Easy Instant Pot Refried Beans

These Instant Pot refried beans are easy to make from dried beans, without hours of soaking! They taste just like restaurant style: and they’re healthy too.

Do you make your own refried beans? Alex and I buy canned for a quick fix, but we’ve also started making our own at home. Homemade refried beans taste so seriously good, it’s worth making them when you have the time! The Instant Pot is actually perfect for homemade refried beans, because it skips the soaking time! Just throw the beans in with some seasoning, and in 1 hour they come out perfectly tender. Here’s how to make Instant Pot refried beans.

How to make Instant Pot refried beans

Homemade refried beans taste so much better than canned! They can also be healthier than many canned versions. Many canned versions use lard, but this Instant Pot refried beans recipe has a healthy spin. It uses only 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil for an equivalent of two cans of beans. It results in beans that are so full of flavor, you’ll find yourself buying bags and bags of canned pinto beans!

The great thing about the Instant Pot is that there’s no soak time. Many methods for cooking dried beans call for soaking them overnight. The you’ll need to check the pot quite a bit to taste and see if the beans are done. But the pressure cooker method, it’s almost totally hands off! Here’s how to make Instant Pot refried beans:

1. In the Instant Pot, place finely chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeño pepper. Add cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, water, and dried pinto beans.
2. Pressure cook on high for 60 minutes.
3. Quick release.
4. In a large saucepan or skillet, melt butter or olive oil. Add the cooked beans and cook until thickened, then mash them down with a spoon or potato masher until the desired texture is reached.

What type of beans for refried beans?

This Instant Pot refried beans recipe uses dried pinto beans, which is commonly used for refried beans in the US. As we shopped for this recipe, Alex and I found a lot of variation in the dry beans labeled as “pinto beans.” There are lots of different varieties, with a range of colors. Feel free to use any type of pinto bean you like!

You can also make refried beans using black beans. Feel free to use black beans in this recipe: just taste when finished and if the beans aren’t tender, pressure cook a few more minutes. Or, use canned: follow our Refried Black Beans recipe to make a quick and simple version.

What makes this a healthy spin on refried beans?

Refried beans can have quite a bit of added fat, and usually it’s lard. These Instant Pot refried beans are incredibly delicious without a lot of added fat. There’s just 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil added to 3 cups beans (equivalent of 2 15-ounce cans). Adding butter makes for a creamier overall consistency, so we’d recommend if you eat dairy. For a fully plant-based recipe, olive oil works too.

How to add flavor but still keep the recipe healthy? Onion, garlic, jalapeño, and spices! These ingredients are low calorie, but big on flavor. The cumin and smoked paprika add complexity and depth that make these beans seriously satisfying.

How to serve these Instant Pot refried beans

If you need some suggestions, we’re here to help! Alex and I recently served these refried beans as a side to go with tacos on the patio, and they were superb. Here are a few more suggestions:

• As a dip: Try them in our Refried Bean Dip with chips. And frozen margaritas!
• In tacos: They’d be great in our Refried Bean Tacos or Crispy Cauliflower Tacos.
• As a side: Serve alongside Artichoke Vegetarian Enchiladas or Grilled Shrimp.

What’s 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 variation). Here’s the 6 quart Instant Pot that we use: we’d highly recommend it! There are many other fantastic brands of electric pressure cookers. The concept is to cook foods at high pressure, which cuts down on cooking time (versus a crock pot or slow cooker, which is the opposite). If you need more inspiration, here are all our Healthy Instant Pot Recipes!

This Instant Pot refried beans recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free (using the olive oil option).

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Looking for Instant Pot recipes?

Need more inspiration? Here are some of our best Instant Pot / pressure cooker recipes:

• Basics: Sweet Potatoes | Chickpeas | Lentils| Eggs | Quinoa | How to Cook Rice: White Rice & Brown Rice | Lentils | Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas | Instant Pot Pinto Beans
• Instant Pot Spaghetti
• Creamy Instant Pot Pasta
• Vegan Instant Pot Recipes
• Thai Sweet Potatoes
• Chickpea Couscous Bowls
• Lentil Tacos
• Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats
• Granola Instant Pot Apple Crisp
• Instant Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Vegan Nachos