Homemade Refried Pinto Beans
Jump to Recipe
This Homemade Refried Pinto Beans recipe is simple, smoky, flavorful, and delicious! Serve these refried beans with chips as a snack or use them in meals for extra protein, like tacos, burrito bowls, or even breakfast burritos!
When we were living in Cleveland, we were a part of a CSA, and occasionally our weekly bag would have a pound of dried pinto beans in it. Our pantry started overflowing with them, and truthfully I didn’t do anything with them until I noticed that one of the top ingredients in canned refried beans listed ‘LARD.’ This instantly piqued my mind to start cooking beans from scratch. After I figured out the cooking time for perfectly cooked pinto beans, I started making homemade refried pinto beans, and WOW, where they are tasty!
What we love about cooking beans from scratch is how simple it is! Plus, if you are buying canned beans constantly, you will quickly realize how much more affordable cooking beans from scratch are!
The best part about making beans from scratch is that 1 cup of dried beans results in 2-2.5 cups of cooked beans. Cooked beans can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week for a quick meal or stored in the freezer for a few months for future meals!
Ingredients
- Pinto Beans – see notes above on how to cook pinto beans from scratch.
- Water
- Vegetable Broth or substitute a bouillon cube. We like to use BOU Bouillon Cubs – Chicken Flavor when making beans from scratch because it adds a great flavor. If you want to keep your refried beans vegan, either use vegetable broth or a vegetable bouillon cube.
- Spices: Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Oregano, Smoked Paprika, Sweet Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, and Black Pepper
- Hot Sauce – We used Siete’s Traditional Hot Sauce, but any hot sauce will work.
- Avocado Oil – Only needed if making pinto beans in the Instant Pot.
Instructions
Instant Pot Refried Beans
Step 1: Soak 1 cup of pinto beans overnight (about 8 hours).
Step 2: Drain and rinse beans and add to an instant pot along with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of vegetable broth (or substitute with 3 cups of water and 1 bouillon cube). Add seasoning and hot sauce. Stir together and add 2 tbsp of avocado oil on top – Do not stir. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
Stove Top Refried Beans
Step 1: Soak 1 cup of pinto beans overnight (about 8 hours).
Step 2: Drain and rinse beans and add to a pot along with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of vegetable broth (or substitute with 3 cups of water and 1 bouillon cube). Add seasoning and hot sauce. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I recommend checking the beans at the 2-hour mark. They should be tender and fully cooked through, but they are still a little firm and not mushy. Cook an extra 30-minutes and try again).
Remaining Steps:
Once the pinto beans are fully cooked, reserve about 1/2 cup of cooking water and drain the rest. Add cooked pinto beans to a food processor along with the 1/4 cup of cooking water and 2 tbsp of hot sauce. Blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Taste and adjust seasoning. Does it need more salt or hot sauce? Serve with tacos, burritos, or serve as a dip!
Making homemade refried beans is super easy! It takes 5 minutes longer than if you opened a can of refried beans and warmed it up on the stovetop. It’s fresher than the canned ones (free of yucky additives and preservatives). Plus you can control the flavor, and the salt!
This Refried Pinto Bean Recipe is smoky, flavorful, and delicious! Served them with chips as a snack or use them in meals for extra protein, like tacos, burrito bowls, or even breakfast burritos! We hope you all love this recipe! Enjoy! ♡
What can I make with refried beans?
Homemade Refried Pinto Beans
- 1 cup dried pinto beans soaked for at least 8 hours or overnight, rinsed and drained
- 3 cup water
- 1 bouillon cube or substitute 2 cups of broth and use only 1 cup of water
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp avocado oil only needed if making Pinto Beans in the Instant Pot
- 2 cups cooked pinto beans from recipe above
- ¼ -1/2 cup cooking liquid from recipe above
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- Salt to taste
- Tomato salsa
- Cilantro
- Lime juice
- Cotija Cheese
- Soak 1 cup of pinto beans overnight (about 8 hours).
- Drain and rinse beans and add to an instant pot along with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of vegetable broth, (or substitute with 3 cups of water and 1 bouillon cube). Add seasoning, and hot sauce. Stir together and add 2 tbsp of avocado oil on top – Do not stir. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Soak 1 cup of pinto beans overnight (about 8 hours).
- Drain and rinse beans and add to a pot along with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of vegetable broth, (or substitute with 3 cups of water and 1 bouillon cube). Add seasoning, and hot sauce. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I recommend checking the beans at the 2-hour mark. They should be tender and fully cooked through, but they are still a little firm and not mushy. Cook an extra 30-minutes and try again).
- Once the pinto beans are fully cooked, reserve about 1/2 cup of cooking water and drain the rest.
- Add cooked pinto beans to a food processor along with the 1/4 cup of cooking water and 2 tbsp of hot sauce. Blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add an additional 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Does it need more salt, or hot sauce?
- Serve with tacos, burritos, or as a dip.
Leave a Review