Freezing Refried Beans
I’m all about convenience in the kitchen these days so after sharing how I freeze avocados {whole, sliced, mashed} last month, I decided to freeze a batch of refried beans.
Have you ever tried freezing refried beans before? Well, not only is it easy to do, homemade refried beans taste SO MUCH better than store bought. It’s crazy.
I’ve been making homemade refried beans in the Crock Pot for years now and if you’re into meal prep or batch cooking, you’ll want to be sure and add this recipe to your list.
It’s no secret around here that we are big fans of beans and rice and now that I have a batch of refried beans in the freezer {as well as guacamole!} meal time just got that much easier.
All I have to do is thaw and reheat and we’re good to go.
Here’s a quick little tutorial on freezing refried beans.
Rinse 3 cups of dried pinto beans.
Place pinto beans, 1 large onion {chopped} 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt in a Crock Pot and just enough water to cover the dried beans by a 1/2 inch.
If you like your refried beans a little on the spicy side, add a few tablespoons of chopped jalapeños. We really like the hot and sweet jalapeños from Trader Joe’s.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Adding a little extra water if necessary.
Beans glorious beans!
Scoop a few coups of the beans {and a little liquid too} into a blender and give it a whirl.
Repeat the process until you have pureed all your refried beans.
Some people like their refried beans super pureed like they serve in Mexican restaurants, and some people prefer their refried beans with bits of bean chunks still in them. We like ours a little on the chunky side.
Pour beans into a freezable container.
Ideally, this would be some sort of Tupperware or Souper Cubes type container but all mine were already in the freezer so I used my mini round cake pan instead. 😉
Pop your containers into the freezer and leave them there overnight.
The next morning pop them out of their containers and place in a freezer zip baggie and you’re good to go!
Freezing refried beans, who knew it was this easy!? Now when I feel like making soft tacos or burritos for dinner I can just reheat a single portion. Yee-Haw!
~Mavis
Note: This recipe makes about 4 traditional sized cans worth refried beans.
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Freezing Refried Beans
Ingredients
3 cups dried pinto beans
1 large onion, chopped {or 4 tablespoons dehydrated}
4 tablespoons diced jalapeños
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
water
Instructions
- Rinse dried pinto beans.
- Toss beans in the slow cooker.
- Add enough water to cover the beans a 1/2 inch.
- Add chopped onion, butter and salt and jalapeños.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Adding a little extra water if necessary.
- When the beans have finished cooking, place 2 – 3 cups of the mixture in a blender and pulse until you reach the consistency you like.
- Repeat the process until you have pureed all your beans. Some people like their refried beans super pureed like they serve in Mexican restaurants, and some people prefer them more on the chunky side.
- Place beans in portion sized freezable containers and freeze overnight.
- Pop frozen bean “pucks” in a freezer zip baggie and store until ready to use.
Leah says
Mavis you are a genius!
I’ve been making a riff on your refried beans for years (beef broth for water, adding chili powder and cumin), and cannot thank you enough for introducing my family to crockpot beans. We’ve been freezing them in roughly can-sized containers, but with my youngest now off to college you have come through again with the timely idea of making smaller serving sizes for the freezer. Brilliant!
I know what I’m making this weekend…
Mavis Butterfield says
Crock Pot beans are the way to go!!! So glad you like them. 🙂
Laura Z says
Great idea to use muffin tins. I regularly freeze all kinds of beans. As long as you don’t care about the perfectly intact canned texture for your beans, it works well. I make chick peas from dried and freeze into batches for hummus and curres. So much cheaper that way.
Ashley Bananas says
I have a few bags of dried beans and never use them. Maybe if I make ahead this will encourage me to use what’s in the pantry. Thank you for sharing!
Emily S. says
I love this! Also, I’m completely obsessed with those Hot and Sweet Jalapenos! Everytime we brave Trader Joes we get several jars and I eat them on everything. If they ever decide to stop carrying them I would be so sad 🙁
Thanks for the recipe!!
Mavis Butterfield says
They are SO GOOD! I love them on nachos!!!
Renee’ says
I love this idea. Do you soak your beans before cooking?
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope.
Annette says
Aren’t Souper Cubes great? I wish I had invented them.
Honeybee says
The Instant Pot works great for dried beans also.
To puree the beans after cooking I use a stick blender.
Then freeze in small portions.
Thanks to youradvice Mavis I started buying beans in the huge bags at Costco. It saves money and I will have food if there is a zombie apocalypse.
Mavis Butterfield says
You can never have enough dried beans and rice!
Mona says
I have made one big batch of refried beans a year and have frozen using small containers. An immersion blender is so handy for refried beans.
Lee says
I do the same using black beans and no added fat. I use a stick blender and add chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and salsa. Sometimes I mix in cooked whole beans before freezing in I cup containers.
Tiffany F says
Yes! I love freezing refried beans. None of my kids have ever cared for them; weird, I know. So, I freeze in smaller batches, so there’s just enough for hubby and myself. I’ve used pintos, black beans, or mixed them. We like them all.
AmberS says
Perfect timing!
Angie says
I have been cooking and serving dinner once a week at our local gospel mission for 18 years. Mexican food is always a hit. Years ago I started using 2 big roasting pans with 15 cups of dried beans in each. If I plan ahead, I freeze in gallon size ziploc and pull out enough for 75. Otherwise, I start them the night before and they have plenty of time to cook for the next evening. I use an immersion blender stick or leave them whole. I have never tried adding butter, but everyone loves them so I guess no need to I also like to do with same with black, navy, and kidney beans for large batches of chili and chickpeas for curry. Its a good way to use a good amount of all the donated dried beans.