Instant Pot Pinto Beans. Simple, delicious, dried beans, cooked in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.
I already have a pinto bean recipe on DadCooksDinner. But the recipe I use the most, simple Instant Pot Pinto Beans, aren’t on the blog. Let’s fix that, shall we? Here’s the method I use on weeknights.
No soaking, no fancy stuff, just a simple pot of beans, cooked from dried in about an hour. (If you *do* want to get fancy, this is the base recipe I use in my Refried Pinto Beans recipe.)
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🥫Ingredients
This is a simple dried bean recipe, so the ingredients list is pretty basic:
- Dried pinto beans
- Onion
- Bay leaf
🥘 Substitutions
- Don't have an onion? Substitute a couple of cloves of unpeeled garlic.
- Don't have a bay leaf? Skip it. The beans will still be good.
🛠 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. 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, 18 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
- Quick release the pressure for beans. The sudden drop in pressure throws the water into a boil, which roughs up the beans, releasing starch and thickening the pot liquid.
- 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.
Recipe: Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Print🔪Recipe
Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups of beans 1x
Description
Instant Pot Pinto Beans. Simple, delicious, dried beans, cooked in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Pinto Beans
- 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 small to medium onion, peeled and halved
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- Cilantro for garnish (Optional)
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.
- Pressure cook the beans for 40 minutes with a quick pressure release: Put the rinsed beans in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker pot. Pour in the 6 cups of water, then stir in the teaspoon of salt and add the onion and bay leaves. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes in an electric pressure cooker or 35 minutes in a stovetop PC. (In an Instant Pot, use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode set for 40 minutes). Quick release the pressure in the pot.
- Serve: Remove the pressure cooker lid – open it away from you to protect yourself from the hot steam. Discard the onion and bay leaves. Ladle the beans into bowls, and serve.
Equipment
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Notes
Want even thicker bean broth? Scoop a cup of beans and broth out and puree them with a blender (I use my stick blender), then stir the pureed beans back into the pot.
Want to soak your beans? Do the sort and rinse step, then cover the beans with water overnight. Drain the beans, and continue with the recipe, cutting the pressure cooking time to 18 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Keywords: Instant Pot Pinto Beans, Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans
☃️ Storage
A 2-cup container of cooked pinto 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
Pressure Cooker Refried Pinto Beans - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Refried Black Beans - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Southwestern Pinto Bean Soup - DadCooksDinner
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Lauren Warren says
This saved my life! I have been using my Instant Pot for a while and there’s always a quick, savior recipe like this one to make my daily mom life go quick and smooth! 🙌🏻👍🏻
Judy says
Judy, just got my hot pot, first time I cooked pinto beans was 50 years ago. Didn't know you had to was them, they were in a sealed bag. Well my new husband asked me if I washed them, I said why? Well he found the dirt pieces. Good memories. I'm cooking the beans tomorrow.
Julie Tree says
Thanks - came out perfectly, and I'll check out your other recipes
★★★★★
Kylie Offutt says
If you double the recipe, would you double the amount of water as well?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes- but don’t go over the pot’s max fill line.
Ashley says
These beans came out awesome! Question: How long should I cook the beans if I double the recipe?
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Cook for the same amount of time, even if you double the recipe.
Elizabeth Gonzalez says
We are a family of 9 so I usually cook more than 1 lb. Do you know about how much can be cooked at 1 time in the 8qt instant pot lux?
Mike Vrobel says
You can double the recipe (2 pounds of beans) in an 8-quart pressure cooker.
Mandy says
Would it be for the same amount of time for 1lb of beans or a different time?
Mike Vrobel says
Same amount of time.
Karen Hester says
I never leave a review but these beans turned out so beautifully I feel compelled to. I’ve been making beans for nearly 40 years and have either soaked and done them on the stove or in my slow cooker all day. Today was a game changer. They were the perfect texture.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Rhonda Valdez says
Hello Mike, I have been cooking beans for probably close to 4o years, mostly just on the stove top. Years ago I used to use my old fashioned non electric pressure cooker, now I have an instant pot and so.... I always have soaked my beans to release gas for about an hour in very hot water, rinse tfen cook, my question is, do you know how long I would cook them in the instant pot with an altitude of 5000 ft? Thank you so much.
Mike Vrobel says
The rule of thumb is to add 5% for every 1000 feet over 2000 feet of altitude. So, add 15% to the cooking times and you'll be good. More here: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/high-altitude-pressure-cooking-adustments/
Jessie says
Thank you! I’m new to instant pot and I used this to make my beans for chili. 🙂
★★★★★
Shelly says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I have been making beans for over 15 years, being Mexican it’s a staple lol, I am so glad I no longer have to spend four hours in front of the stove!! I didn’t have a baby l age but I added salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and a goya tomato/cilantro seasoning packet usually found in the international food aisle.. thank you again!!!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Mindy says
I'm new to Instant Pot and this recipe was delish. I rough chopped the onion and used 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 water. When the beans were done I reserved about two cups of liquid and used my immersion blender to make "refried beans". So good!!
★★★★★
Kimberly says
Is it OK to use a 3 qt pot instead of 6?
Mike Vrobel says
No, sorry, not big enough for this amount of beans.
Anon says
Can this be halved for a 3 Qt?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes
Pamela says
Why do you sort the beans
Mike Vrobel says
Because they may have bits of dirt or stones in them - you want to make sure the batch is clean before you start to cook it.
Jim says
Very tasty beans. Will cook them again.
★★★★★
Lori says
I dropped in a slice of maple bacon, that was the only change I made. Delicious!!!! Just the flavor I was seeking - I didn't want spicy beans, just savory with a hint of sweet. This recipe delivered just that. Definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
Cindi says
Can I cook a ham hock in the beans in instant pot?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, it's a great addition!
Julie says
Absolutely delicious. First time making beans in a pressure cooker and first time having beans turn out correctly. I live at 7,000 feet and only cooked mine for 32 minutes and they came out perfectly. I was looking for a bit firmer consistency though.
★★★★★
Sharon says
This recipe is perfect. the beans came out exactly right. A little extra water at the end and I did not use the onion but next time I will. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Pamela J McNab says
Forgot to rate it! Oops!
★★★★
Elaine Carrillo says
This quick and simple recipe for pinto beans in the Instant Pot is delicious! Thank you! Note: if you live at altitude above 5,000 feet you will need to add time for cooking. I'm at about 6-7000 feet and had to add about 12 minutes.
★★★★★