Slow Cooker Refried Beans

​

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of Pinto beans 

• 5 cups water

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 1 onion, diced finely 

• 3 cloves of minced garlic

• 1 Tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse your beans. Spread them out on a cookie sheet and pull out all the discolored ones. 

2. Combine everything in the crockpot. Cook on HIGH for 8 hours. Add more water if you need.

3. When beans have popped open and are soft, they are done. Reserve a couple cups of the liquid into a separate container.

4. Strain beans. You can either mash them with a potato masher, use a food processor or use an immersion blender. I used the immersion blender, right in the slow cooker crock and it was a cinch! Add extra water if you need to get the consistency you want.

5. Wait until it cools. Fill Ziploc bags and freeze. I like to lay mine on a flat cookie sheet or piece of cardboard in the freezer so they freeze completely flat, then I stand them up in a box, so they are easy to find! I would use within 3 months, but they probably won’t kill you if you keep them longer in the freezer.

6. If needed, you can add more chicken broth when you thaw the beans – they might need a little more liquid when reheated.