Refried black beans is one of my husband’s favorite meals. I had suggested that I might not cook these today, and he was so disappointed that I just had to. As a bonus, refried black beans really are simple to make… which, as you should know by now, is very important to me.
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I toss everything into the slow cooker and let it simmer away most of the day. Just before dinner, I carefully strain the liquid from the beans while catching all that goodness in another bowl. I use this liquid to puree the beans and get the texture just right. Once the texture is perfect, I add some seasoning and enjoy! Really simple!
Are you ready to make some refried black beans? Check out the recipe below!
Refried Black Beans Recipe
September 1, 2015
Ingredients
- 1 small pack of black beans – soaked overnight
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 2 tbsp chicken base
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tbsp Cajun/creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 pinch of salt or to taste
Instructions
- Soak the black beans overnight. This literally means to just put them in a bowl of water. Use about twice as much water as beans since they expand as they soak up the water. I know people who are intimidated by this step.
- Strain the water from the beans. Put the beans into a slow cooker. Add the olive oil, chicken base, garlic, and Cajun seasoning. (I DO NOT add the chili powder to this step.) If you want to add chili powder, it won’t hurt. Add enough water to cover the beans. Some slow cookers may need a little more if they allow more evaporation. Know your slow cooker and adjust accordingly. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
- Again, it is important to know your slow cooker and adjust the cooking times as needed which is hard because peeking early adds about a half hour of cooking time each time you peek.
- Once they are done, and your beans are all tender, strain the water over a bowl to collect that delicious seasoned water. See pic below.
- Use a hand mixer, immersion blender, food processor, or blender to puree the beans. Add the liquid you collected into the bowl to get the consistency right. There’s no use wasting all that seasoned yumminess. Once the consistency is like you like it, you can toss the remaining liquid. Yeah, it makes me sad, too.
- I add the chili powder and a pinch of salt at this point and adjust any other seasonings or flavors. The Tony’s seasoning has salt in it. If you chose a seasoning with less or no salt, you may want more salt. This would also be a good point to add some spice if you like it.
- That’s it! Stick it all in the slow cooker, forget about it all day, puree just before dinner. It doesn’t get much easier. If you’re less lazy than me, this is easy enough to make as a side dish for taco night.
- Stay tuned. Tomorrow, I will show you how to make an easy microwavable freezer meal using these refried black beans.
That looks really good. My kids will all eat Mexican food, which is great since some of them don’t like to eat anything. I can really use this. Thanks for the post!!! I will comment back http://www.oldefashionmom.com/