Instant Pot Refried Black Beans

Instant Pot Refried Black Beans - easy frijoles refritos from dry black beans, pressure cooked in about an hour.

I make these beans to remember Oaxaca. Every meal came with tortillas and a bowl of thick, saucy black beans. I still dream about breakfast - fried eggs with salsa, tortillas, and a small dish of these black beans on the side.

Jump to:

• 🥫Ingredients
• How to Make Instant Pot Refried Black Beans
• 🥘 Substitutions
• 🛠 Equipment
• 📏Scaling
• 🤨 Soaking black beans?
• 💡Tips and Tricks
• What to Serve with this Recipe
• Instant Pot Refried Black Beans
• ☃️ Storage
• 🤝 Related Posts
• 💬 Comments

This is how I make those beans at home. I add ¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds to replace the sprig of fresh epazote that flavors every pot of beans in Oaxaca. And, I refry them, to thicken up the sauce even more. I’m aiming for some whole beans in a thick sauce, not perfectly smooth beans with this recipe. (If you want smooth beans, toss everything in the food processor and run it for a minute.)

And, of course, I use my pressure cooker. Refried beans in about an hour? Instead of simmering all day? That’s a no brainer. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, check out the Notes section for stovetop instructions. Or, if you just want a pot of black beans, without the refrying, check out my Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans recipe. If you're looking for a different bean recipe, try my Instant Pot Pinto Beans or Instant Pot Refried Pinto Beans.

🥫Ingredients

• Dry Black beans
• Onion
• Fennel seed
• Fine Sea Salt
• Baking Soda
• Vegetable oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Chipotle en adobo
  See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Instant Pot Refried Black Beans

1. Sort and rinse the dry black beans. Get rid of any stuff in the bag that's not a bean, and toss any broken beans.
2. Put the dry black beans, 3 cups of water, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, peeled onion, and fennel seeds in an Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker).
3. Lock the lid, and pressure cook at high pressure for 35 minutes. Then, quick release the pressure. (discard the onion.)
4. In a large fry pan, sauté a diced onion, 2 smashed cloves of garlic, and a minced chipotle en adobo.
5. Add the beans and their cooking liquid to the fry pan. Simmer and smash until the beans are thick and ready to serve. Enjoy!

🥘 Substitutions

Fennel seeds are a substitute for a sprig of epazote, a Mexican herb traditionally used in black beans. If you have epazote, add a leaf or two instead of the fennel seeds, and discard when the beans are done cooking. If you don't have fennel seeds or epazote, substitute a dried bay leaf, and discard after cooking.

Chipotle en adobo peppers, with their sauce, add a spicy and smoky flavor to the beans. If you can't take the heat, skip the Chipotle pepper. If you want it hotter, add a second minced Chipotle pepper.

If you can't find Chipotle en adobo, substitute a minced jalapeño. (But, I can find cans of Chipotle en adobo in the international aisle of all my local grocery stores, so don't give up too easily.)

If you want to use canned beans, replace the dried beans with 2 cans of drained beans, and skip to the "Sauté the aromatics" step.

🛠 Equipment

I cooked this in my 6-quart pressure cooker, but it will fit in a 3-quart or larger pressure cooker. (Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the key reasons I became a pressure cooker convert.)
Potato masher
12-inch frypan (Mashing and simmering the beans is easier in a wide pan, but you can use your Instant Pot if you don't want to dirty another pan.)

📏Scaling

This recipe halves easily. You can double the beans in a 6-quart Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, but it might overflow a 12-inch frypan. I switch to my 3-quart sauté pan or a dutch oven for the sauté and mash step if I'm making a double batch.

🤨 Soaking black beans?

I get the "to soak, or not to soak?" question all the the time. I don't soak my black beans in this basic recipe. They don't need an overnight soak, and cook to tenderness with 35 minutes at high pressure.
That doesn't mean you can't soak the beans. They turn out fine, though the bean broth isn't quite as full bodied. Soaked beans cook much quicker, 12 minutes at high pressure. I use that when I'm cooking the beans with other ingredients, where the shorter cooking time keeps me from overcooking the whole dish just to get the beans tender.

💡Tips and Tricks

• I use both an Instant Pot (to pressure cook the beans) and a frypan (to sauté everything) in the instructions. You can make this recipe entirely in your Instant Pot by cleaning the pot liner out and switching to sauté mode when it comes to the Sauté step. I find it easier to work with a frypan, especially for simmering down the beans.
• See my Instant Pot Chipotle Beans recipe for more bean cooking details.
• For an extra touch of flavor, sprinkle crumbled queso fresco (or substitute shredded pecorino romano) on top of the beans right before serving.
• These are rustic, chunky refried beans. If you want smooth beans, use a food processor. After step 1 is complete, pour the beans and their liquid into a food processor. Process until smooth, about 1 minute, then add them to the fry pan when the recipe calls for the beans and cooking liquid.
• I quick release the pressure because I want to rough up the beans a bit. If you want to use a Natural Release, cut the cooking time at high pressure to 30 minutes, and use a natural release, which will take 15 to 20 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
• No pressure cooker? No problem. Cook the beans in a large sauce pot with a lid. Instead of pressure cooking, bring the pot to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover with the lid ajar so some steam can escape. Cook for 2 hours, or until the beans are completely cooked. You may have to add water during the cooking time to keep the beans submerged. Once the beans are cooked, continue with Step 2.
• No dried beans? No problem. Canned beans will work just fine. Replace step 1 with two 15- to 16-ounce cans of drained pinto beans, and add a cup or two of water to help the beans simmer in the pan.
• Use make-ahead beans: Why cook a cup of beans when you can cook a pound of beans? I freeze leftover beans in 2 cup containers, covering them with their liquid. Then this recipe is a quick weeknight side dish. I pull a container of beans out of the freezer, and thaw it in the microwave while I sauté the onions in step 2.

What to Serve with this Recipe

Refried black beans are a classic Mexican side dish. Serve them with Tacos, Enchiladas, Fajitas - or basically any Mexican meal. When I visited Oaxaca, they were on the table during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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☃️ Storage

To make the beans ahead, pressure cook them, and refrigerate them in 2-cup containers for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 6 months. To make the recipe, thaw out the beans and continue with the "Sauté" step.

This recipe freezes well, in 2-cup containers, for up to 6 months.

🤝 Related Posts

Pressure Cooker Black Bean Soup
Pressure Cooker Refried Pinto Beans
Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans in Tex-Mex Broth

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