refried beans recipe

These slow cooker refried beans are so easy to make and incredibly delicious!

Slow Cooker Refried Beans

dry pinto beans (rinsed)

water

chicken bouillon cubes

T garlic salt

sweet onion (outer skin removed, don't chop)

butter (softened)

onion powder

cumin ((optional))

Place the rinsed pinto beans into the slow cooker. I used my large crock pot. If you have the option to use a large, or small crock pot, use the large.

Fill your slow cooker 3/4 full with water, about 8-10 cups of water (it might vary depending on your particular slow cooker).

Sprinkle the crushed bouillon and garlic salt over the water.&nbsp;

Place the sweet onion into the slow cooker.

Cook on high for 6-8 hours or on low for 9-10 hours.Stir occasionally. If you need to add more water during the cooking process, be sure to do that.&nbsp;

Once the beans are soft, use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans to a large bowl. &nbsp;Keep the bean juice. Discard the onion.&nbsp;

Add 1/2 cup butter, onion powder, cumin (if using) and 1/2 cup of the reserved bean juice to the beans.&nbsp;

Using a hand blender, or a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach your desired consistency. Add more bean juice to make them less thick if you'd like. I added about 1 1/2 cups of bean juice total. The beans will thicken and set with time so keep that in mind.

Learn how to make refried beans from scratch, and you&#039;ll never get the canned kind again! You can make this recipe with dry pinto beans or canned ones. Vegetarian with a vegan option. Gluten-free.

Refried Beans

recipe Pinto Beans ((cooked from scratch with seasonings))

avocado oil

lime juice

Water (as needed)

chili powder

onion

cumin

pinto beans (including liquid)

oregano

salt

black pepper

lime juice (more

Cilantro

Cotija cheese

red pepper flakes

To make refried beans from dried pinto beans: Prepare the full Pinto Beans recipe. Transfer a little more than half of the cooked beans to a blender with about 2 to 4 tablespoons of water, enough for the beans to blend. Return the blended beans to the pot and stir in the avocado oil, lime juice, and chili powder, to taste. If the mixture is too thick, stir in more water to reach your desired consistency.

To make refried beans from canned pinto beans: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until softened. Stir in the cumin and chili powder, then add the beans, oregano, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for 15 minutes. Transfer 3/4 of the cooked beans to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the blended beans to the pot, and stir in the lime juice. Season to taste and serve.

Serve the finished refried beans with cilantro, Cotija cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired.

Refried beans are easy to make yourself. Try my canned beans refried beans recipe, to pair with all your favorite main dishes.

(15 oz each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup onion, finely chopped

oil (canola, olive oil)

garlic,

vegetable stock

In a medium saucepan you will want to...

In a medium saucepan you will want to turn on medium heat. Then add your oil and let it get warm. Toss in your onions and salt.

Cook your onions until they are softened and...

Cook your onions until they are softened and become translucent, this takes around 5 minutes.

Add in your garlic, cumin, and chili powder....

Add in your garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Stir constantly for about 30 seconds, you want it to begin to smell fragrant.

Now pour your drained beans in along with...

Now pour your drained beans in along with vegetable stock. Stir and cook covered for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.

Reduce your heat to low and remove your...

Reduce your heat to low and remove your lid. Grab a potato masher or blender and mix up the beans. I generally mix only half the bans up as I like a thicker texture. But mix to your desired texture.

You will want to cook the beans for...

You will want to cook the beans for 2-3 more minutes stirring often.

Once done remove beans from the heat, and...

Once done remove beans from the heat, and stir in the lime juice. Add salt to taste if ou would prefer.

If your refried beans seem dry you can...

If your refried beans seem dry you can add a splash of broth or even water. Cover and stir occassionally until you are ready to serve.

Easy to make Instant Pot Refried Beans from scratch with healthy pantry ingredients and no soak method. Creamy rich homemade refried beans are great as a tasty side dish, dip, topping, or filling for your Mexican meal.

Instant Pot Refried Beans

(454 grams) pinto beans (, rinsed and drained)

(30 milliliters) olive oil, bacon fat, or lard

(323 grams) large onion (, roughly diced)

(2.7 grams) ground cumin

(1.1 grams) dried oregano

(13.7 grams) garlic (, minced)

stock

Salt

Cilantro (, roughly chopped)

Jalapeno (, sliced or diced)

onions (, chopped)

Tomatoes (, diced)

Lime (, sliced or lime wedges)

Feta cheese

Saute Onion, Spices, Garlic

Saute Onion, Spices, and Garlic: Press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up your Instant Pot. Wait until it says 'HOT'. Add in 2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil, bacon fat, or lard. Add in roughly diced onion, then cook until softened. Add in ½ to 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, and minced garlic. Cook for another minute until fragrant.

Deglaze

Deglaze: Pour ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Completely deglaze the bottom of the pot by scrubbing the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Keep the brown bits because they&#39;re very flavorful. Give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook Beans

Pressure Cook Beans: Add in well-drained pinto beans and remaining 3½ cups (875ml) unsalted chicken stock. Make sure all the pinto beans are submerged in the cooking liquid.With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.Pressure Cooking Methods:Option 1 - Tender with a Bite Pinto Beans: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 40 minutes, then Natural Release for 25 minutesOption 2 - Silky Smooth &amp; Tender Pinto Beans: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 50 minutes, then Natural Release for 25 minutes

Drain Beans Liquid

Drain Beans Liquid: Carefully open the lid. Strain beans liquid with a strainer. Place beans back in Instant Pot. Keep the beans liquid in a mixing bowl.

Mash Beans

Mash Beans: Make refried beans by mashing the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender until desired consistency. Potato Masher: yields a coarser, chunky paste. Immersion Blender: yields a thick and more creamy smooth paste.Taste and season with salt. For reference, we used 4 pinches of salt. Adjust the thickness by adding the drained beans liquid back to the refried beans until your desired consistency.

Garnish and Serve

Garnish &amp; Serve: Give it a final taste, then garnish with your favorite toppings. Serve &amp; enjoy~ :)

How to make delicious, healthy, vegan Refried Beans from scratch using dry beans or canned beans on the stovetop or in your instant pot.

 Homemade Refried Beans (Instant Pot or Stovetop) 

lb pinto beans, 2 1/4 cups (dried), or sub 6 cups cooked beans (4

bay leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano)

——–

garlic powder

chipotle powder (optional)

½-1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

olive oil (optional)

STOVE TOP

Place dry beans in a bowl or pot and pour 5 cups of water over the top. Let them sit on the counter overnight or for 8 hours, until they will swell and double in size. Drain. If using canned or cooked beans see notes.

Place soaked beans in a large pot with 5 cups of fresh water. Add salt, cumin, chili powder and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and turn heat to low then simmer gently until tender, about 2 hours.

Drain the beans , reserving the cooking liquid,  and remove the bay leaves.

Place them in the food processor with the additional salt and spices. Add 1- 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid into the food processor and puree until smooth.

Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the puree for extra richness and delicious flavor.

Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve, or divide and freeze, or simply refrigerate for the week. They will keep for 3-4 days.

Yum! Easy recipe to add to the Taco Tuesday rotation. Using the reserved cooking liquid is a must to whip up creamy beans. I use the same method for making hummus. Cooking liquid is also a great way to store any cooked beans in the refrigerator or freezer and a tasty liquid for making soups and chili. (PS, cooking liquid DOES NOT equal the liquid in the canned beans from the store ?.)

I had over cooked some adzuki beans and they were mush. I was looking for a recipe to use them and tried this.  I added some cumin since I hadn't cooked them in spices and only used water to mix them. It is delicious, and so easy! Thank you!

My hubby loves black beans and beans of all kinds - we cook a lot of them - but as much as he also enjoys Mexican food he just has never been able to become a fan of refried beans.  Until we made this  pureed bean recipe (using Rancho Gordo beans and the stovetop method).  These are great with your tleyuda (sp) recipe too.  Thanks for taking the time to create and post this.

Delicious! Many thanks for the recipe and the method. Canned refried beans are hard to find and expensive where we live,  so I'm using thepandemic as a perfect time to learn how to cook more things from scratch. You made my day!

These really are the BEST EVER refried beans! They are full of flavor and super easy to make - especially in the instant pot. We've been making them every week for the last 6 months and they just never get old. We leave out the oil and just mash them up with a potato masher. No more bland refried beans. So delicious!

Hi Sylvia! I just found your blog and am so happy I did :) These are indeed the BEST EVER refried beans! 

I used some dried pinto beans that have been in my pantry for probably 5 years (yikes!) but nonetheless they turned out amazing and are so, so simple with the Instant Pot and food processor. I was planning to add the oil but ended up forgetting it, and they were still so rich in flavor (I used 1t of all of the optional spices listed). 

Thank you for this awesome recipe!

I made this recipe today exactly as written, with all the optional ingredients, and it is very flavorful! Thank you.

I followed the instructions for the Instant Pot using flor de mayo beans. I love the Instant Pot for cooking beans - so easy and perfectly creamy! The end result was so good! Creamy with excellent flavor. I added some EVOO for richness and that really completed the dish. I will be returning to this recipe again and again.

This is very good! Unfortunately, I only had canned pinto beans so they lost flesh when I cooked them for two hours. I also added too much liquid into the blender with the bean mix. Ooops! Still, this refried beans was so much better than what you’d get in a can! Despite being too liquify, the refried beans were yummy!

This recipe worked well with Rancho Gordo Mayocoba beans in my Instant pot. The only change I made was adding some dried hot peppers that I removed before mashing the beans. Will definitely make again!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/TYeMgD1h.mp4

How to make Refried Beans from scratch using dry beans or canned beans! A simple vegan recipe with so much flavor! These can be made on the stove-top or in an Instant Pot with just 15 minutes of hands-on time. Video.

Refried Beans from Scratch 

The BEST Refried Beans Recipe we&#x27;ve ever made. These Easy Refried Beans can be made from Canned Beans, Dried Beans, or in the Instant Pot!

Best Refried Beans Recipe

pinto beans, (or 1 pound dried pinto beans)

olive oil

onion,

garlic, (minced)

cilantro

cayenne pepper

chicken bouillon, (pork bouillon, or vegetable bouillon)

Salt and pepper

Water

Possible garnishes: lime wedges, queso fresco, more cilantro, chopped scallions

Lime juice

For Stovetop Canned Refried Beans: Place a large saucepot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, cilantro, and spices. Sauté for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are very soft.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the pot. Then add in the bouillon and 2 cups of water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, to keep the beans on the bottom from burning.

Use a potato masher to mash the beans to your desired consistency. (I like mine pretty smooth.) Stir in the fresh lime juice. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.

For Stovetop Dried Refried Beans: Place the dried beans in a large bowl. Pour in water, covering the beans by 1 inch. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic and let the beans soak overnight. Drain off the water.

Place a large saucepot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, cilantro, and spices. Sauté for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are very soft.

Add the soaked beans to the pot. Then add in the bouillon, 8 cups of water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, to keep the beans on the bottom from burning.

Remove the lid and simmer another 15 minutes or so, until the liquid has evaporated a bit and the beans are very soft. The cooking liquid should have cooked down to the top of the beans.

For Instant Pot Refried Beans from (No-Soak) Dried Beans: Set a 6+ quart Instant Pot on Sauté. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, cilantro, and spices. Sauté for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are very soft.

Pour in the dried beans, the bouillon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 7 cups water. Stir well to loosen anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. (Debris could set off the burn notice.) Lock the lid into place, and set the Instant Pot on Pressure Cook High for 30 minutes.

Perform a natural release. Once the steam button has dropped you can safely remove the lid. The water should have condensed into a thin gravy. If the beans look too watery, remove (and reserve) about 1 cup of liquid off the top.

Use a potato masher to mash the beans to your desired consistency. (I like mine pretty smooth.) Stir in the fresh lime juice. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. *Add some of the cooking liquid back in if desired.

Wowza!  These were the best beans I have ever had and so easy to make!  Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!  I did a taco/bowl bar for Easter and they were a big hit!  I can't wait to make them again.  Goodbye boring refried beans!

Good recipe! I’m making it for the second time again today. I’m mostly just here to tell you that you do NOT have to soak dried pinto beans overnight. I use them regularly and at MOST I soak them for a couple hours before I start a recipe. Often, as with this recipe, I don’t soak at all. I just wash and pick out any bad beans. I’ve read that not soaking will add to your cooking time, but this has never been my experience. This recipe takes the same amount of time as written without soaking. So if all you have is dried beans, go ahead and make the recipe! 

YUM!!  I usually season my refried beans and add cheese... this recipe is even better... It's so delicious.  I used fat free canned refried beans and added all this seasoning, no cheese needed!  Now my go to recipe whether from canned pinto beans,, dried pinto beans or even canned refried beans!  Thank you!!  Definitely worthy of 5 stars!

OMG! I'm never going back to canned refried beans again. These are so good! I used dried pinto beans and a tsp of ancho chili powder and a tsp of cumin. 
Definitely a keeper!

Wow, what an amazing recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!

I didnt know how easy it was to make refried beans. This is getting put into my monthly rotation. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!

Homemade refried beans are soooo good! These have the best flavor of any recipe I've tried so far - so great!

The flavor of these beans was so delicious! I used dried cilantro and omitted the cayenne, but otherwise made as written. My beans took twice as long in the instapot…not sure what I did wrong, but I just had to keep putting them back in longer. Super yummy though and I’ll definitely use this recipe again!

These are perfect refried beans! Easy recipe - I didn’t change a thing. Cooking them again tonight for Cinco de Mayo. They’ll be a delicious accompaniment for my Carne Asada Quesadillas and Mexican Rice. 

Have used your recipe for a couple years and always make a double batch. Wouldn't even consider another recipe they're so good. I cook 2 lbs of dry pinto beans in the slow cooker with 3 quarts water, 1 Tbl salt and 1/2 tsp pepper for 6 -7 hours on LOW until tender. No need to soak overnight. Then use the beans  in your recipe as directed. Perfect every time and seasoned just right. I love having containers in the freezer ready to go.  Oops, time to go stir!!!!!

Runny comment. Yes I do not like "goopy" recipes, so my key is to be sure you end up the simmer with lid off as described for 15 minutes OR go longer so most water has evaporated. Ta da no "goop". I have gotten good on the visual of liquid needed remaining and you will too.

Hi Sommer!
    Once again you hit the mark with this beans!  Just made them this morning and they aroma is wafting through my home.  I must tell you though, I only had 3 cans of the pintos in the pantry so I used a can of already seasoned chili beans.  I figured what harm to have extra seasoning.  Also,  I use powdered Calde de Pollo and chicken broth instead of water. I did cut back on the bouillon .  For the person who said they were too watery... just let the beans set in the pot after you mash them .  They thicken up .  Love this recipe!  Thanks for a keeper.

I love adding these beans to my favorite burrito bowls or quesadillas!

Give them a 5 for taste, came out too runny for my taste.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/zgnll0uM.mp4

The Best Refried Beans Recipe from canned OR dried beans! This Easy recipe can also be made as Instant Pot Refried Beans!

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