 years of experience cooking for others. There’s nothing I love more than cooking for my family. Food is love, and cooking isn’t just putting a meal on a plate: It’s putting a little part of myself into that meal. Read more...

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Renee Goerger

    I adore refried beans but have never made my own…until now. I love this recipe for refried beans. They’re fantastic!!

    Reply

      • Penny

        Will it completely ruin the recipe/taste if I don’t use the onion? My hubs despises onions. Thank you! Also the pinto beans and green Chile, without the onions?

        Reply

        • Jillian

          It will not ruin the recipe, but it won’t be as flavorful. How about using 1 teaspoon of onion powder instead of the onion?

          Reply

          • Dawn

            This is fantastic! In my rotation now. My hubs is Danish/Mexican and Ive had to learn how to make authentic mexican dishes. Refried beans have not been perfected til now. His Tata made the most amazing ones but no recipe handed down. This is close. He distinctly remembers him using white mexican cheese so thats what I will play w to fully perfect the refried beans. Love using my crockpot w so many kids (5) so this is great for me 🙂 Thank you!

          • Jillian

            Dawn, I am thrilled that you and your family loved the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know! 🙂

        • Sarah

          I just made them with jalapenos because I can’t have garlic or onions, and they came out amazing. A friend of mine from Mexico makes his authentic refried beans with only jalapenos, cumin and lard, so that’s where I got the idea. I used three 4oz cans, and it has a good kick to it. 🙂

          Reply

      • Laura

        Love this recipe! Had been looking for a refried bean recipe and this one is delicious! Haven’t used canned since!

        Reply

  5. John

    I’ve tried many different bean recipes in the past, and this one is the absolute best! These refried beans always turn out delicious, and so easy! Often I’ll add some jalapeños for a little heat. Thanks for the terrific recipe!

    Reply

  6. Denise Poteat

    Made this last night. Truly amazing and so easy!! Walking in the door after work, the house smelled yummy. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  8. Jessica

    This was the perfect side dish for taco night! I served them with a little shredded cheddar cheese and it was perfection.

    Reply

  9. Shelbi

    This recipe was delicious! Slow cooker beans has changed our life. I think we will eat a lot more Mexican food!

    Reply

  13. Nancy

    Making this right now for the first time. One question. It’s just myself and my husband so I know we will have leftovers. Does this freeze well? Thanks in advance

    Reply

    • Maria

      I just finished making these, they’re still hot on the stove. I’m not going to lie: I was skeptical. But these are so freaking good. So simple but perfect. I did the overnight soak and then cooked mine on the stove top about 3 hours. Even before the salt and pepper they were delicious. And they’re already so soft I could mash them with a fork.
      I did add just a weensy dollop of lard. That’s just an old (bad) habit – they were already delicious.
      Thanks for sharing! Having for lunch with machaca and rice. Well done on some really yummy Mexican food recipes.
      Maria

      Reply

  15. Melissa

    I don’t have an immersion blender and it’s not in the budget right now. Would hand beaters do the job just as well?

    Reply

    • Jennifer

      I had to drain out some liquid in mine as well! I had made about 2lbs of dried beans!! When I started blending the first two crock pots they were too liquidy. So then I drained the other two pots. They were still a little too liquidy for me, so I fried off the excess liquid and they were thick and creamy! They were awesome! I now have three cup portions in my food saver bags in the freezer. I also did the same thing with the taco meat. Perfect for a quick dinner.

      Reply

  18. Kelly Wallace

    These are absolutely amazing! This is my sole go-to recipe now. My entire family loves them and we no longer buy canned refried beans.

    Reply

  19. Megan

    Amazing! I loveee refried beans and have been making another recipe I like but my family wasn’t a fan. Tried this one and EVERYONE was happy!! Yay!! Easy and yummy! Thanks for a great and easy recipe!

    Reply

  20. Cindy

    If I use chicken broth, how much salt do you think I should add? I’m not good at ” to taste” Answers would be greatly appreciated.. Thank you!

    Reply

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