Instant Pot Refried Beans

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Make quick and easy refried beans at home with this Instant Pot refried beans recipe, with modifications to make vegan refried beans to add to any recipe or to serve as a snack or dip.

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Why Use An Instant Pot For Cooking Dry Beans

If you’ve ever tried cooking dry beans on the stovetop, you know where this is going. From hours of soaking to hours of cooking with no guarantee of success, cooking on the stovetop can be frustrating.

Using an Instant Pot not only cuts down on the overall cooking time but cooks the dry beans more thoroughly. Using an Instant Pot helps to retain more vitamins, nutrients, and most importantly flavors. 

Tips For Cooking Pinto Beans In An Instant Pot

Soaking Pinto Beans

There are a few tips to put into practice when cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot. First, it’s not necessary to soak pinto beans before cooking. Unsoaked pinto beans will cook more evenly in an Instant Pot. They also split apart less often than soaked beans.

However, pinto beans that have been soaked for at least 8 hours are more digestible. By soaking them, the gas-causing sugars in the pinto beans are removed. This is good for people with any digestive issues. Soaked pinto beans will also cook faster. 

Salt And Water For Pinto Beans

Additional things to consider when cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot. Do not salt the pinto beans before cooking. The pinto beans will not become tender if you add salt during the cooking process. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to reduce the foam that forms when cooking pinto beans. This foam can clog the pressure value and interfere with the cooking time.

Finally, ensure that you have used enough water to fully cover the pinto beans. Pinto beans absorb a lot of water during cooking. For one pound of pinto beans, use approximately eight cups of water. This will help prevent losing water and potentially burning the pinto beans.  

Check out our recommendations for the Best Instant Pot Pinto Bean Recipes.

Which Instant Pot To Buy

We have the Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1. It has a six-quart capacity, which is more than enough to cook for two people or for a small group. There is also an 8-quart option for families. This recipe will make about 10 servings, which is great for entertaining or for batch cooking.

Ingredients For Instant Pot Refried Beans

This recipe includes mostly pantry staples. In addition to dried pinto beans, the beans cook in a combination of water, chicken broth, and olive oil. The beans are seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, chili powder, and black pepper. If you are sensitive to heat and spice, be sure to use a mild chili powder.

Cooking With Bacon Fat

Add about a tablespoon of bacon fat, which really gives the refried beans a lot of its flavor and texture. The easiest way to add bacon fat is to make up a bacon and egg breakfast the morning of and save the fat from the bacon. If you don’t happen to plan this far ahead, you can buy bacon fat at the grocery store, or on Amazon.

Modifications For Vegan Refried Beans

The most traditional refried beans recipes include bacon fat, but there is a way to easily make this recipe vegan. First swap out the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Then, skip the bacon fat and add an additional tablespoon of olive oil, which will add a bit more fat without the meat.

How To Make Refried Beans In An Instant Pot

We are proud of the fact that we try to offer a variety of easy recipes on this blog, particularly easy bean recipes. It’s one of the reasons why I love cooking with an electric pressure cooker. Similar to using a slow cooker, it makes cooking a breeze.

This, though has to be one of the easiest recipes to make in an Instant Pot. With absolutely no prep, it truly is a dump and seal Instant Pot recipe.

Check out some of our other easy Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Chili With Dried Beans And Beef

Instant Pot Borracho Beans Recipe – Drunken Beans

Cajun 15 Bean Soup Recipe For The Instant Pot

Add all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot and stir (told you it was easy). Place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal it closed. Cook on the pressure cook setting for 60 minutes. When the time is up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for about 20 minutes.

When done, use an oven mitt or towel to finish the release. Carefully unlock the cover of the Instant Pot and remove the lid away from the face.

Using An Immersion Blender For Refried Beans

At this point, what you have are cooked pinto beans in a liquid. To make refried beans they need to be smooth and creamy. This is what makes them great in a layered bean dip, in burritos, or as a side item for a variety of dishes.

The easiest way to do this is to use an immersion blender, or hand blender. My biggest tip, though, is to place a dark-colored towel over the pressure cooker when you start to blend. Place the blender fully under the pressure cooker beans. Without these two steps, you could end up with beans all over your kitchen.

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