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With very little effort, you can make this Instant Pot Homemade Refried Beans Recipe for your family. For a fraction of the cost of store bought beans, you can have an easy side dish for your Mexican recipes.
Instant Pot Refried Beans Recipe:
Did you know you can make refried beans at home for just pennies on the dollar? You can make delicious refried beans for much less than purchasing them and they taste SO much better!
We love getting refried beans at our local Mexican restaurant but I knew that I could make them at home. Making Mexican food at home is probably my favorite thing to make, so I knew I had to start making refried beans.
The refried beans turned out so good and they were so easy to make. The ingredients were simple and it saved me so much money. Plus they tasted so much better than the canned refried beans. This is a great recipe.
You might also like our Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe or Crock Pot Pinto Beans Recipe.
How do you make instant refried beans?
Instead of paying around $1 per can, you can easily make your own refried pinto beans and place them in the freezer to save your family a ton of money.
It is so easy to make your own and you are going to love how they taste. I used a hand mixer to mix them up and smash them but you can also use an immersion blender.
They are simple to heat up and enjoy with your favorite Mexican Recipes.
The Electric Pressure cooker I recommend
Now you will need an electric pressure cooker for this recipe. I am using an 8 quart Instant pot but you can use a 6 quart.
I personally have an Instant Pot and so far I am loving it. You can find the Instant pot on sale here.
Pressure cooking has really changed dinner time around here. Those days when I forget to take something out of the freezer is not a problem with my instant pot.
I can still have dinner ready and waiting on my family! I used frozen chicken in this recipe and it still cooked super fast in my instant pot.
No worries if you do not have a pressure cooker yet, try making Crock Pot Refried Beans in your slow cooker.
What beans do you use for refried beans?
The right beans to use is Pinto Beans to make the best refried beans. If you prefer you can use black beans. We loved the flavor of the pinto beans and they smash perfectly to give you that restaurant style refried beans.
Don’t pre-soak the beans:
Normally when making pinto beans, you would pre-soak them. But when making refried beans in the instant pot you don’t have to. The Instant Pot takes care of it and you are left with amazing refried beans.
Don’t use canned beans:
When making Instant Pot Refried Beans you want to start with dry pinto beans. They taste so much better than using the canned beans. Trust me when I say follow the recipe as indicated so you get the best tasting refried beans.
Ingredients for Homemade Refried Beans:
- Dry Pinto Beans
- Onion
- Water
- Salt
- Garlic Salt
- Cumin
- Black Pepper
- Jalapeno Pepper Seeded
You can add a dash of olive oil if you prefer.
How to make Homemade Refried Beans in the Instant Pot:
- Rinse the Beans – Make sure to thoroughly rinse the beans and drain the beans.
- Put Beans in Instant Pot – Place beans in the Instant Pot and add all other ingredients.
- Adding the Onion – My first time to make the beans, I put the onion in whole (I just cut it in half). The second time, I threw in chopped onions and the onions stays in with the beans. I prefer this way, but if you are not an onion fan, you might just want to toss them in whole so you can strain it easier.
- Prepare the Instant Pot – Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing.
- Set the Timer –Set the pressure time to 50 minutes. I did a quick release but you can do the natural release too after you cook beans.
- Begin Mashing – Once they are cooked, use a slotted spoon to scoop out some of the cooking liquid into another bowl. Begin to mash the beans with a potato masher.
- Add Liquids if Needed – Add liquids from the Instant Pot as needed to get the desired consistency you prefer. ( I start with a cup of liquid)
- Continue Mashing – Mash the beans until you like the consistency. Continue to mash the beans until all beans have been mashed.
- Place Mashed Beans in Containers – Then place the beans into containers for the freezer until ready to eat. 1 pound of dried beans will make about 4 “cans” of beans depending on if you use ½ cups or more.
- How to Reheat – When you are ready to eat, just thaw the homemade refried beans in your fridge and cook on medium heat in a sauce pan or large pot. Stir occasionally until heated through. Cooking time will vary but range at 15 minutes to 25 minutes.
What to serve with Pressure Cooker Refried beans?
There are so many different options you can refried beans. Here are some of our favorites:
- My kids love these in their tacos.
- Make bean burritos.
- Use as a side dish for tacos or other Mexican dishes.
- Meatless Monday Ideas- Bean Nachos, Bean Tacos etc.
- Make Taco Dip
- Eat with Tortilla Chips
- The ideas are endless!
Refried Beans Variations:
- Adding the Onion – My kids don’t like onion, but I like to add in for flavor so just cut in half and this way I can remove it when done cooking.
- Make sure to add enough water – You just want double the amount of water in there than there are beans.
- Add in Bacon – You might also like Instant Pot Refried Beans bacon version. The bacon infuses the beans for a wonderful flavor and it’s really tasty too.
- Spice the Beans up – If you want to add in some flavor, add in some cumin and some cayenne. Start with a tablespoon and add in according to your taste.
How to store Instant Pot Refried Beans:
This recipe makes a lot of refried beans. So we like to place in individual containers and store in the refrigerator. I tend to make a big batch for the week so we can add a side dish for our Mexican Recipes and freeze the rest.
Store in an air tight container and they will be good in the refrigerator for about 4 days.
How to freeze Instant Pot Refried Beans:
Instant Pot Refried Beans freeze great. You can place in a freezer safe container and they will stay good for about 3 months. A tip that I have started doing and it has saved so much space in my freezer.
Place the cooled refried beans in a zip lock freezer bag, remove any air and flatten the beans so the bag will lay flat in your freezer.
Topping Ideas:
Refried beans is great by itself but we love to top with these favorite toppings:
- Shredded Cheese
- Sliced Jalapenos
- Pico
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
The Best Refried Beans:
I always thought the refried beans were bad for you because of all the fat that was added to it. But this recipe is simple, east to make and no added oil or fat. They taste so good and I like that I can add additional seasoning for what we prefer.
The next time you are making homemade Mexican food, don’t buy the canned refried beans. Instead, make these Homemade Refried Beans.
Print this Instant Pot Homemade Refried beans recipe below:
Instant Pot Homemade Refried Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pinto beans
- 1 onion (peeled and chopped (you can just cut in half, if you want the flavor, but want to take the onion out later))
- 9 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded
Instructions
How to make Refried Beans in the Instant Pot:
- Thoroughly rinse the beans.
- Place beans in the Instant Pot and add all other ingredients.
- My first time to make the beans, I put the onion in whole (I just cut it in half). The second time, I threw in chopped onions and the onions stays in with the beans. I prefer this way, but if you are not an onion fan, you might just want to toss them in whole so you can strain it easier.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing.
- Set the pressure time to 50 minutes. I did a quick release but you can do the natural release too.
- Once they are cooked, use a slotted spoon to scoop out some of the mixture into another bowl. Begin to mash the beans with a potato masher (you could use an immersion blenderbut it is easy to do it by hand).
- Add liquids from the Instant as needed to get the consistency you prefer.
- You get to decide how “mushy” you want them. Continue to do this until all beans have been mashed.
- Then place the beans into containers for the freezer until ready to eat. 1 pound of dried beans will make about 4 “cans” of beans.
- When you are ready to eat, just thaw in your fridge and cook on low in a sauce pan, until heated through.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Try these other Pressure Cooker recipes:
- Instant pot Boneless Pork Chops
- Quick and Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash Recipe
- Instant pot Twice Baked Potatoes
- Pressure Cooker Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Instant Pot Roast Recipe
- Instant Pot Baked Beans Recipe
I use smoked ham hocks & chicken stock and and garlic that’s all in my refries I take out the hocks remove the meat smoosh the beans a bit and everyone loves them. Love your site.