I LOVE refried beans…probably too much. (Is there such a thing as too much love for refried beans?) I have ALWAYS wanted to make my own , but was convinced you needed to be a Mexican cuisine aficionado to pull them off…Not so my busy mom friends. These beans were not only SUPER tasty, but they were easy peasy. I literally threw stuff in my crockpot and went about my business. Nothing to it.

Here is what you’ll need to make crockpot refried beans.I mean seriously…how good do these look?? I can’t wait until our next family potluck (where we often default to Mexican food), so I can bring these!

Ingredients

3 cups dried (and rinsed) pinto beans

water

5 chicken bouillon cubes

1 large onion, cut into THICK slices (so you can remove them later!) (I used Walla Walla sweets!)

2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on size)

1 T salt

3 T butter

To Prepare

1. Rinse your beans under cold water, and add to your crockpot.

2. Fill your crockpot almost to the top with cold water.

3. Add the bouillon cubes, onion slices, and salt. Peel your garlic, and give the cloves a good whack (to release some of the juices), but leave them whole. Add these to the mix.

4. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours. Check your beans to see if they are soft, and stir the beans a few times during the cooking process.

5. When beans are soft, drain off the excess water (reserving about a cup or so to use when you blend the beans!), and remove the onions and garlic.

6. Using a hand blender, mix the beans until smooth, adding in the cooking liquid as needed. Add in your butter, and blend until smooth and the desired consistency. I blended my beans until they were completely smooth, but if you prefer to have some whole beans in your refried beans, you can mash them to the level you enjoy.

That’s it! One bite of these beans, and you will wonder why you’ve been eating canned beans all your life. These have so much flavor, and are SO easy to make! Enjoy!!

*This recipe was adapted from a recipe found at Chef in Training.