Description
Instant Pot Cowboy Beans are a meal-in-a-pot with bacon, ground beef, pinto beans, onions, peppers, and spices.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8- to 12 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder blend
- 8 ounces canned chopped green chiles (2 4-ounce cans)
- 1 pound 85/15 ground beef
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 pound dry pinto beans, sorted and rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I like my Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sort and rinse the beans: Sort the pinto beans, removing any broken beans, stones, and dirt clods. Put the beans in a strainer and rinse under running water.
- Brown the bacon: Put the bacon into a room-temperature Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Set the heat to sauté mode - high (medium-high on a stovetop PC) - and cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and crispy, about 8 minutes. Scoop the bacon out of the pot with a slotted spoon, transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels, and leave as much of the bacon fat behind as possible. Pour all the bacon fat into a heatproof container (I use a coffee mug), then add 2 tablespoons back to the pot.
- Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices: Add the onion to the bacon fat in the pot and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt. Sauté the onions until they soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any bits of browned bacon stuck to the bottom. When the onions are softened, make a hole in the center and add the garlic and chili powder. Toast the garlic and spices for a minute, then stir them into the onions. Stir in the chopped green chiles.
- Start the ground beef: Add the beef to the pot, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt, and stir it into the onions and spices until it is coated with chili powder. Cook the beef, scraping the bottom and stirring often, breaking up any large clumps, until it loses its pink color, about 5 minutes. Stir the bacon back into the pot.
- Beans and liquid into the pot: Add the sorted and rinsed beans, then pour in 6 cups of water. Sprinkle with the salt and baking soda. Stir well, scraping the bottom one last time to make sure nothing is sticking. Gently stir in the barbecue sauce - it should stay on top of the beans and water - we don't want it sinking to the bottom, where it will burn.
- Pressure cook for 45 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 40 minutes in a stovetop PC. (In an Instant Pot, use "Manual", "Pressure Cook", or "Pressure Cook-Custom" mode set for 45 minutes). When the pressure cooking time is over, let the pressure come down naturally, for about 20 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 20 minutes). Open the pot, tilting the lid away from you to avoid any hot steam.
- Simmer the cowboy beans (optional): If you have time, set the Instant Pot to Saute Mode on Low and simmer the beans for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Stir often, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot and burns.
- Season and serve: Stir in ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 487
- Sugar: 13.5 g
- Sodium: 1267.6 mg
- Fat: 19.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.2 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 30.4 g
- Cholesterol: 64.5 mg