Instant Pot Refried Black Beans
on Jan 20, 2020, Updated Mar 28, 2026
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These vegan and fat-free Instant Pot refried black beans are so easy and flavourful you’ll never go back to canned!
You will love these creamy, flavourful, healthy refried beans! They’re super easy to make and delicious for bowls, salads, tacos, nachos, burritos, tacos, dipping and more.
The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and fat-free and you’ll need just a few ingredients.
The best part about this recipe is prep takes about 1 minute! There is no need to soak the beans either. Just toss everything in the Instant Pot, pressure cook, blend and enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few basic ingredient to make these easy beans. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Beans. You’ll need 2 cups of dry black beans. For traditional refried beans, you can also use dry pinto beans in this recipe.
- Onion. You’ll need 1 whole white or yellow onion.
- Garlic. You’ll need 4 whole, average-sized cloves of garlic. You can use more or less, to your preference.
- Spices. I used chili powder, oregano, cumin and pepper. Salt is left out until the end and only added to taste, if needed. Some broths are saltier than others so you may or may not need salt.
- Vegetable broth. You’ll need vegetable broth (or water and bouillon powder or cubes). You can use water in a pinch, they just won’t be quite as flavourful.
Extras: This recipe can be customized with additional ingredients such as jalapenos or chipotle powder.
How to Make Instant Pot Refried Beans
Step 1. Add everything to the Instant Pot.
Since this is a refried bean recipe and we’ll be blending the beans after cooking, the garlic cloves can go in whole and onion can be roughly chopped into quarters.
Add the chopped onion, cloves of garlic, black beans, spices and vegetable broth to the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Settings: Press “Pressure Cook” and set the timer to 40 minutes. Once the timer beeps to indicate cooking has finished, let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes before quick releasing any final pressure.
Step 2. Strain and Blend.
There will be extra liquid once the black beans have finished cooking.
Either scoop it most of it out with a ladle or strain the beans over a bowl or container, reserving the cooking liquid. You’ll need the liquid to adjust the consistency after blending.
If you strained the beans, dump them back into the Instant Pot and use an immersion blended in the pot to blend the beans until smooth…or leave them chunky if you prefer. Pour in a little of the cooking liquid to adjust the consistency as you go.
I probably ended up adding about half of the liquid back in. Keep in mind they will dry out and thicken in the fridge, so add a little more liquid than you think you need to help keep them moist.
How to Use Refried Beans
Try them in these recipes:
- Vegan Breakfast Tacos
- Vegan Taco Salad
- Vegan Tempeh Tacos
- Lentil Tostadas
- Savory Vegan Breakfast Bowl
- Vegan Black Bean Burritos
- Black Bean Tacos
- Vegan Black Bean Enchiladas
- Vegan Breakfast Burrito Bowls
More Recipes to Try!
Instant Pot Refried Black Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black beans, 400 g
- 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped into quarters
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and stem end cut off
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- salt and lime, to taste
Instructions
- Add everything except the salt and lime to an Instant Pot.
- Seal the lid, making sure the Venting Knob is set to Sealing. Press "Pressure Cook" and set the timer to 40 minutes. Once the timer beeps, let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes. If there is any pressure remaining, move the Venting Knob to Quick Release before carefully open the lid.
- Use a ladle to scoop most of the extra liquid off and into a bowl or container, or strain the beans over a bowl or container, reserving the cooking liquid.
- If you strained the beans, add them back into the Instant Pot. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth (or leave chunky if you prefer), slowly adding some of the cooking liquid back into the adjust the consistency. I probably added about half of the liquid back in. I added some of it while blending then I mixed more into the leftovers before storing in the fridge to keep them moist.
- Season with salt, if needed (they may not need salt depending on the broth you used) and add a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Leftover refried beans can be portioned and frozen in freezer safe bags or containers for up to 3 months.
I don’t see it mentioned, but do I set the pressure to “high”?
Yes. Thanks.
So easy and SO delicious
I made it exactly as the recipe suggests and I have now bookmarked the page so I can do it again 😊
So happy to hear that, Rachel!! Thanks so much for the review!
These are so easy and tasty that I don’t think I’ll ever buy refried beans in a can again.
Can canned black beans be used instead?
You can make refried beans from canned black beans but they wouldn’t need to be cooked in the Instant Pot this way. I would look up a recipe for stovetop refried black beans made from canned black beans or use this recipe but omit the broth and black beans, cook the onion, garlic and spices stovetop for 7-8 minutes, then mix in the black beans, a bit of broth and blend. Good luck!
I am new to the instant pot. Only made a few things. I like to soak my beans so would that change the time and by how much?
Lovely and easy. I didn’t do the blender piece and still loved it.
Glad to hear that, Elizabeth!
Thank you Deryn this is so easy and really tasty made it with both black bean and pinto and half of each never fails
So glad you enjoy the recipe! Sounds great with a combo of black and pinto beans!
Can you follow the same recipe and not use an instant pot by precookong the beans first? I would think not a problem as I make a lot of chic peas for hummus.
Yep, you’ll just need to omit the broth and add it back in slowly as needed to reach the consistency you want. And I’d recommend sauteing the onions and garlic first before adding the beans. Enjoy!
Can you do this without an instant pot?
You can do quick stovetop refried beans with canned or cooked black beans but you’d have to reduce the broth way down, I haven’t tested it so I can say exactly how much to use. If using cooked beans, you’d just add everything to a skillet and basically heat through, mashing or blending to whatever consistency you want. If cooking dried beans, you’d need to soak them overnight, then add them to a pot with everything else and simmer for a couple hours. I haven’t made these stovetop though so I really can’t give you exact cooking times or amounts, but you definitely can…you might just have to experiment a bit.
In general, do you soak your dry beans before cooking in the IP?
It really depends what I’m making and what kind of beans I’m using but I often do just to speed up the cooking time/save energy. For example soaked chickpeas will cook in under 15 minutes but unsoaked ones can take 30 minutes or more. Sometimes I forget or don’t plan ahead though, in which case I’ll cook them without soaking.
Doesn’t soaking beans decrease or eliminate flatulence so many people have after eating beans? I always soak beans just for that reason, and so far works for us. Besides soaking the beans for 24 hours , changing water every 4 hours , I made recipe as written adding in jalapenos and a can of diced green chilis. Was wonderful!