Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans recipe. A taste of Santa Maria, ready in about an hour in the pressure cooker.
My wife knows me. What did she get me on a trip to San Fransisco? Beans. Not just any beans - pinquito beans from Rancho Gordo at the Ferry Market. I have wanted to try these beans for years; they are an essential side dish for Santa Maria Tri-Tip Barbecue, but I’ve never been able to find them locally.
Enter Rancho Gordo, the internet’s gourmet bean source - except, instead of ordering them online, my wife bought them at the source and flew them home to Ohio.
Now, to make sure I had the recipe right, I needed more than one bag of beans…so I did order a few more online. Plus some black beans, small red beans, and pinto beans. Hey, I need them for research.
The pinquito beans were worth the extra effort - they’re smaller and meatier than pinto beans. I know, I know, that description doesn’t help much. Trust me - they taste fantastic, and are worth seeking out. I can see why they’re such a hit in Santa Maria.
I used my bean secret weapon - my pressure cooker - to cook them in about an hour. Ready for a brothy bowl of pinquito beans, perfect to serve with Santa Maria Tri-Tip? Here they are.
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🥫Ingredients
- Dried Santa Maria pinquito beans
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Dry Mustard
- Baking Soda
- Tomato Sauce
See recipe card for quantities.
🥘 Substitutions
Want a vegetarian version? Replace the bacon with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil so there's some fat to sauté the onion.
Can't find pinquito beans? Use pinto beans or navy beans. Both cook in about the same amount of time as the pinquito beans, and though they have different flavors, they work well with this recipe.
🛠 Equipment
A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the reasons I became a pressure cooker convert, and why I love my Instant Pot so much. 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 Santa Maria pinquito beans?
I get the “to soak, or not to soak?” question all the the time. I don’t soak my Santa Maria pinquito beans in this basic recipe. They don’t need an overnight soak, and cook to tenderness with 35 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, 12 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.
- Acid does make beans tough, though, and tomatoes are acidic. So, to balance out the acid in the tomatoes, I add Baking soda. (Remember Chemistry class? Baking soda is a base, counteracting the acid in the tomatoes).
- 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.
Video: Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans - Time Lapse (1:25)
Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans - Time Lapse [YouTube.com] Print
Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans
- Total Time: 27 minute
- Yield: 6 cups beans 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Santa Maria Pinquito Beans recipe. A taste of Santa Maria, ready in about an hour in the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces bacon, diced (can I get that at the grocery store?)
- 1 large onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 pound Santa Maria Pinquito Beans, sorted and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 cups water
- 8-ounce can Tomato Sauce
Instructions
- Brown the bacon: Spread the bacon out in the bottom of the pressure cooker pot, then put it over medium-low heat (or, in an electric PC, turn on Sauté mode). Cook the bacon, stirring often, until the bacon is starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Sauté the aromatics in the bacon fat: Stir the onion and garlic into the bacon in the pressure cooker pot, and sprinkle with the ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onion softens, about five minutes.
- Everything in the pot: Add the sorted and rinsed pinquito beans to the pot, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, the mustard powder, and the baking soda. Stir in the water, and then stir in the tomatoes.
- Pressure cook the beans: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook at high pressure for 35 minutes in an electric pressure cooker, or 30 minutes in a stovetop PC. (On the Instant Pot, use the Manual setting, and set the cook time for 35 minutes.) Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes more. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid any hot steam.
- Season, and serve: Taste the soup, then add salt and pepper until you just taste the salt on the tip of your tongue. (I usually add another teaspoon or two of salt to the pot.) Serve, passing hot sauce at the table if you want an extra kick of heat.
Equipment
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Notes
This recipe fits in a 6-quart pressure cooker. (I love my 6 quart Instant Pot - though if you pay close attention to the video, you’ll notice that I use a Fagor Lux that I was testing.)
Thickening the beans: If you want to thicken up the bean broth, scoop 2 cups of cooked beans and cooking liquid out of the cooker and puree them, then stir the pureed beans back into the pot. I put them in a quart measuring cup and use my stick blender.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
☃️ 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
Pressure Cooker Refried Pinto Beans - Dad Cooks Dinner
Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup - Dad Cooks Dinner
Pressure Cooker Lentil and Bacon Soup - Dad Cooks Dinner
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos
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Jamie says
Phenomenal recipe! I am vegan, so I substituted some liquid smoke for the bacon. Came out amazing. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Janet Goff says
Great recipe Mike! I served these with rice and a dollop of guacamole on top. 🙂
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Stephanie says
This is my go-to recipe and I live in Santa Maria where these beans are a staple of every bbq.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Janet Goff says
I think Rancho Gordo beans are well worth the extra price. I love this recipe Mike, I'm a fan of pinquitos. Thanks again for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Howard says
You've got me hooked on Rancho Gordo beans. So good.
If I soak/brine these pinquito beans overnight, would the pressure cooker time be about 15 minutes like pinto beans?
Tanya says
Interesting recipe! I found it while doing a search for recipes that I could cook in my new Instant Pot. I'm a Santa Maria native and am used to the pinquito recipes that do not have any tomato sauce or mustard in them, although your recipe sounds very good! The recipe I use calls for some diced green chilies instead. I mostly use the Jocko's Steakhouse Restaurant (Nipomo, CA) or Shaw's Steakhouse (Santa Maria, CA) recipes (I think you can find them online). Also, if you are having trouble finding the pinquito beans, Lompoc Valley Seed & Milling is an excellent option! They have many other bean varieties as well.
★★★★
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Thanks!
★★★★★
Jennie says
Would this work with regular pintos? I, alas, have no pinquitos at the moment, but I'm going to order some ASAP! However, I do have diced bacon in need of a pot of beans.
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, it will work with pinto beans.
Chad says
I love your website, youtube channel and recipes! Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
ebacklund says
Love Rancho Gordo! I've been a member of their bean club for about 2 years now, and always look forward to my quarterly box of beans.
Mike Vrobel says
I just signed up for the Bean Club - I'm a Rancho Gordo convert now.
Astra says
Yes, be warned: Rancho Gordo is hugely addictive. Our favorites so far are the piquinto and the Royal Corona (although I made the Rio Zape beans this week and they had the best bean broth I have ever tasted).
Jennifer Gibbons says
The Good Mother Stallards are really good, I agree, but you need to try the Rio Zapes (super meaty tasting) and the Yellow Indian Woman (ridiculously creamy).
Mike Vrobel says
Adding to my list!
Razzy 7 says
Glad to hear you're trying beans from Rancho Gordo. Love, love, love their beans and I love that they are heirloom beans. They're always fresh because when a season's beans are sold out, that's it. No more until the next season's beans are available. I love too that they have bean varieties I've never heard of. A favorite variety I'd recommend to you is Good Mother Stallard beans.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks for the tip - I will check out the Good Mother Stallard beans.