Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking). A simple, delicious pot of beans. Cook pinto beans, from dry beans, 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.
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No soaking, no fancy stuff, just a simple pot of beans, cooked from dried in about an hour. But, If you do want to get fancy, use these pinto beans to make refried beans: Instant Pot Refried Pinto Beans. If you're looking for another bean recipe, check out my red kidney beans in instant pot.
Jump to:
- 🤨 Do You Need to Soak Beans Before Pressure Cooking?
- 🥫Ingredients
- 🥘 Substitutions
- 🛠 Equipment
- How to Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- 📏Scaling
- What is the ratio of water to beans in an Instant Pot?
- How much water do you need for 2 pounds of beans in an Instant Pot
- How many cups is 1 pound of pinto beans?
- 💡Other Tips and Tricks
- What to serve with pinto beans
- Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- ☃️ Storage
- 🤝 Related Posts
- 💬 Comments
🤨 Do You Need to Soak Beans Before Pressure Cooking?
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.
🥫Ingredients
This is a simple dried bean recipe, so the ingredients list is pretty basic:
- Dried pinto beans
- Onion
- Bay leaf
For details, see the recipe below.
🥘 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.
- Want to make richer beans? Substitute chicken broth (preferably homemade chicken broth) for the water. If you're vegetarian (or vegan), you can use vegetable broth. (Or just stick with the water - this recipe is vegan as written.) If you use store-bought broth, try to get low sodium broth, and skip the sea salt, because store-bought broth is already salty.
- Want to flavor the beans a little? Add a teaspoon of ground cumin, or ground chili powder to the pot with the beans.
🛠 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.)
How to Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans
This pinto bean recipe is straightforward, because I like a simple pot of beans.
- Sort and rinse the dry pinto beans. Get rid of any stuff in the bag that's not a bean, and toss any broken beans.
- Put the dry pinto beans, 6 cups of water, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, a peeled onion, and a couple of bay leaves in an Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker).
- Lock the lid, and pressure cook at high pressure for 40 minutes. Then, quick release the pressure.
- Serve, or freeze for later in their broth in 2-cup containers.
📏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; Instant Pot recommends not filling the pot over the half-full line if you're cooking beans. So, if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can double this recipe.
What is the ratio of water to beans in an Instant Pot?
My ratio is 1 pound of beans to 6 cups of water for unsoaked beans.
How much water do you need for 2 pounds of beans in an Instant Pot
You need 12 cups of water for 2 pounds of beans. But as I said above, you should only do this in an 8-quart or larger Instant Pot; the Instant Pot manual says to not fill over the half-full line for beans.
How many cups is 1 pound of pinto beans?
A pound of pinto beans is about 2¼ cups, so I just measure out a heaping 2 cups. Or I just go with 2 cups - that extra quarter cup of beans doesn't change the recipe.
💡Other Tips and Tricks
- Quick Release: I quick release the pressure for these beans. The sudden drop in pressure throws the water into a boil, which roughs up the beans, releasing starch and thickening the pot liquid.
- Natural Release: If you would prefer to use a natural release, cut the pressure cooking time back by five minutes. When the pressure cooking time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for at least 15 minutes. You can let it come down all the way, or quick release any remaining pressure if you're in a hurry.
- Salt your bean water! “Salt toughens beans” is a myth. Salting before cooking helps season the beans all the way through as they cook. It also helps with older beans. Speaking of older beans...
- Baking soda: Baking soda helps with older beans, so they tenderize. That's why I include it in most of my bean recipes.
- 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.
What to serve with pinto beans
Pinto beans are a traditional side dish for most Southwestern meals. Serve them with Texas Red Chili, Tacos, Enchiladas, Fajitas...If it's Tex-Mex (or Tex, or Mex), it's perfect with pinto beans.
Print
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
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (optional)
- 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 the baking soda. 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
Buy Now → Notes
Want even thicker bean broth? After pressure cooking, remove the lid and simmer on Sauté Mode, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Or, if you're in a hurry, 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
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☃️ 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
Instant Pot Chorizo Chili (with Pinto Beans)
Recipe for Instant Pot Blacked Eyed Peas
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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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.
Laurie says
I've been making this bean recipe of yours to use in chili for several years and just wanted to say thank you because it's great. One pound of beans is just right for a huge (12 quart) stockpot of chili using about 5-6 pounds of meat. Making it today—it's fall here in Minnesota and time to get some chili in the freezer!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy it!
Jenni says
Good morning, the last sentence in step 2 “ Quick release the pressure in the pot.” When do I do a quick release on my Instant Pot? Love this recipe! I’m new to pressure cooking.
Mike Vrobel says
Quick release when the cooking time is over - in this case, when the 40 minute pressure cooking timer on the Instant Pot has counted down to zero.
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/
Sandy N says
So happy I found this recipe! It has the perfect amount of flavor for so few ingredients. The first time I made it with the quick release, the juices sprayed everywhere. I'd never had that happen in anything I'd made before so was unprepared. I'm sure it's something I did wrong somehow, lol. I decided to change the cooking time slightly so that I could let it naturally release a bit to hopefully have a less messy experience. Instead of the 40 min with quick release, I did 30 min with 10 min natural release. It worked better for me. Thank you for the tasty recipe.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
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
Jen Mulvaney says
I did 3 slightly heaping cups of beans in my 6qt Instant Pot and did 1 1/2 all of the other ingredients and it fit perfectly just under the 1/2 mark inside the pot. 😁😁😁
Lisa says
How many cups is 1 lb of dry pinto beans?
Mike Vrobel says
About 2 cups. It’s a little bit more, but close enough that it works fine with this recipe.
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.