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Instant Pot Spicy Refried Beans

If you make anything from my site, you have to make my Instant Pot Spicy Refried Beans! Delicious and easy to make, this will become a family favorite in no time!

I make refried beans every two weeks in my Instant Pot. It’s one of the items I meal prep before the week starts, I always have them on hand. They’re great for quick lunches (tostadas/burritos) and I love using leftovers in my Spanish Quinoa!

Refried beans make a very affordable meal to take to a friend if you want to spread the Instant Pot love! Who doesn’t love a good build your own Tostada bar?

There are so many different variations. For a super simple version, I add pinto beans, homemade vegetable broth, minced onion, cumin, cayenne, and salt (add a little bit of leftover jalapeño juice from a jar of pickled jalapeños for an extra little something something!). They’re so easy and super delicious!

Instant Pot Refried Beans instantloss.com
Beans barely covered with the broth.
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Starting to blend the beans (after cooking) with the immersion blender.
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Beans completely blended to the proper consistency.

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4.67 from 3 votes

Instant Pot Spicy Refried Beans

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces pinto beans soaked overnight and drained
  • 1 large onion, diced or 1/2 cup dried minced onion
  • 2 jalapeños, chopped, optional
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro stems, chopped or 3 teaspoons dry cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne, spice to taste
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Bacon grease from 1 package of bacon, optional but so worth it
  • 8 to 16 ounces homemade vegetable broth, just enough to barely cover the beans

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot. Barely cover the beans with vegetable broth.
  • Place the lid on the pot. Make sure the pressure knob is in the SEALING position. Using the display panel, select the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK function, high pressure, and use the +/- buttons until the display says 12 minutes.
  • When the cooker beeps to let you know it’s finished, let it naturally release the pressure until the display says LO: 35 or until the pin has dropped. Switch the pressure knob from the SEALING to the VENTING position. Use caution while the steam escapes—it’s hot.
  • Go to town mashing those suckers with a potato masher or an immersion blender.
  • These beans last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. They also freeze well so if you’ve made too much, save them for another day!

Notes

Note: Consistency is dictated by how much liquid you add. You want to just barely cover them, even if some of them are peaking out, that's okay.
Also, if you forget to soak your beans overnight you can cook them from dried for 60 minutes, high pressure, with a natural release.
Author: Brittany Williams

54 Comments

  1. I never thought of using cilantro stems to help flavor the beans! What a great idea! Thanks! I’ll be trying that!

    1. It totally depends on what you’re eating. If you’re eating them by themselves, as a burrito, as a tostada etc. All of this will influence which is why I didn’t put the serving size on this one. It makes about 6 cups and I’d say your serving size would be 1/2-1cup.

  2. Hi Brittany. You use just the stems of cilantro not leaves? I just want to be sure. If I don’t have time to soak beans how long should I put it on for? Thanks so much 🙂

  3. These are so so good, I didn’t make them as spicy but still yummy. We added it to grill veggies and made burritos!

  4. I’m anxious to try these. I LOVE Mexican food. I also love having certain things on hand to throw meals together, such as you mention with the burritos and tostadas. If I were making a burrito, I would grab a large tortilla and start throwing stuff in it, but I’m sure that’s not super healthy. Could you share more on what you throw together, even if it’s posted as a separate recipe? I would love some simple ideas to go with these beans. Thanks!

    1. The bacon fat is not essential. I haven’t eaten pork in over a year so I’ve been making them without for a long time. It just adds a little something if you have it on hand. 😉

  5. How much bacon grease comes from a pound of bacon? We have a container of bacon grease but never paid attention to amour per batch.

  6. How long overnight do you soak? I guess like…about how many hours? I would probably start to soak around 8 at night and don’t know if I should leave them to soak until morning or wait until after work. Thanks!!

  7. This is my new go-to bean recipe! Soooo good! I’ve made it twice this week alone 🙂 The addition of cilantro is THE BOMB! Thanks for sharing

  8. 4 stars
    Amazing!! This is the first recipe I’ve made from your site, and these taste fresh out of the restaurant! I didn’t use any bacon grease, and omitted cilantro. I added a little tarragon for my own taste and wow!! I can’t believe these are vegetarian! Thank you so much!!

  9. Mine turned out too thin. I followed the recipe exactly and the broth barely cover the beans. I guess I’ll use less if I try to make it again. Any suggestions for salvaging this batch? Soup maybe?

    1. It sounds like you added too much broth to the beans. To save the existing beans you can but them into the refrigerator to thicken them up. In the future you can always strain the beans if you want the beans to have a chunkier consistency.

  10. My husband cannot eat mammal products due to an allergy. Do you think we could substitute duck fat for bacon fat?

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