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Refried Beans {Crock-Pot} Recipe

Refried Bean Burritos

Refried beans in the slow cooker is a quick, healthy, and easy dish.  We have this regularly.  This recipe makes enough that we usually use about half of it.  Then we have the leftovers the following day for lunch.  You can also freeze the leftovers, if you’d rather not have them the next day, or if your family is smaller.

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Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups (or 2 lbs.) dry pinto or black beans (We get bulk beans here)
About 3 – 3 1/2 quarts of water, as needed
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. chili powder
4 tsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)

Directions:

I cook my beans in the Crock-Pot.  The night before, sort and rinse beans.  Put them in the Crock-Pot and cover with water.

In the morning, drain the soaking water off and cover beans with fresh water. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low (time may depend on your own slow cooker and how hot it gets).  I usually cook mine most of the day on high.

After the beans have softened and are done cooking, sauté onion and garlic in oil and butter.

Drain the beans, reserving bean liquid.  Add beans to a large mixing bowl.  Add sautéed onion and garlic to bowl.  Also add the chili powder, cumin, and salt.

Blend beans with electric mixer or by hand with a potato masher, adding reserved bean mixture until beans are the consistency desired.

Serve beans as main dish, in burritos or tostadas, or as a side dish.  If desired, top with grated cheddar cheese; heat in oven to melt cheese.  Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.  We usually make bean burritos with ours (recipe below).

Bean Burritos
 

This is usually how I serve refried beans at our house.  It’s quick, easy, and economical.

Ingredients:

refried beans (prepared using recipe above)
chopped onion
salsa
diced green chilis or jalapeno peppers, optional
grated cheddar or other cheese
tortillas (we’ve been using sprouted grain tortillas, from Azure)

Suggested Sides:
shredded lettuce
tomato slices
avocado slices or guacamole
sprouts
sour cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Set each tortilla on a cookie sheet.  Spread desired amount of beans on tortilla.  Top with chopped onion, salsa, green chilis (opt.), and grated cheese.  I don’t measure any of this, I just decide how much I want on each tortilla.  I usually make them huge!

Fold the sides of the tortilla over beans so they overlap at center top; hold together with a toothpick.  Heat in oven until cheese melts and tortilla is hot, about 10 minutes.

To serve, place each burrito on individual plates and add lettuce, tomato, sour cream, avocado, and whatever else you want to add.  My husband always adds extra salsa, and one of our daughters always adds hot sauce!  The original recipe suggested cucumbers and mozzarella cheese, but we usually don’t serve it that way.  🙂

The core of this recipe comes from Sue Gregg’s cookbook, which I’ve had for many years now.  I did modify the instructions and the ingredients on this recipe.

12 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Joy! Both Leah and I saw it and both of us want to make it. 🙂 It looks and sounds delicious!

  2. I will have to try this. Have you ever canned beans? I learned last year and it's been a huge blessing to have them on hand at any minute since the beans in the stores are so expensive. Have you ever made tortillas? I tried once but I think I needed a press for them. I think I might actually make this for lunch! ;o)

    1. I've never canned beans before, but it sounds like it would be very convenient to have on-hand. I guess you'd need a pressure canner…I don't have one of those (just a water-bath canner). We buy canned beans from the local discount (scratch & dent) grocery store or the Amish discount store, and they are pretty cheap. But they aren't as healthy as home-canned ones would be.

      And I've never made tortillas, either! I've looked at so many recipes, but I still haven't tried it. Maybe someday! 🙂

  3. We love beans at our house~
    I'll have to try this recipe since our temps are heating
    up and I don't want to turn the oven on.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  4. Thank you for this recipe…I was just sitting here wondering what I could make for dinner tomorrow evening. I needed something fairly hands-off and this is perfect!! I love letting the crockpot do the work for me!! 🙂

  5. Hi Joy – This sounds like just the kind of food we like and I will definitely give it a go. Do you know why the beans are called 'refried' when they are boiled – I have often wondered what makes beans 'refried'. Lily. xxx

    1. Hi Lily,

      I believe refried beans traditionally are fried after boiling them, which is why they are called "fried," instead of "boiled." (But I'm not completely positive about that!)

      If you try this recipe I hope you like it!

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