These Instant Pot Refried Beans are easy to make from dried beans without soaking for hours! They taste like they do in a restaurant: and they’re good for your health too.
Do you make your own refried beans? Alex and I buy canned food for a quick fix, but we’ve also started making our own at home. Homemade bean sauce tastes so good it’s worth making if you have the time! The Instant Pot is actually perfect for homemade bean puree because it skips the soaking time! Just toss the beans with a little seasoning and within 1 hour they’ll be perfectly tender. Here’s how to make Instant Pot Refried Beans.
How to make Instant Pot Refried Beans
Homemade bean puree tastes so much better than canned beans! They can also be healthier than many canned versions. Many canned versions use lard, but this Instant Pot Refried Beans recipe has a healthy twist. He only uses 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil for the equivalent of two cans of beans. The result is beans that are so full of flavor you’ll be buying bags and bags of canned pinto beans!
The great thing about the Instant Pot is that it exists no soak time. Many methods of cooking dried beans require overnight soaking. Next you need to taste the jar a little and see if the beans are cooked. But the pressure cooker method is almost entirely hands-free! To prepare Instant Pot Refried Beans:
- Add the finely chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeño pepper to the Instant Pot. Add cumin, chilli powder, smoked paprika powder, water and dried pinto beans.
- Pressure cook on high for 60 minutes.
- Fast release.
- In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter or olive oil. Add cooked beans and cook until thickened, then mash with a spoon or potato masher until desired texture is achieved.
What kind of beans for bean sauce?
This Instant Pot Refried Beans recipe uses dried pinto beans, commonly used for refried beans in the United States. While shopping for this recipe, Alex and I found many variations of dried beans called “pinto beans.” There are many different varieties with a range of colors. Feel free to use any type of pinto beans you like!
You can also use it to prepare bean puree Black beans. Feel free to use black beans in this recipe: just taste when done and if the beans aren’t soft, pressure cook them for a few more minutes. Or use canned: Follow our Chilled Black Beans recipe for a quick and easy version.
What makes them a healthy version of bean curd?
Refried beans can have quite a bit of added fat, and it’s usually lard. These Instant Pot beans are incredibly tasty without a lot of added fat. There are just 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil to 3 cups beans (equivalent to two 15-ounce cans). Adding butter gives an overall creamier texture, so we recommend if you eat dairy. Olive oil is also suitable for a purely vegetarian recipe.
How to add flavor while keeping the recipe healthy? Onion, garlic, jalapeño and spices! These ingredients are low in calories but rich in flavor. The cumin and smoked paprika add complexity and depth that make these grains very satisfying.
How to serve these Instant Pot Refried Beans
If you need suggestions, we’re here to help! Alex and I recently served these refried beans as an accompaniment to tacos on the patio, and they were outstanding. Here are some additional suggestions:
What is an Instant Pot? Which do you recommend?
An Instant Pot is a programmable digital pressure cooker (Instant Pot is the brand name; Instapot is a slang variant). Here’s the 6 liter instant pot we use: we highly recommend it! There are many other fantastic brands of electric pressure cookers out there. The concept is to cook food under high pressure, which reduces cooking time (compared to a slow cooker or slow cooker, which is the opposite). If you need more inspiration, you can find all of our healthy instant pot recipes here!
This Instant Pot Refried Beans recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based and dairy free (with olive oil option).
The description
These Instant Pot Refried Beans are easy to make from dried beans without soaking for hours! They taste like they do in a restaurant: and they’re good for your health too.
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 1 Jalapeno chilli
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ cups dried pinto beans
- 3 cups the water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil for vegans)
- Finely chop the onion. Chop the garlic. Remove the skin and seeds from the jalapeño pepper, then finely chop.
- Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper, cumin, chili powder, pinto beans, water, and kosher salt to the Instant Pot and stir. Latch the lid and place the vent in the sealing position.
- Cook at high pressure for 60 minutes: Press the pressure cook button (make sure the ‘high pressure’ setting is selected) and set the time to 60 minutes. Wait for the Instant Pot to boil. (Note: It takes about 5-10 minutes for the pan to “preheat” and build pressure before cooking begins. Avoid touching the metal part of the lid during cooking.)
- Fast Release: Release any remaining steam from the Instant Pot by setting the pressure release handle to “vent” and covering your hand with a heated towel or pad. Never put your hands or face near the opening when dispensing steam. Open the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the cooked beans and their liquid. Cook 5 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Then mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher until the desired consistency is reached. Remove from the stove and serve.
- Category: garnish
- Method: pressure cooker
- Kitchen: Mexican
Keywords: Instant Pot Refried Beans, Refried Beans, Pressure Cooker, Instant Pot
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