Instant Pot Refried Beans–make your own refried beans from dried pinto beans at home in your electric pressure cooker in just a few minutes. Use in any recipe that calls for a can of refried beans!
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Refried Beans
One of my favorite things to make in the Instant Pot is dried beans. I’m amazed that they can cook and become soft with only 25 minutes of pressure cooking time. Not all Instant Pot recipes are faster than their stovetop counterparts but dried beans definitely are!
You can make your own refried beans with some dried pinto beans, a little salt and some butter. It’s super easy and you can use them in any recipe that calls for a can of refried beans. For example you can use these instant pot refried beans in…
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Slow Cooker Skinny Taco Soup
Slow Cooker Mexican Tortilla Pie
7 Layer Dip
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
For Instant Pot refried beans I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I also own the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker.* I recommend buying the Duo! It’s my favorite.
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Instant Pot Refried Beans
- Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus soaking time)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes plus 10 minute natural pressure release
- Total Time: 45 minute
- Yield: 2 cans of refried beans 1x
Description
Make your own refried beans from dried pinto beans at home in your electric pressure cooker in just a few minutes. Use in any recipe that calls for a can of refried beans!
Ingredients
- 1 (20 oz) bag dried pinto beans
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 small onion
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Open the package of beans. Soak the beans and 1 Tbsp of kosher salt in plenty of water overnight in a large bowl (8-10 hours) and then pour them into a colander and rinse with cool water. OR do the quick soak method (outlined below).
- QUICK SOAK METHOD: First just pour the beans into a colander and rinse them off. Sometimes dried beans have a little dirt and debris in them. Once they have been rinsed you can add the beans to the Instant Pot.
- Next you’ll cover the beans with water and add in the tablespoon of kosher salt. For every one cup of beans you’ll want about 3-4 cups of water. I used 8 cups of water for the entire package of dried beans.
- Now you’ll bring the pot to a boil by using the the “sauté” function on your Instant Pot.
- Once the water comes to a boil you will cover the pot with the lid and set the valve to “sealing.” Then you’ll set the manual pressure cooker button to 2 minutes.
- When the timer beeps you can open the valve very slowly. If foam begins to exit the valve stop releasing the pressure and wait for 30 seconds before you try again.
- Once the lid is removed go ahead and drain and rinse the beans in a colander under cool running water. Now you can proceed with the recipe that requires pre-soaked beans.
- Add beans to the Instant Pot. Cut the onion in half and place it in the pot. Add in 2 tsp of kosher salt. Add in enough water to cover the beans completely with water. Cover the Instant Pot and lock the lid. Make sure valve is set to “sealing.” Press the manual pressure cook button and set the timer to 20 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then move the valve to “venting” to release the rest of the pressure. Remove the lid.
- The beans should be very soft. Discard the onion. Drain off the water and reserve for later. Add in 1 tsp of garlic powder and 2 Tbsp of butter. Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach your desired consistency. You could also use an immersion blender. Taste the beans and add in additional salt to taste. Add in the reserved liquid as needed to reach desired consistency.
Notes
I like to soak my beans because I like the texture it gives to the beans and I feel like it helps with digestion. If you don’t want to soak the beans just go to step 2 and cook for 30 minutes instead of 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here.
- Category: Beans
- Method: Instant Pot
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It tasted good. But most of my beans were hard. I did the overnight soak for 9 1/2 hours. What should I do next time to make sure that they’re not hard again?
Were they old beans? Sometimes they never get completely soft if they are too old.
I see in the instructions to add the seasoning packet, but there is not one listed in the ingredients. What kind is it?
That is a typo. Sorry!
Hi Karen, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how I could try to convert a recipe for IP? I have a recipe from a family friend that he used to make for his restaurants and made it for us. His wife dictated it to me so it is not exact but I have it typed into my ChefTap app fairly accurately. I call it “Bob’s Yummy Mexican Beans”. He died this year of Covid so I would really like to make it in the IP so it would be easier and we could enjoy it more often. I could share the recipe with you if you like. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes! I use my IP at 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes 3 times in one day, lol!
Hi Paula, I’ll do my best to help. Could you email it to me? [email protected]
Yes I will, thank you so much! You will see that these beans are usually served as is and are really yummy, may be smahed for refried beans also.
Do you think I can add a cup of whey from my yogurt to the cooking water, or would the acid keep the beans tough.
I would advise against it. I haven’t tried it myself but I would be nervous that it would keep the beans hard.
Karen,
Would you please consider writing how much cooking time to use if the instant pot recipes in general are cut in half and if there are minimum liquid requirements? I use your recipes all the time. I would like to cut them in half for just the 2 of us but have not been able to figure out if I should cut the cooking time and liquid in half as well. Thanks much!
This is a great suggestion Dena. I will start writing better notes about this. Thanks!
Sounds great and super easy. I’m going to try both the ip recipe and the slow cooker recipe. Can these be made ahead and frozen for later use? tia
Awesome! I think they could totally be frozen without issues.
Did you try freezing them, DJ? I have some black beans and pinto beans and would love to make some freezer meals. Taco soup is one. 😉
I make these retried beans into bean and cheese burritos and freeze for lunches. Everyone loves them. The beans freeze great!
That is a great idea! I am going to copy that 🙂
You mention adding salt before the beans are cooked.
I have read that salt makes them tough. Yes or no?
Nope!! That is a common misconception. I learned from America’s Test Kitchen to salt the beans before they are cooked.