Homemade Crockpot Refried Beans

Homemade refried beans? Simple easy squeezy. If there is one food worth learning to make from scratch, it’s refried beans. Not actually fried either-- more soak, sauté and mush beans. After reading the label on the can I will never ever buy them in the can again. The canned, store bought beans are typically full of hydrogenated oils, colors, LARD and preservatives. It’s worth giving them a try!

Homemade Crockpot Refried Beans

Start with 2- 4 cups dry pinto beans. These are cheap, healthy and once you’ve picked out the dirt and grit you’ll feel very close to the earth. (Directions for cooking below.)

When deciding how much to prepare remember that 1 cup of dry beans equals approximately 3 cups of cooked beans. To prepare dry beans, place the beans in a large pot, cover with a generous amount of water (I left about 3 inches of water above the beans) and leave soaking overnight. Cover with lid but do not turn on heat.

The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Rinse until water runs clear. Cover them again generously with fresh water (about 3 inches of water above the beans) and use a slow cooker left on it on “warm” several hours. I leave them all day while I’m at work. It’s so stress-free; a slow cooker works wonderfully for this.

Now the “cooking” part-

·         3 T. butter for sautéing 

·         Cooked pinto beans (about 1-2 cups)

·         1 cup chopped white onion

·         5 cloves minced garlic

·         2 1/2 t. cumin

·         2 t. smoked paprika

·         2 t. kosher salt

·         1 t. chili powder (adjust to your tastes I use 2 teaspoons honestly)

·         1/2 t. black freshly ground pepper

·         A thinning ingredient like vegetable broth or water, I used homemade vegetable broth and the left over bean broth left from the second “soaking”

 Directions:

In a large pot or saucepan, sauté the onions in the fat until they are soft and translucent.

Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

Add the beans. If your beans are dry, you may need to add extra liquid (vegetable broth or water) Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and black pepper. The trick is to keep the mixture moist and not dried out as it will then crumble.

Bring to a slow simmer and allow it all to cook on low heat for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the mixture becomes dry, you may need to thin it with some liquid such as vegetable broth or water at this point. If you started out with extra liquid when you cooked the cooked beans, you may not need to add anything.

Once the beans have cooked for about 10-20 minutes more and the flavors have had time to combine, mash them with a potato masher, fork, etc. You’ll know when you apply pressure and the beans “give” easily. Mash until they are the consistency you prefer and serve warm topped with whatever you like!