March 11, 2024 19 Comments
Instant Pot Refried Beans aren’t fried at all, but they sure taste like heavy, fancy food.
This is one of those magical recipes that seems very high in calories, but it is not! You don’t need lard to turn these beans into something special, but an Instant Pot will help.
It’s really hard for me not to use my Instant Pot for all my recipes since I really like the results! Check out my Instant Pot Light Chicken and Rice for more inspiration.
Cooking beans is why you should buy an Instant Pot. Without pre-soaking, I threw these pinto beans into my Instant Pot and less than an hour later, I had absolutely perfect beans.
One dollar of dried beans turned into about five dollars of canned beans. Do that 25 times and you’ll pay for the $100 Instant Pot. Plus, you can control the amount of salt in the beans and they taste better than canned ones.
Have you noticed that canned beans can sometimes taste like a can?
So, they look pretty perfect and the consistency is perfect too. If you’ve tried cooking your own beans, you know that you can get crunchy or mushy results.
This recipe is a little different than many Instant Pot recipes because you don’t add everything at once. The beans are cooked and then the flavorings (onions, chilies, etc.) are cooked.
You don’t have to do it this way. If I’m in a hurry, I cook the onions in another pot while the beans cook.
This way, you can simply add the cooked beans to the onions, garlic, and chiles, mash them, and serve.
BUT you will have to wash an extra pot. Which isn’t as wonderful as using the Instant Pot for the entire recipe like I did in the photo above.
I eat these beans with rice, tortillas, eggs, on French fries, on toast or alone. They are so creamy and tasty!! Take THAT mayonnaise.
Have you made refried pinto beans in the Instant Pot? What do you serve with them?
Instant Pot Refried Beans Recipe
Makes 8 servings
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed and stoned
5 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 6-ounce can green chiles, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
Instructions
Add pinto beans, chicken broth, and a teaspoon of cumin to the Instant Pot. Choose MANUAL and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. When finished, allow the natural pressure to release before opening the Instant Pot.
Drain the beans in a colander over a bowl to retain the cooking liquid. Rinse the Instant Pot liner and return it to the pot. Select SKIP and add canola oil. Add the onion, chiles, garlic and a teaspoon of cumin. Cook until onions soften, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the oregano, beans, and 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
You can mash the beans with a potato masher or puree them in a blender. Adjust seasonings and add more liquid if necessary.
nutritional information
For a portion = 168 calories, 3.3 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, 25.7 grams carbohydrates, 1.4 grams sugar, 8.8 grams protein, 6.2 grams fiber, 400mg sodium, 1 pt freestyle
Point values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for informational purposes only. See all Snack Girl recipes