The BEST Instant Pot Refried Beans with Onion, Garlic, and Chiles

By gbvampy1

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried pinto beans (No need to soak the beans, but beans that are fresher will cook more quickly. If your beans have been sitting on the shelf for a while, add 5-10 minutes cooking time.)
• 1 T + 2 T olive oil (Or use lard, bacon grease, or any other fat you prefer for frying the beans.)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 T minced garlic (garlic from a jar is fine for this)
• 1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
• (I used Anaheim chiles, called green chiles in U.S. stores, but you can use hotter chiles if you prefer.)
• 1 tsp. salt
• grated cheese, for serving (I used Four Cheese Mexican blend, which is a mix of cheeses)
• thinly sliced green onions, for serving

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Put beans in pressure cooker with enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Add 1 T olive oil to cooker, then lock lid, choose MANUAL SETTING and HIGH PRESSURE, and set time for 30 minutes. (Remember to add a few minutes if your beans are old.) After 30 minutes, use QUICK RELEASE to release the pressure.

While beans cook, chop the onion, and prepare minced garlic and green chiles, and measure the salt. Add those ingredients to the pressure cooker with the cooked beans. Lock lid again and set to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, and 10 minutes. Let pressure release naturally when the time is up. 

When pressure has released, remove lid and without draining, use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the beans, being careful not to over-blend. At this point, beans will definitely be more runny than you want, but I like the idea of keeping the flavor that's in the cooking water and excess liquid will cook off when the beans are fried.

Heat 2 T oil of your choice in a heavy, nonstick pan. Add beans and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until beans have thickened to desired consistency. For me this took about 10 minutes. Serve hot, topped with grated cheese and thinly sliced green onions if desired.