Instant Pot Cajun Pinto Beans

Instant Pot Cajun Pinto Beans. Pinto beans, cooked New Orleans style, with smoked sausage and Cajun spices.

I’m from Ohio. When I think of Cajun beans, I think of Red Beans and Rice. But Google said that people were finding my Instant Pot pinto beans recipe by searching for Cajun pinto beans.

Cajun pinto beans? What a great idea. Let’s try it!

My version is similar to my Red Beans and Rice recipe - smoked sausage, the Cajun trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper, and a lot of garlic. (BAM!) The only difference is I don’t soak the pinto beans. Kidney beans work better for me when they are soaked, but pinto beans are fine going dry into the cooker - they just take a little longer to cook under pressure. (That said, if you really want to soak your beans, check out the Notes section of the recipe for cooking times.)

And, I was impressed with the results. Creamy pinto beans make a great Cajun bean alternative. Give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.

[UPDATE: Turns out, Cajun Pinto Beans are a popular side dish at Bojangles restaurant, a fried chicken chain founded in Charlotte, NC, that has spread throughout the southeastern US. I’ll have to stop in and try some the next time I make it to Charlotte.]

Jump to:

• 🥫Ingredients
• 🥘 Substitutions
• 🛠 Equipment
• 📏Scaling
• 🤨 Soaking pinto beans?
• 💡Tips and Tricks
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥫Ingredients

This is a simple dried bean recipe, so the ingredients list is pretty basic

• Pinto beans
• Smoked sausage
• Onion
• Celery
• Green Bell Pepper
• Garlic
• Cajun seasoning
• Bay leaf

See recipe card for quantities.

🥘 Substitutions

Don’t have rosemary or garlic? You can substitute a bay leaf for the rosemary (or skip it), or a peeled onion for the garlic (or skip it). And, as I said above, Rancho Gordo’s Marcella beans are my favorite variety of cannellini beans, but they’re not the only cannellini bean out there - dried beans from any source with good turnover will work.

🛠 Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the reasons I became a pressure cooker convert, and love my Instant Pot. 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. I don’t soak my pinto beans in this basic recipe. They don’t need an overnight soak, and cook to tenderness with 40 minutes at high pressure.

That doesn’t mean you can’t soak the beans. They turn out fine, though the bean broth isn’t quite as full bodied. Soaked beans cook much quicker, 15 minutes at high pressure. I use that when I’m cooking the beans with other ingredients, where the shorter cooking time keeps me from overcooking the whole dish just to get the beans tender.

💡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.
• Or, puree to thicken: The quick way to thicken the bean broth is to puree a cup of the cooked beans and liquid, then stir them back into the pot. Instant thickener!

Print

📖 Recipe

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts

Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Pressure Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Pressure Cooker Jambalaya with Chicken and Sausage
Instant Pot Snowcap Beans
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes

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