When I realized my refried beans weren’t on the website yet, I dropped everything to add them. I love these beans. Once I made them, I knew I could never go back to canned refried beans 🤮 Plus, these are soooo easy to make!
Grab your crockpot, ladies!!
This recipe starts the night before. I soak my pinto beans in a bowl of cold water overnight. Some sources say you should. Some say don’t bother. I bother 🤷♀️ Just grab a big bowl and make sure to cover the beans completely with water.
The next day, drain the beans and give them a quick rinse. Add the following to your crockpot:
- pinto beans, soaked overnight; drained and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into fourths (no need to dice)
- 1 large box chicken broth
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- black pepper
- cumin
- enough water to ensure the beans are covered
I am pretty heavy-handed with the spices — beans are plain and can handle extra flavoring — except the cumin. Cumin can be overpowering.
Cook on low for 8 hours. The beans are done when they are soft and much of the water (not all) is absorbed. It’s more of a taste thing than a time thing. If your beans are still hard but the water is gone, you can add more, as needed.
Now, you could stop here and serve the yummy beans in a bowl with some sour cream and a slice of cornbread. Cheap and easy dinner.
Or … you can dump the contents of your crockpot into a food processor and blitz away. It usually has to be split up into 2-3 batches. Put the creamy refried beans back into the crockpot and taste. This is where I add salt to taste. I also add any additionally seasoning I think it needs. The onion imparts a lot of flavor though, so I usually don’t need to add much.
That’s it. Refried beans from scratch. Eat plain. Make Sam Sauce for nachos. Meal prep simple bean and cheese burritos for the freezer. Freeze the beans right in a ziploc. These beans are versatile and So. So. Good.
