Instant Pot Borracho Beans. The Tex-Mex classic of drunken pinto beans with bacon and chili powder, using my bean cooking secret weapon - a pressure cooker.
I’ve been blogging so long that I’m wrapping around. I did a pressure cooker Tex-Mex pinto bean recipe ten years ago.1 It’s time to head back to the Norteño border between Texas and Mexico for another pot of beans.
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Why am I revisiting that recipe? Because it was not a true borracho bean recipe. The key ingredient was missing - drunken beans need beer. (I mean, don’t we all? Why shouldn’t the beans have fun?)
Normally I don’t soak pinto beans, but the acidic ingredients in this recipe - tomatoes, chile powder, beer - make me worry about them toughening up. So, while I have a no-soak variation on the recipe in the notes, I strongly suggest making the time for at least a quick soak of the beans before cooking.
If you're looking for some other bean recipes, check out my instant pot refried beans or my instant pot kidney beans.
🥫Ingredients
- Dried pinto beans
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Jalapeño
- Ancho chile powder
- Beer
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes
- Cilantro
How to make Instant Pot Borracho Beans
Sort and rinse the beans
Spread the beans out on a rimmed baking sheet and discard any stones, dirt, or broken beans. Rinse the beans, then do an overnight or a quick soak.
Soak the beans overnight OR Pressure Quick Soak the beans for 1 minute with a 30 minute rest
Overnight Soak: Cover the beans with the 8 cups of water and add the 1 tablespoon of salt. Leave the beans to soak at least 8 hours, or overnight. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
OR Pressure Quick Soak: Put the beans, 8 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 1 minute (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot for 1 minute), then let the beans sit for 30 minutes. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid. Wipe out the pot before continuing.
Sauté the bacon, aromatics, and spices
Spread the bacon in a single layer in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Set the pot to sauté mode adjusted to high (medium-high heat in a stovetop PC), and cook the bacon, stirring often, until it starts to crisp on the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onions, garlic, and jalapeño to coat with the bacon grease, then sprinkle with the ground ancho and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften around the edges, about 3 minutes. Pour in the beer, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat edged wooden spoon to release any browned bits of bacon or onion.
Beans in the pot
Add the drained beans to the pot, pour in the 4 cups of water, and stir in the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with the ½ teaspoon salt.
Pressure Cook for 18 minutes with a Quick Release
Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 18 minutes (Use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 15 minutes if using a stovetop pressure cooker. Quick release the pressure.
Serve
Carefully remove the lid – tilt it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with minced cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
🥘 Substitutions
If you can't find Ancho chile powder, substitute a regular chili powder blend
If you want to cut the heat, remove the Jalapeno and the Ancho chile powder.
Vegetarian version: Remove the bacon and add another diced onion.
If you don't want alcohol, replace the beer with chicken broth (preferably homemade chicken broth, or store-bought low sodium).
🛠 Equipment
A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the reasons I became a pressure cooker convert. Try them - you’ll never go back to canned beans. (OK, maybe you will, for convenience - but see the Storage section for tips on make ahead freezer beans.)
📏Scaling
This recipe scales down easily - cut everything in half if you don’t need as many beans, or have a 3-quart pressure cooker. Scaling up runs into space issues; if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can double this recipe, but it’s too much to fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker.
🤨 Soaking pinto beans
I get the “to soak, or not to soak?” question all the the time. Normally, I don't soak my pinto beans. But...beans get tough in an acidic environment, and both beer and tomatoes are acidic. So, I soak the beans in this recipe to help them deal with the extra acid in the pot.
If you forgot to soak your beans - hey, it happens, I forget all the time - you can do a quick soak (see the instructions), or skip the soaking and pressure cook for 40 minutes with a Natural Release.
💡Tips and Tricks
- Salt your bean water! “Salt toughens beans” is a myth. Salting before cooking helps season the beans all the way through as they cook.
- If your beans are still tough when the cooking time is over, especially any “floaters” at the top of the pot, give the beans a stir, lock the lid, and pressure cook for another five minutes. Older beans take longer to cook, and if the beans have been sitting in the shelf at your store for a while, they may need extra time.
- Simmer to thicken: If you have the time, and want thicker bean liquid, simmer the beans for 20 minutes after pressure cooking. I set my Instant Pot to Sauté mode adjusted to low, set the timer to 20 minutes, and leave the lid off to let the broth evaporate.
Adapted from Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook by Robb Walsh
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Instant Pot Borracho Beans (Drunken Beans)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups of soup 1x
Description
Instant Pot Borracho Beans. The Tex-Mex classic of drunken pinto beans with bacon and chili powder, using my bean cooking secret weapon - a pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans, sorted and rinsed
- 8 cups water
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt (or 2 teaspoons table salt)
- 4 ounces diced bacon
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon ground Ancho chile pepper (or a chili powder blend)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 cups water
- 12 ounces beer
- 15-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Minced cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Sort and rinse the beans: Spread the beans out on a rimmed baking sheet and discard any stones, dirt, or broken beans. Rinse the beans, then do an overnight or a quick soak.
- Soak the beans overnight: Cover the beans with the 8 cups of water and add the 1 tablespoon of salt. Leave the beans to soak at least 8 hours, or overnight. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
- OR Pressure Quick Soak the beans for 1 minute with a 30 minute rest: Put the beans, 8 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 1 minute (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot for 1 minute), then let the beans sit for 30 minutes. Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid. Wipe out the pot before continuing.
- Sauté the bacon, aromatics, and spices: Spread the bacon in a single layer in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Set the pot to sauté mode adjusted to high (medium-high heat in a stovetop PC), and cook the bacon, stirring often, until it starts to crisp on the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onions, garlic, and jalapeño to coat with the bacon grease, then sprinkle with the ground ancho and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften around the edges, about 3 minutes. Pour in the beer, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat edged wooden spoon to release any browned bits of bacon or onion.
- Beans in the pot: Add the drained beans to the pot, pour in the 4 cups of water, and stir in the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with the ½ teaspoon salt.
- Pressure Cook for 18 minutes with a Quick Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 18 minutes (Use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 15 minutes if using a stovetop pressure cooker. Quick release the pressure.
- Serve: Carefully remove the lid – tilt it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with minced cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Forgot to soak? Pressure cook for 40 minutes with a Natural Release. Check the beans; if they’re still tough, stir the pot, then lock the lid and pressure cook for another 5 minutes.
What kind of beer? Shiner is the Texas classic, and Negra Modelo is the choice south of the border. That said, any lager or ale will work; I prefer dark lagers or ales for the added flavor. I go with my hometown favorite, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold. That's right, I'm not from Texas...
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
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☃️ Storage
A 2-cup container of beans, with cooking liquid, replaces a 15-ounce can of beans from the grocery store. They’ll last in the refrigerator for a few days, and freeze for up to 6 months. I always make extra beans, and freeze the leftovers for use in other recipes. Freezer beans are ready to use with about 5 minutes in the microwave, and are so much better than canned.
🤝 Related Posts
Instant Pot Chipotle Beans
Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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- It was so long ago that Instant Pots didn’t even exist yet, and it was years later that I found them. ↩
Walter Holloman says
Hi Mike, great recipe. when using the "Pressure Quick Soak", you say to pressure cook for 1 minute then let sit for 30 minutes. Does that mean natural release of steam after that one minute of pressure, or manual release of steam? (Then no action for 30 minutes)
Thanks
Mike Vrobel says
Pressure cook for 1 minute, then don’t touch the pressure cooker for 30 minutes. (The pressure will have come down naturally in that time, but let the cooker sit for a full 30 minutes.) Think of it as a manual release that has to last for 30 minutes, and no longer.
Marie says
Does the alcohol cook off in this recipe since it is done in the instant pot? I'd like to know since my husband has diabetes and alcohol can really affect his blood sugar. We have not had any issues in an open pot but not sure if this is the same. Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
Some alcohol cooks off, but not all of it, because of the sealed pressure cooking environment. That's why I both simmer the beer for a minute and quick release the pressure, to cook off some of the alcohol.
Susan M says
Delicious beans! I will be making again!
Danielle says
This was the best bean recipe ever! My family, all Hispanic, we’re shocked to learn it was an instant pot recipe. I do have one question, as it’s been a while since I made any… what was different with the recipe before you added the beer?
Mike Vrobel says
Here's my simple pinto beans recipe, without the beer: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-pinto-beans-in-tex-mex-broth/
Kate says
This recipe was excellent. As a born Texan, I agree with Lyle about you.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!
Wayne Trojanowski says
I'm going to try to make these this weekend and I want to add some wild duck that I have. Any recommendations as to adding that or chicken?
Mike Vrobel says
If it's dark meat duck or chicken (leg or thigh or drumsticks), skin it, cut it into 1-inch cubes, and add it to the pot with the beans. If it's white (breast) meat...it's going to overcook. I'd sauté that on the side and stir it in at the end.
HLewis says
I from Texas have been making beans for 20 years. This is the best bean recipe I have ever had. As an expat now, I share this link with all my fellow expats in the Middle East. Thank you!!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome - glad I could help!
Taryn oatley says
I would like to 1/2 this recipe. Would it be safe to 1/2 the liquid amount as well?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes. In general, long as you don’t go below your cooker’s minimum liquid amount (usually 1 cup), you’re OK
Kim says
I’m 55, my husband is 60. I made these beans for Father’s Day. They are the best beans either of us has ever had. Not only am I printing the recipe out, I’m laminating it. I can’t wait to try additional recipes on your blog.
Mike D says
I have tried variations of type of dish and never got it right. This recipe was the exception and I’m glad I stumbled onto it.
The taste was spot on and ratio of finished liquid to bean was “NASA” accurate.
Looking forward to trying your other dishes.
Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Kim says
I have to agree with the amount of finished liquid being spot on.
Dawn Barry-Griffin says
Outstanding recipe..I have made this dozens of times. I will occasionally changed up the spices (chili powders especially ) depending on what I have around.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Yo Adrienne says
I can’t believe I made these and they are better than the Taco Truck’s borracho beans!
San says
Presidential beans: Borracho Bama beans.
Greybeard says
Looks great. Thanks for explaining "sorting" the beans. I knew what it was, but clearly remember 40 years ago, seeing that on a bag of split peas and wondering how I was supposed to sort them: by size? color?
Mike Vrobel says
Ha! "OK, beans, line up by height..."
Lon Tracy says
Sounds good, what about a ham hock? Thanks
Mike Vrobel says
You don't need it with the bacon...but if you want to use it instead of the bacon, go for it. (Or use them both - I won't judge.)