Instant Pot Refried Beans

If you Google "Instant Pot refried beans", or "Pressure cooker refried beans", you'll probably find a hundred different recipes.  Here's how I make them.  It's probably not what some would consider "authentic", but it's quick and easy, and the results are undeniably delicious.

I forgot to take a picture of my finished beans...let's pretend this AI image is *exactly* what mine looked like.

Notes:

Pinto beans aren't low-carb, but they have a low glycemic index.  (38-39 from what I gather), and they're reasonably high in fiber, so I think they still make a good option for a diabetes-friendly diet.  But as with anything else, decide for yourself if they're a good fit for you, and eat foods like this in moderation until you know how they affect you.  Everyone responds differently to different things!

I'm writing this recipe to include two cubes of Knorr chicken bouillon, they make 2 cups of broth each, for a total of 4 cups of broth (plus 3 more cups of water).  If you have a box of broth or stock that would work just fine also.  But the bouillon works well for this.  I wouldn't use really good homemade stock for beans, save the really good stuff for soup!  (another post coming next time I make homemade stock and/or soup).

They keep in the freezer very well.  Let them cool, then vacuum-seal them so they store flat with no air, they will freeze for months with little to no decrease in quality.  They might need just a bit of water added when you thaw and re-heat them to bring them back to their original consistency.

If you like some texture to your finished beans, I think the best way to achieve that is to remove 1/3 or so of the cooked beans, then puree the rest very smooth, and then add the reserved beans back in and just barely stir/mash them up a bit.  You can also just mash them / blend them to the texture you want, but I really like the puree and then add whole beans back in method better, and I think it's nicer looking.

You don't have to soak the beans when using a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

• 3 C dry pinto beans
• 2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes (The amount that you would use to make 4 cups of broth)
• 7 Cups Water
• (or if not using bouillon, 4 cups of chicken broth + 3 cups water)
• 2 tsp oil, avocado or olive oil both work well.
• 1 med onion, finely chopped.
• 1 Jalapeno, finely chopped.  Seeds and insides removed if you want.
• Jalapeno is the go-to here, but I've used a Fresno before, and it would be fine with any spicy chili I'd imagine.
• 3-6 cloves minced garlic.  (3 if they're big, 6 if they're small)
• 2 bay leaves
• Ground cumin (about a tsp.)
• Dried Oregano (about a tsp.)
• 1/4 tsp. (or more!) cayenne pepper
• salt, to taste

Directions:

• Clean your beans

Rinse and sort through your beans, take out any that don't look quite right, and be sure there's no rocks or anything else that shouldn't be in there with them.

• Saute

Set your pressure cooker to it's sauté mode.  Add the oil, onions, jalapeno, and bouillon (if using).  Stir/sauté for a few minutes.  Knorr chicken bouillon has enough fat in it that it will melt into the sauté.  If you're using broth, just leave it out for now.

Cook for a couple minutes, stirring frequently, then add the minced garlic and sauté for a few more.

• Pressure cook

Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup or so of the water/broth, scrape up anything on the bottom of the pan so it doesn't give you a burn warning.   Stir in the water (or broth if using broth instead of bouillon), beans, bay leaves, oregano, cayenne, and cumin.

Set your instant pot to cook on high for 50 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally, probably another 30 minutes.

• Blend

Remove the bay leaves, and remove most of the liquid, don't throw it out just yet, you might want to add a bit back in if they turn out too thick.  Blend, or mash, or do whatever you're going to do to puree them.  Season with salt if needed (taste first, there's already some salt in the bouillon, but some of that got removed when you removed the liquid, I usually find that I need some more at this point.)

In my opinion, the best way to process these, by far, is a stick blender (immersion blender).  If you don't have one, you could use a potato masher or put them in a food processor or something.