Slow Cooker Refried Beans Recipe | Healthy Refried Beans Side Dish (2024)

Slow Cooker Refried Beans are the simplest way to make rich and hearty refried beans at home – they are worlds above their canned counterparts. Homemade refried beans are great for anything from Taco Tuesdays to the side dish for a chicken dinner!

Easy Crock Pot Refried Beans Recipe

Today I’m working with Hurst’s Beans and I’m so excited about it. This will be the first of four recipes I’m making with their simple, inexpensive, and always tasty dried beans.

Homemade refried beans are amazing. I started making them more and more in the last year and my whole family is hooked. The fact that you make these beans in the slow cooker (no soaking needed!) really makes this an easy dish. I started adding beans to our diet in the last few years for a few reasons – they are inexpensive but full of great fiber and vitamins and minerals. I’m all about the meatless meal as often as I can, and beans are a real budget-stretcher. I know I’m not the only one who’s working hard to make healthy meals without breaking the bank. So with those motivating factors, I’ve gotten quite good at making some really delicious but simple whole food bean recipes my family loves, and slow cooker refried beans top that list!

Refried beans are a great way to either stretch the meat in your tacos or eliminate it all together. When the beans are this full of flavor, you don’t even miss the meat! We use these refried beans to make normal tacos, in salads, on nachos for lunch, in “crispy burritos” for quick meals, and on tostadas. I even serve them as a side dish to roasted vegetables and grilled pork chops. They are so delicious you can eat them on their own.

The perk of using the slow cooker to make this recipe is that you don’t have to soak the beans or babysit a pot of beans while it’s cooking. Just set it and forget it! This recipe is easily adapted to dietary needs too! Vegan or vegetarian? Great! Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. This dish is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and just about all the other things free. There’s so much to love about it.

I’m so excited to be working with Hurst’s Beans today. Hurst’s is a 4th generation family-owned company that is based out of Indiana (I was raised in Indiana and consider myself a Hoosier through and through), and they’ve been a brand that has been in my cupboard, my mom’s cupboard, and my grandma’s cupboard for years and years. I grew up loving the 15 Bean Soup Mix, and their products are ones I use and know well. I’m so excited to be working with them today. They grow their beans in the US and Canada (yay!). And my two-cents on their “flavor packet” – I normally avoid this kind of thing, but Hurst’s flavor packets really are just seasonings in a convenient little package. They are gluten-free and vegan and have no added MSG. This is a great brand, and I can’t wait for you to bring them into your own kitchen if you haven’t already.

Tips and Tricks for Making Slow Cooker Refried Beans

• No need to presoak your beans! Hooray! Just toss everything in and let it cook, cook, cook. I have this slow cooker and love it!
• I used a potato masher to mash my cooked beans into refried beans. This left little chunks of beans which were great. If you are after a super smooth refried bean, you can always add your cooked bean mixture to your blender or food processor (working in batches as needed) to process to your desired consistency.
• Pinto beans are the most common and traditional bean to make refried beans with, but don’t let that hold you back. I have made refried beans with white navy beans as well as black beans before and they were all delicious, though the appearance does change.
• Use these on Chicken Tostadas in burritos and more! Don’t forget the best blender salsa (a great winter recipe because it uses canned tomatoes).
• This recipe freezes great! Just pop your prepared refried beans into a freezer safe container, label, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. This recipe also doubles really well, so make a double batch and plan on stocking your freezer. Cook once and eat twice!

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I’m telling you what. Even if you aren’t a “bean person,” you will love these! My kids gobble them up, and everyone who tries them is always shocked at how flavorful and delicious they are. I can’t wait for you to try them!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hurst’s Beans.Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bless this Mess possible.