Name: Chuy's Tasty Tex Mex Refried Beans Recipe (Copycat)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 9 h
Total time: 9 h 15 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 pound dried pinto beans; 5 cups of water; 1 medium white onion - chopped; 3 garlic cloves - minced; 1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper - minced; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; Salt to taste

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I must admit that Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines and Chuy’s Tasty Tex Mex Refried Beans are up there at the top!

I love the smoky flavor of chipotle peppers, the bite of green chilies, tacos, fajitas, and of course refried beans!

We all have our favorite dish from our favorite Mexican restaurant. For me, Chuy’s Tex Mex restaurant has the best refried beans! Simple yet creamy and flavorful.

Square white plate with a scoop of refried beans and Mexican rice on it. There is four quesadillas on the plate. There is a brown cloth napkin to the side of the plate. Items are on a gray surface.

If you haven’t heard of Chuy’s and you are a fan of Mexican cuisine, you are missing out on a tasty treat.

Chuy’s is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The first location opened in 1982 and there are close to 100 restaurants in 17 states with most of them in Texas.

I don’t live near a Chuy’s so I had to try and copy their refried beans recipe. It’s taken me a few tries but I think I have it down and I know you’re going to love them!

Small blue bowl with refried beans in it. There is shredded cheese and chopped cilantro on top. There are 4 quesadillas beside the bowl. The items are on a brown paper lined dish. Dish is on a gray surface.

Why We Love Refried Beans

It is such a simple recipe with only a handful of ingredients. The main ingredient is pinto beans flavored with onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, ground cumin, fresh black pepper, and salt.

You can customize the beans by adding other ingredients. Add a dash of cayenne, extra cumin or green chile sauce for some heat.
A dollop of sour cream, chopped red bell peppers, pico de gallo, green onions, and tortilla strips all make great toppings for the Mexican pinto beans.

Beans are full of fiber so they can be a healthy side dish and often are on a vegan menu.

Bowl of charro beans with shredded cheese on top, sitting on a brown paper lined tray. There are Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips on the tray next to the bowl. Tray is on a gray surface.

These Mexican beans can be served as an appetizer! Pair them up with my Torchys Tacos queso, your favorite salsa, and blue corn tortillas or tortilla chips.

There’s nothing better to me for supper than a large dinner salad with cilantro vinaigrette, carne asada, Mexican rice, and refried beans. They make the perfect side dish! I’m getting hungry right now!

I recently topped some store bought tostadas with these tasty refried beans, chopped lettuce, tomato, onion, and shredded cheese. Talk about delicious!

I like this recipe because it’s vegetarian and I love to have vegan options but if you’re making a dish that has fajita beef or ground beef in it, add some refried beans to it to make a great hearty meat lover’s meal!

Large white bowl with dried pinto beans in it. Three small clear ramekins. One with ground black pepper in it. One with ground cumin in it. One with pink Himalayan salt. There is a jalapeno pepper, three garlic cloves, and a white onion. All items are on a gray surface.

Ingredients For Tex Mex Style Refried Beans

1 pound dried pinto beans

5 cups of water

1 medium white onion – chopped

3 garlic cloves – minced

1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper – minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

There is a stainless steel slow cooker, white food chopper, stainless steel immersion hand blender, stainless steel garlic press, and a large black handle chef's knife. Items are on a gray surface with a white subway tile back splash.

Useful Tools

Crock pot / slow cooker

Immersion hand blender

Food chopper

Garlic press

Large sharp knife

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between slow cooker refried beans and slow cooker charro beans?

Typically refried beans are made with very few simple ingredients.

Charro beans are flavored with meat (bacon, chorizo, or ham), garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, chili peppers, or Serrano peppers. It’s often served as a main dish.

Charro beans are also known as frijoles charros or cowboy beans.

Do The Pinto Beans Need To Be Soaked Before Cooking?

Technically you don’t have to soak the beans before you cook them, however it does seem to improve the texture and consistency.

If you want to soak the beans before cooking them, here are the three main methods of soaking:

The Overnight Soak: Rinse and dry the pinto beans. Place them in a large bowl and cover them with water. Soak 8 – 10 hours or overnight.

The Fast Soak: Rinse the pinto beans and place them in a large pot on the stovetop. Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans soak for 2 hours. Rinse and cook.

The No Soak (My favorite method for this recipe): Rinse and cook. That’s it! I usually follow this method when the beans are being cooked in a slow cooker.

There is a slow cooker with pre soaked pinto beans, chopped white onion, minced garlic, minced jalapeno pepper, ground cumin, and ground pepper in it. The slow cooker is on a gray surface.

How To Make Chuy’s Tasty Tex Mex Style Refried Beans

Rinse and drain beans.
Place beans and the remaining ingredients except the salt in a slow cooker.
Cover with water.
Cook beans on HIGH for 9 hours. Yes, that seems like a long time but remember there is no pre soaking!
Use an immersion hand blender and puree the beans. Add salt to taste.

Slow cooker with cooked pinto beans in it. There is a stainless steel immersion hand blender in the beans. Slow cooker is on a gray surface with a white subway tile back splash.

Helpful Tips

Pick through the dry beans for any rocks, debris, or bad ones. Then rinse and drain.

Use an immersion hand blender for this recipe. They start at $20.00 and higher. I use my immersion blender when I’m making soups and sauces. It’s a good investment.

You can use a standard blender and run small batches through it but this can be time consuming and messy.

When you are puree the beans be careful not to over puree. You want a smooth creamy texture but not a soup consistency.

You can add some hot water to the beans while you are blending them if they start to become too thick.

Small aluminum serving tray with a tostada with refried beans, chopped lettuce, tomato, onion and shredded cheese on top of it. There is a small clear bowl on the tray with Mexican rice in it. There is a brown cloth napkin to the side of the tray. Items are on a gray surface.

Love This Dish? Check Out Some Other Delicious Recipes From Join Me In The Kitchen

Yield: 12 servings

Chuy's Tasty Tex Mex Refried Beans Recipe (Copycat)

Delicious creamy and flavorful vegetarian Tex-Mex style refried beans.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 9 hours

Total Time 9 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound dried pinto beans
5 cups of water
1 medium white onion - chopped
3 garlic cloves - minced
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper - minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Instructions

Rinse and drain beans.
Place beans and the remaining ingredients except the salt in a slow cooker.
Cover with water.
Cook beans on HIGH for 9 hours. Yes, that seems like a long time but remember there is no pre soaking!
Use an immersion hand blender and puree the beans. Add salt to taste.

Notes

Useful Tools

Crock pot / slow cooker

Immersion hand blender

Food chopper

Garlic press

Large sharp knife

Helpful Tips:

Pick through the dry beans for any rocks, debris, or bad ones. Then rinse and drain.

Use an immersion hand blender for this recipe. They start at $20.00 and higher. You can use a standard blender and run small batches through it but this can be time consuming and messy. I use my immersion blender when I'm making soups and sauces. It's a good investment.

When you are puree the beans be careful not to over puree. You want a smooth creamy texture but not soup.

You can add some hot water to the beans while you are blending them if they start to become too thick.