My boys are pretty good eaters. And by that I mean they eat all the time! Especially my oldest. He will sit down with a brand new bag of baby carrots while he’s working on homework, and polish off the whole thing! He must be going through his seven year growth spurt. It’s really hard to get him to the point where he feels full. I can’t imagine what my grocery cart will look like when I have THREE teenage boys in the house!
I love having some go-to ideas for healthy, protein filled, after school snacks. As much as my boys eat, it would be really easy to rely on heavily processed frozen snacks, but I really don’t want to get them into that habit. These Healthy Crockpot Refried Beans aren’t what I think of as a typical snack food, but they are perfect because I can make a batch at the beginning of the week and then keep it in the fridge to make a quick bean burrito or a bean and cheese quesadilla. We also like them topped with queso fresco as a dip for tortilla chips.
I love that they are packed with protein and fiber, they are quick to prepare, and they keep my boy’s belly full for at least an hour. This recipe is also great because it literally takes 3 minutes to fill the crockpot with the beans, water, onion and spices. Then you just let it boil away in the crockpot all day long. When it’s done cooking, you can decide how chunky or smooth you want your beans. I like to use my immersion blender to make them super smooth. Technically, these are not really “refried” beans because they are only cooked once in the crockpot. There is no added fat in the recipe, and I was surprised that I didn’t even miss it!
My sister-in-law, who eats super clean, shared this recipe with me, and she found it on 100 Days of Real Food. I adapted a few of the ingredients according to my family’s preferences. Such a good one to have in your back pocket, whether you use it as a snack staple or as a side dish to your favorite enchiladas.
PrintHealthy Crockpot Refried Beans
These Healthy Crockpot Refried Beans are packed with fiber and protein, and are super easy to make.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 onion, peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- dash of liquid smoke (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse pinto beans, and place them in the crockpot with water, onion half, garlic powder, seasoned salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and liquid smoke. Cook on HIGH for 8 hours.
- After eight hours, discard the onion and drain most of the excess water but reserve. Use a potato masher, or immersion blender to achieve desired consistency. Add back reserved liquid when blending as needed. I used my immersion blender to make my beans smooth, and on the thinner side. Remember that the beans will thicken up a bit as they cool.
- Taste the beans for seasoning, and add additional salt and pepper according to your taste.
Notes
Adapted slightly from 100 Days of Real Food.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 87
- Sugar: 0.6g
- Sodium: 391mg
- Fat: 0.5g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 5.4g
- Protein: 5.4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Yummmmmm! We love beans at this house. Definitely making these soon! Have you tried this recipe with black beans?
Hey Alison, I haven’t tried black beans but I bet it would be good too! Let me know if you give it a try!
Refried beans are one of my favorite comfort foods and with this recipe, I can eat them with some skinny pretzel or pita crisos and not feel guilty! By the way, having raised three boys who are three years apart from youngest to oldest and are now all in their 30s, I can tell you that your refrigerator will need to have 7 to 8 gallons of milk on hand every week during their teenage years. Costco was our lifeline during that time 🙂 As tiring as noisy boys are, I have to say that I really missed all that noise and energy after they left home.
Vickie, wow! 8 gallons of milk! I love talking to other moms of three boys… Good to know you miss the noise now! We are definitely in what I call the “mouth noise” phase. Even if no one’s saying any words, there’s still a lot of noise going on. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
These are the best!!!! I will never eat out of a can, ever, ever….did I say ever, again! Thanks for sharing. Posting your recipe, with a link, on my blog.
So glad you like this recipe, Bethany! Thanks for sharing it on your blog!
Made these yesterday for my whole family..so good! Will be making them again and again!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I made a large batch of these and then dehydrated them … Super good instant refried beans!
Wonderful Mona, glad you liked them!
I am 81 and pinto beans have always been a staple. Even though I now live alone and I don’t have a family to cook for anymore, I find that using a crock pot to cook a batch of beans is so very convenient. Once I have cooked and mashed the beans, I divide them into portions, freeze them and when I want a burrito for myself, I can take one of my frozen portions and within a few minutes I am set for dinner. Pinto beans are really easy on the grocery budget while providing good healthy nutrients for the body.
What kind of cheese did you use for topping
I usually use queso fresco. Hope you enjoy, Maurice.
Refried beans are not fatty, nor are they actually fried. The term “refried” is a mistranslation of “refritos” which means “reheated”.
Yes, good point, Pat. I think some recipes might add in fat for flavor with lard and I like how simple this one is!