Using the Instant Pot is my favorite method for cooking beans, especially when I don’t plan in enough time to first soak my beans. This double recipe post for The BEST No-Soak Pinto Beans + PERFECT Vegan Refried Beans shares my favorite ways to make easy and flavorful, Mexican-style pintos.
I’ve been making these recipes for quite some time now and have been procrastinating in sharing them with you. I decided now would be a good time to finally do so so in case there were others out there, like me, making tamales for Christmas (and of course, there are!). With our tamales, I’ll be making refried beans using this recipe, in addition to other delicious sides which I admittedly haven’t decided on yet.
Though I’ve been talking about it for years, I’ve yet to make homemade vegan tamales in the past. I’m going to use jackfruit as my filling, and I’m really excited! If they turn out delicious, I’ll have to share the recipe with you for next year (or any time in between, of course).
As for the beans, I think I’ve already said these are my favorite! There are four of us at home, and these usually last for at least two dinners. I’ll make the pot of pintos, and a day or two later, I’ll take the leftovers and turn them into refried beans, unless we’re simply craving refried from the get-go. If you only want them refried, that’s fine, but you will still need to cook the beans as done in the initial recipe.
I remember my first time making refried beans from scratch… from scratch-scratch, meaning coming from dried beans rather than canned. I hit up my friend Gricelda. She’s from Mexico, and I wanted to make sure my recipe was traditional (well, as traditional as they could be without any animal ingredients). I was surprised by how few ingredients are used. The tomato and jalepeño I added later when creating the recipe for the Instant Pot. Combined with the garlic, onion, and salt, I loooove the flavor they provide!
I love being able to make delicious beans at home because I can seldom find Mexican-style beans (especially refried beans) when I’m out, which don’t include animal products. This is SO sad! It’s so easy to make them vegan, and so unnecessary (and cruel) to not make them vegan.
I know it’s going to be a different kind of holiday for all of us this year. It will be my first Christmas without my mom, which is crazy-sad to think about. Luckily, not because we’ve lost her but because we don’t want to risk getting her sick. I hope we all can enjoy our holiday no matter how small our gatherings. I also hope you enjoy these recipes. Please let me know by leaving a comment below or taking a pic and tagging me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
The BEST No-Soak Pinto Beans
Equipment
- Instant Pot/Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pinto beans rinsed
- 1 medium white onion diced medium
- 1 medium tomato deseeded/gutted and diced medium
- 1 jalepeño sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to your Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and secure the valve to its "sealing" position. Use the manual setting to set the Instant Pot on high for *50 minutes. Once the 50 minutes is up, let the steam naturally release for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, carefully switch the valve to its "venting" position. Stand back and let all the steam release before opening the lid. Remove the bay leaves. Enjoy the beans whole alongside your favorite Mexican main dishes, or move on to the next recipe *to refry.
Notes
PERFECT Vegan Refried Beans
Ingredients
- drizzle olive oil or cooking oil of choice
- The BEST No-Soak Pinto Beans, beans and bean cooking liquid A full batch is not needed. Use as much or as little as you would like to refry.
Instructions
- Heat a skillet (cast iron is preferred but not essential) over medium heat. Use a large skillet for a full batch of beans, or a small or medium skillet if using a half batch or less. Drizzle the skillet with oil, and once hot, add in about one cup of the cooked pinto beans. Stir the beans and let them cook in the hot oil for about 30 seconds, then stir and mash the beans with the back of a fork.
- Add in another scoop of beans, about 3/4's of a cup, along with any of the liquid that scoops up with them. Stir and mash the beans until smooth and heated through. If you like your beans slightly chunky, you can leave some whole. Continue to do this with the remaining beans, adding in, stirring, and smashing, 3/4's cup at a time. If at any point the beans or skillet seem to become too dry, add in additional liquid (If you add too much, it's OK, the liquid will cook off).
- Once you've stirred and smashed in all of the beans, you can add in more of the bean cooking liquid to make the beans runnier, if desired. If beans are too runny, continue to cook, and the moisture will cook out. The beans will thicken after cooling as well. If preparing ahead of time, reserve the remaining liquid and stir in a little more when reheating.