Instant Pot Refried Beans (no soak, no lard)

When you want super creamy and flavorful Refried Beans this recipe for Instant Pot Refried Beans will be your go-to. You do not have to soak your dry pinto beans overnight for this refried bean recipe. Simply prep everything and cook in the instant pot for about 50 minutes. The cooked pinto beans blend up creamy and delicious. Just add some Mexican Rice and it is a perfect side dish for every Mexican Dinner!

These beans make a great side dish… but the leftovers make an amazing bean burritos or 5 Ingredient refried bean enchiladas.

RELATED: For a REALLY fast refried bean recipe when you are short on time, check out this 15 minute refried bean recipe.

Why These Are the Best

• You do not have to soak the beans overnight…saving you time!
• The Instant Pot does most of the work…no watching and stirring pots on the stove.
• We use layers of flavor for this recipe… onions, garlic, jalapeno, chicken base and spices.
• The recipe calls for olive oil and chicken base instead of lard.
• They blend up super creamy.
• You can use them as a side dish… and the leftovers make a killer bean burrito or enchiladas.

Ingredients

These Refried Beans are made with really simple ingredients, plus some spices from your spice cabinet.

Pinto Beans – You want to buy dry pinto beans for this recipe, not canned pinto beans. They are a light brown bean with slight spotting. See photo:

Chicken Broth or Stock – this is the cooking liquid you will use in the Instant Pot. It imparts really great flavor to your beans.

Chicken Base – this is the secret weapon of a lot of Mom’s Dinner recipes. You will find chicken base in the soup aisle at the grocery store, near the bouillon. It generally comes in a jar or plastic tub. We love the Better Than Bouillon brand.

Jalapeno – you are not adding enough jalapeno to make your beans spicy (unless you want them spicy, you can up the amount of jalapeno you add). It is just enough to add a layer of flavor in the refried beans.

White Onion – we love the flavor of white onion in refried beans… so much so that a lot of time I add raw white onion at the end as a garnish. This is a flavor that you don’t want to skip in your beans!

Lime Juice – the lime juice is added at the end and does two things; brightens and balances the flavor of your beans, it also enhances all the other flavors.

Spices – a mix of chili powder, onion powder, and cumin lend a perfect depth of flavor that matches well with the pinto beans.

Dry Pinto Beans

Refried beans are made with pinto beans, in this case dry pinto beans (see photo above). You can find dry pinto beans at any grocery store (even Aldi) with the other dry beans or in the Mexican food aisle.

You will want to rinse the beans in a colander or fine mesh sieve. Pick out any stems or unwanted bits in the bunch.

Traditionally you soak the beans in water overnight before cooking. However the Instant Pot makes quick work of softening and cooking the beans, so you can eliminate this step completely. This recipe saves you a TON of time!

Instant Pot

Instant Pot is actually the brand name for an electric pressure cooker. We exclusively use the Instant Pot in the Mom’s Dinner kitchens. Here are the two models we use:

• 9 in 1 Duo Plus Instant Pot, 6 quart
• 7 in 1 Duo Plus Instant Pot, 6 quart

Any other brand of electric pressure cooker will work just as well!

Step By Step- How To

1. Prep Beans

Wash the dry pinto beans in a colander. Remove and discard and stems or unwarted bits. Set aside.

2. Sauté Onions, Garlic and Jalapeno

Turn the Instant Pot onto sauté mode and add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Sauté for 4-5 minutes.

Add the chicken base and spices, stir to coat the onions and jalapeno.



3. Add Beans

Pour in the chicken broth, water and pinto beans, drop in the bay leaf. Give everything a stir.

4. Pressure Cook

Set the pressure cooker to cook on manual mode, high pressure, normal heat for 50 minutes.

At the end do a 15 minute natural release.



5. Puree

Remove the bay leaf and discard. No need to drain the liquid, it will all mix in with the beans.

Puree the beans to your desired texture. An immersion blender can help make this process super easy!

Stir in a little fresh lime juice, then taste for more seasoning.





6. Serve

Serve the beans right away. They will thicken as they sit.

Storing Your Refried Beans

For storing in the fridge:

1. Allow the beans to cool thoroughly.
2. Transfer beans to airtight containers, choosing your preferred size.
3. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
4. You may need to add some water or chicken broth when reheating.

For storing in the freezer:

1. Ensure the beans are fully cooled.
2. Portion them into dated ziptop freezer bags.
3. Press out as much air as possible from the bags, and spread the beans evenly so the bag lies flat.
4. Freeze in this flat position for a maximum of 3 months.

For reheating:

1. If frozen, thaw the beans overnight in the fridge.
2. Gently warm them on the stovetop or microwave. If they’ve thickened upon cooling and you’d like a thinner consistency, incorporate a splash of water or chicken broth.

Great Side Dish For…

Refried Beans make a great side dish for any Mexican Dinner. Just like in your favorite Mexican restaurant, everything is served with “refried beans and rice”. Here are some of our favorite Mexican Dinners:

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