Do you love refried beans? You can make Instant Pot refried beans in minutes and they will be the best refried beans you’ve ever had.
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Homemade Refried Beans
There is something about a hearty side dish of pinto beans. Refried beans are the perfect side dish for tacos, quesadilla hamburgers, burritos, and taco salad. Now you can make the best homemade refried beans in an Instant Pot in a fraction of the time it takes to cook them on the stovetop.
Now, if you love hearty beans a la charra, be sure to try my copycat Pappasito’s Cantina Frijoles a la Charra (Charro Beans), but let’s get onto my favorite way to enjoy beans, refried beans!
Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Vegetable oil or lard or bacon grease
- Onion
- Chopped cilantro stems (save the leaves for garnish, or for another recipe)
- Cumin
- Chipotle powder
- Dried pinto beans
- Water
Recipe Ingredient Notes
My recipe contains bacon grease. Use vegetable oil if you want to make it vegetarian. I like to use a little bit of bacon grease because of the smokey flavor that it adds.
When you chop the cilantro, save the leaves for another recipe. In this recipe, the pinto beans are getting pressure cooked. You want something that will carry the flavor and not disintegrate during the cooking process. The stems are perfect for this.
Do not salt the beans until after they have cooked. Some people think that the beans may become tough if you add salt prior to the cooking process. I personally like to wait because the bacon grease can be a bit salty, and I want to see how much salt to add.
Since these beans are being pressure cooked, you will not soak them overnight or even for a few hours. If you add about five more minutes to the cooking time the beans will come out tender.
Dad Cooks Dinner advises you can soak pinto beans in a brine overnight. You may want to give this a try.
How to Make Refried Beans in an Instant Pot
- Wash and sort your beans on a cookie sheet. Sometimes little rocks or small clods of dirt can be found in the bags of beans.
- Turn the Instant Pot on saute, and saute the onions, cilantro stems, and bacon grease in the pressure cooker.
- Add the spices the beans, and water.
- Pressure cook and allow the Instant Pot to release naturally, so this adds 20 minutes to my cooking time. You will still have flavorful beans in no time.
Best Pressure Cooker to Make Refried Beans
You can use a different type of pressure cooker, but my favorite pressure cooker is the Instant Pot. I think hands down this is the best pressure cooker around.
An Instant Pot also acts like a slow cooker and yogurt maker. It can saute, make rice, and some of the best oatmeal around. To say I am passionate about this kitchen appliance is an understatement.
You can learn more about my favorite pressure cooker here: Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 6-quart
.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Instant Pot Corned Beef
- Instant Pot Irish Stew
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Risotto
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Pulled Pork
Popular Mexican Recipes
Check out more of my easy Instant Pot Recipes and the best Mexican food recipes here on CopyKat!
Instant Pot Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil lard or bacon drippings also work
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro stems, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 pound pinto beans dry
- 4 1/2 cups water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Saute onions and cilantro stems in 2 tablespoons of oil until the onions are translucent. Add cumin and chipotle powder. Stir in spices. Add sorted beans and water. Pressure cook for 40 minutes. Allow pressure cooker to release naturally, about 20 minutes.
- Taste beans and season with salt (I like about 1 1/2 teaspoons). If you desire refried style simply mash beans with either a potato masher or a stick blender until the beans are smooth.
Kathryn Morrow
I would love the recipe for gumbo from Castaways restaurant in Port Aransas, Texas. Unfortunately, the hurricane MAY have ruined the building. I have eaten gumbo all my life and this is one of my favorites.
donna
I followed the instructions to the letter and mine turned out a bit soupy. i’d recommend cutting down the liquid a bit.
Taste, however, was outstanding.
Phillip Tsouridis
Did u add leaves? What temp and how long?
Ape
Wow how very good and easy, this is a keeper!
Melinda
What does “sort the beans” mean?
Stephanie
Beans in the bag often have dirt clods in them. I like to pour all of my beans out on a cookie sheet and pick out the bits of dirt. If you watch the video, this is a step in the video.
Krista
When did you add the leaves of the cilantro?
Stephanie
You don’t add the leaves, this recipe is made with the stems only.