Slow-Cooked Refried Beans
Easy Slow-Cooked Refried Beans that are low-fat and flavorful. Plus extra dinner ideas for slow-cooked pinto beans.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- skillet
Ingredients
- 2 lbs about 5 cups dried pinto beans - presoaked and drained. *I use the quick method.
- 10 cloves of garlic or 5 tsp minced.
- 2 medium yellow onions chopped.
- 2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped.
- 1/2 each - green and red bell pepper. Seeded and chopped. or both whole peppers
- 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper I use 1/2
- 7 cups of water
- 4 cups chicken broth vegetable broth for plant-based diets.
Instructions
- In a skillet use a little broth to sauté garlic, onions, and all of the peppers.
- Add seasonings and continue cooking a few minutes more. Add sautéed vegetables and presoaked beans to your slow cooker with water and broth. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on low 12 hours, or on high for about 8 hours. Don't ask me why...but I prefer low for 12 hours.
- For traditional refried beans, drain the beans reserving 1/2 - 1 cup of the liquid.
- Use a potato masher or a hand mixer to mash beans to desired consistency adding liquid as needed.
- You may find you like your refried beans left coarser, or maybe you prefer a smoother consistency. It's completely up to you how much liquid you add while mashing.
- Serve them up or place in freezer containers to use at a later time, like on a busy weeknight.
Notes
*Presoak quick method: Rinse the beans in a colander. Discard any stones or debris. Place beans in a pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Bring water to a boil on high. Cook for 1 minute, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans and they are ready for your recipes
To count weight watcher points, a 1/2 cup of refried beans is 4 points and 1 cup of whole beans is 6 points.