We love refried beans! We eat burritos every Friday, and canned refried beans are not only expensive, but the ingredients can be undesirable. There’s a little free kitchen tip for you! Do your best to replace canned goods with homemade to save money, and to keep your ingredients simple and healthy.

In a home with seven homeschooled children, and a home businesss, the crockpot is your best friend. I own and use several. There’s a picture at the bottom of the crockpot my mother-in-law recently gave me. I think I have the 8.5 quart size.

Today’s recipe is cooked entirely in the crockpot. Yep, I found the cheater method to make refried beans, so that I only have to mess with it a total of 5 minutes. Here we go!

Crockpot refried beans

6 cups dried pinto beans

1 Tab chili powder

1 Tab salt

1 Tab cumin powder

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 stick butter

This is a make-ahead recipe, so you need to plan ahead. The night before you want refried beans, put your beans in a crockpot, at least 6 quart. Fill er up with water, and put it on high. Let it cook until about an hour before you plan to eat your dinner. Different crockpots will take different amounts of time. My older 6 qt. needs to cook overnight and through the day. (18 hours)  My new crockpot can be turned on first thing in the morning and will be done by dinner. (4-6 hours) When trying to figure out the time for your crockpot, remember that you are making refried beans, so it’s okay if they are really soft. Your only danger in cooking them too long is the water running low, so keep an eye on that the first time.

Turn it off and let it cool a bit. Then drain your beans into a colander in the sink, and put the beans back in the crock.

Now, pop that butter down in the beans to help it melt. Add your seasonings and mash up the beans with a potato masher. The one I have is good, but I would love a longer handle. Keeping my eye out!

Mash and mix your beans well, and you will have a nice, not quite smooth texture. I like having some of the beans still intact. If you want it smoother, you could experiment with a hand mixer or an immersion blender. The hand mixer would require you to put the beans in a shallower bowl.

Enjoy! We love to have ours in a soft tortilla with rice, cheese, tomatoes, onion, etc. Yum!

As a side note, you can take your leftovers and make mini burritos to throw in the freezer for lunch.

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