These slow cooker refried beans are the easiest part of an authentic Mexican meal, with a jalapeño kick. Just toss everything in a crock pot, then strain and blend and voila! Magically delicious refried beans.
How to make slow cooker refried beans
Eric’s birthday was this weekend. I decided to make him some Mexican food, because you can never go wrong with those same 10 ingredients that all Mexican food is made from. (Tortillas, meat, beans, cheese, etc.) I really don’t blame them for not expanding their repertoire. Why mess with perfection? (They really missed the boat on desserts though.)
I made chicken flautas with pico de gallo and avocado cream sauce, horchata, and these beautiful refried beans.
It was heavenly. It was a bit labor intensive, but it was worth it. Everything becomes a little more complicated when you are cooking an elaborate meal but still have to nurse your baby every few hours. I learned that making horchata while nursing an infant results in a lot of rice on the floor.
These refried beans were the easiest part of the meal. You just toss everything in a crock pot, then strain and blend and voila! Magically delicious refried beans. I love that they have a bit of a kick to them from the jalapeno. Happy birthday Eric!
Originally published April 29, 2013
Refried Beans (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed (or a mix of pinto and black)
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, fresh, seeded and chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 & 3/4 teaspoons black pepper, fresh ground
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 9 cups water
Instructions
- Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. If more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
- Once the beans have cooked, strain them, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. I used an immersion blender for this step. If you don't have one, use a regular blender. Put them all in if you want it really smooth, or put a portion of the beans into the blender, then mash with the remaining whole beans. Season with additional salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
I am so happy this popped up today. Paul is going full on vegan and most refried beans aren’t. So this is perfect! 😁
WHATTTT vegan for real?? I’m glad you found a recipe for him, I can’t believe he’s doing vegan!
Looks delicious.. Trying them today! Do you take the onion out after or blend it with the beans?
Hi Stacy! I just blend it right up with the beans! I like it smooth :) Happy cooking!
I’m sure Eric was very happy with his birthday meal! You are amazing Karen!
I love this recipe. I made a big pot of a recipe very similar to this a couple weeks ago, then divided it up into quart size ziplock bags so I would have refried beans handy whenever I need them. I hate going to the grocery store. Even though the grocery store is directly across the street.