Instant Pot Refried Beans

 So, 2020 was the pandemic and I picked up some dried pinto beans and then never really needed them and dreaded the long prep/soak time for beans. When I saw this recipe for making them in the Instant Pot, I just had to try it! Everyone really liked it, but I did leave out the jalapeno that the original recipe called for. To see the original from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, click here: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/pressure-cooker-refried-beans/

Instant Pot Refried Beans

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
•  1 jalapeño, cored, seeded and finely chopped
•  1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
•  3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
•  1 1/2 pounds dry pinto beans, rinsed
•  8 cups water
•  4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
•  2 teaspoons salt
•  2 tablespoons white vinegar

1. In the insert of an electric pressure cooker, heat the oil (using the Sauté function on the Instant Pot) and add the onion, and garlic, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the rinsed and drained beans, water, broth, salt and vinegar.
3. Secure the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes (electric).
4. Let the pressure naturally release for 30 minutes. Reserve two cups of the liquid in a separate bowl.
5. Drain the rest of the liquid off the beans. Using an immersion blender, process/mash to the desired consistency, adding reserved cooking water, if needed for a smoother/softer consistency.
6. Refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for several months.

Tips: I started the onions with the Sauté function on high  and then turned it down to medium once things started to cook. I also used about a cup of the reserve liquid to remoisten our beans. It probably varies from batch to batch depending on the beans, so just taste-test until they are perfect! I also added a sprinkling of garlic powder to taste but you may not need that depending on how strong your garlic is.

2024- We made these again, and I will note that the 1.5 pounds of beans called for in this recipe makes a LOT of refried beans (probably 4-5 cans worth and that was only a portion of the 4 lb bag of dry beans I bought) so we did use some fresh for dinner, then split the remaining beans into two batches and froze one of them.

This recipe fills our Instant Pot all the way to the max fill line. When venting, things do tend to want to spurt starchy bean water around the kitchen, so maybe cover the valve with a rag before opening. 

Also, a half batch is probably more useable for our family, but I am not sure how that might change the cooking process, so I will return and report if I try it.

Lastly, I found that the beans seems the perfect consistency when hot and fresh with about a cup of the reserved bean water added. However, upon sitting and cooling while we ate dinner, the beans seemed to dry out just a touch, so I added maybe another 1/2 cup or more to the batch before putting it in storage containers.

These were the beans right after I blended them, and they seemed perfect, but I did add more liquid to them after they had cooled a bit before storing because they seemed to have dried out some.