Easy Instant Pot Peruvian Beans (2 Ways)

Peruvian beans are soft, buttery, and have a milder taste than pinto beans. Cook them easily in an Instant Pot and serve them whole or refried for the best creamy beans!

Reader Marjorie says: “Peruvian beans have been my personal favorite for ages. I love this recipe for its simplicity and for teaching me how to make the best “re-fried” beans. I froze 2/3 of the batch in wide-mouth mason jars (pint/2 cups), and they are fabulous. Thank you.” ★★★★★

Peruvian beans go by the following names: Peruano, Canary, or Mayocoba beans, depending on the region. When dried, they are a yellowish color, and once cooked, they turn a light tan and have a smooth buttery taste.

I prefer Peruvian beans over Pinto beans since they can be cooked with just water and salt and still be flavorful. I learned how to cook beans from my in-laws, and they always make them on the stove. This method usually takes about 2 hours, and you need to watch the pot and keep an eye on the water level.

My preferred method is to use my Instant Pot, it’s fast, easy, and fool proof.

How to Cook Dried Beans in the Instant Pot

Whether I cook beans in the Instant Pot or on the stove, I don’t soak them. I’ve read that soaking them helps them cook faster and makes them easier to digest. I never remember to soak my beans overnight.

You do want to rinse and sort your beans before cooking. This step is essential, because I found a small pebble in the beans before. Nobody needs to eat a rock in their beans. 

Once the beans are rinsed and any broken pieces picked out, place them in the Instant Pot. 

Add 6 cups of water for every pound of dried beans. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil, any neutral oil to prevent foaming of the beans. 

(*Updated) Initially, I never added salt to the beans before cooking. But since I make these beans so often, I tried adding 1 teaspoon of salt and it did not extend the cooking time. The salt also flavored the beans more, but do whichever method you prefer.

Set the Instant Pot timer to 30 minutes, and once the timer goes off, leave it alone for another 20 minutes (natural pressure release). 

Before you start cooking, if the beans look dried and shriveled, then you will need to add extra time. Start with 5 minutes extra, so 35 minutes, with a 20-minute rest and on the keep warm setting after the timer goes off.

Taste the beans; if they are still undercooked, then cook for an additional 5 minutes. Once the beans are done, add any extra seasoning or salt to taste.

You can serve the beans immediately or, once cooled, store them in the fridge, or check out this post on How to Freeze Beans.

How to Make Refried Beans

The secret to creamy refried beans is the cooking liquid. Yep, it’s magical!

I usually remove about two-thirds of the beans to freeze for later and leave the remaining beans in the pot with enough cooking liquid to cover the top of the beans. 

Turn the Instant Pot to ‘sauté’ and allow the beans to reach a low boil. Continue to have the beans simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom of the pot.

Once the beans have simmered for a couple of minutes, turn off the instant pot, and start mashing them with a masher. Keep mashing until you reach your desired consistency.

If you like them extra creamy, you can run them through a blender. My kids love eating beans this way. It’s perfect as a bean dip, for Enfrijoladas, or any recipe that calls for refried beans. 

I’m using Peruvian beans, but the same process and method can be used for dried pinto or black beans.

Feel free to customize with any spices or flavors to jazz up the beans. This is a base recipe, and if you are using Peruvian Beans, the taste is delicious on its own. You can add some onion, garlic, bacon, or jalapeno for some spice.

Not sure what to serve Peruvian Beans With? Here are 11 Recipes to use them in.