Instant Pot Pinto Beans (no soaking needed!)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Ready to use in your favorite Mexican style recipe, or to just eat plain, these Instant Pot pinto beans are a game changer, with no soaking and a much quicker cook time.
I’m just in love with my Instant Pot! All right, maybe that’s a little over the top, but every day I find new things to love about cooking with my pressure cooker.
Mostly, I love the speediness. When you can take something like dry, hard beans and have them ready to eat in about an hour, I find that truly kind of amazing, don’t you?
And it’s all pretty much hands-off time, so you can be working on other aspects of your dinner, or just taking a break with a cup of coffee and a good book (my preference, for sure!).
The ultimate question is: How do pinto beans taste when they’ve been pressure cooked in an Instant Pot? Delicious! Much more tasty and economical than canned beans, and without all the sodium.
About these Instant Pot Pinto Beans
An important thing to remember is that dry beans absorb a lot of water. I use 6 cups of water with 1 pound of pinto beans. The beans don’t absorb all 6 cups of the water. You’ll have lots of nice bean broth, which you can eat with the beans. I like to let the beans sit in the cooking liquid while they cool a bit so they can absorb a little more of that delicious broth.
Season the beans liberally with chopped onion, a bay leaf or two, salt and pepper. Put the lid on securely, select Pressure Cook, set the cooking time for 50 minutes, and let the pinto beans cook. When the cooking time is up, natural release for 15 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. That’s it! In just over an hour, you have perfectly cooked pinto beans, firm but not crunchy.
I like to use these cooked pinto beans in a variety of recipes. You can make them into refried beans, add them to your favorite chili with ground beef or turkey, make soup or vegetarian stuffed peppers (coming soon!), or use them in a taco salad. I really like this quinoa salad with pinto beans and avocado dressing. One of my favorite pinto bean dishes is frijoles borrachos, or “drunken beans”.
Instant Pot pinto beans are delicious just plain, too. I had a bowl of cooked pinto beans on the counter cooling and my mom and I kept sneaking a taste because they’re kind of addicting.
Do you need to soak the beans before they are cooked in a pressure cooker?
As I mention above, you don’t need to presoak the beans. However, according to the recipe booklet that comes with your Instant Pot, if you pre-soak the beans for 4-6 hours in water (4 times the volume of the beans), the cooking time will be reduced to 7-9 minutes.
If you have time to presoak the beans, as you can see, the cooking time is cut drastically. Soak or no soak? Decide which way works best in your schedule.
Or maybe slow cooking works best for you, I get that! Check out how to make slow cooker pinto beans.
How do you cook dried beans in an Instant Pot?
You can cook any type of dried beans in your Instant Pot pressure cooker. Water and beans are all you need, seasoning is optional. Check the cookbook that comes with your Instant Pot for guidelines on how long to cook each type of bean. Easy, easy, easy! I love to make Black Bean Soup in my Instant Pot.
How to make this Instant Pot recipe your own:
- Add seasonings, like garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and/or cayenne.
- Spice it up a little with a can of green chiles.
- Make them plain. I would definitely add a little salt though.
- Add chopped bacon to the Instant Pot and cook it with the beans.
- Try different varieties of beans.
Reheating and Storage Tips
Cooked pinto beans will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, ready to use in the recipe of your choosing.
For longer storage, freeze pinto beans in freezer containers with their juice, or in freezer bags if they’re drained, for up to 6 months. If you’re adding beans to chili or soups, you can toss them in without thawing. If you’re adding the pinto beans to salads, thaw overnight in the refrigerator for best results.
Other basics that will make you fall in love with your Instant Pot:
Do you really love your Instant Pot? If you’re still on the fence, try some of these game changing basic recipes, and watch out! You may find yourself falling in love.
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (this recipe tipped my mom into the love category)
- Instant Pot Applesauce (or maybe it was this one!)
- Instant Pot Brown Rice
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (perfect for meal prep)
- Instant Pot Boiled Eggs (easy to peel every time!)
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Quinoa (plain or cilantro lime)
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pinto beans (about 2 cups)
- 6 cups water
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse beans and pick out any stones, pebbles, or non-bean materials. If desired, soak in water overnight to reduce cook time, but this is not necessary.
- Put beans into Instant Pot. Add water, onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir. Secure lid, turn valve to seal.
- Set pressure cooker to "pressure cook" or "manual" (depending on model), high pressure, for 50 minutes for dry beans (15 minutes for soaked beans). Let pressure release naturally (in other words, leave it alone) for 15 minutes.
- Quick release any remaining pressure by turning valve to “vent.” Remove lid.
- Carefully remove bay leaf. Beans can be drained, or you can scoop beans out with a slotted spoon, or enjoy them with the cooking broth. It's delicious!
- Serve, garnished with chopped cilantro, if desired.
Notes
- Want to keep it basic? This recipe will work just fine with water and beans, but I recommend adding salt at the very least.
- Want to kick it up a notch? Try cooking with chicken broth instead of water, and/or adding 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- For another twist, try adding a can of diced green chiles.
- To use as “refried” beans: Drain beans, reserving liquid. Blend with an immersion blender or a potato masher, adding liquid as needed.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Lame says
This recipe is more onion than bean. I just made a big pot of onion soup and its disgusting. Good job, internet, you saved the day and now I don’t have to eat dinner.
Rachel Gurk says
This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of diced onion, and 2 cups of dried beans which will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans. Did you maybe measure something wrong?
Sarah says
I double the onion and can’t taste it at all. Additionally, I season the beans further once cooked. I’d recommend that people simply try this recipe and then adjust as needed – my guess is most people will be adding to the flavor, not reducing it. (I’m not knocking you, though, my father has the ability to taste even an ounce of garlic and he hates it!!). :)
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks for the comment and the support! I agree, this recipe is definitely more of a building-block type of recipe. I always add a bunch of chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika when I make them. :)
Ruthie Cason says
Lol what did you do?! No offense but this sounds like user error.
Lisa Kemp says
I tried this recipe, and it was outstanding. I used oven-baked garlic shrimp and added all the garlic sauce from the pan. Big hit!
Rachel Gurk says
Oh yum, that sounds fantastic! I’m so glad you liked it, thanks for leaving a comment!
Phyllis Hardy says
I made this recipe and it was delicious. I did make 2 substitutions. I have a recipe for Baharat and used 3/4 tsp instead of the black pepper and a I substituted the kosher salt with 1 tsp of my lightly spiced salt. These two changes gave it a very slight mediterranean taste.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Nicole Johnson says
I made this, and it was amazeballs. I cooked the onion and the beans first, with the addition of the recommended spices, using beef broth instead of water, for about 45 minutes and then released the pressure. I then added a lb of mostly cooked ground wild pork, and 4 large peeled russet potatoes, diced about an inch, then cooked an additional 20 minutes. The flavor was absolutely off the charts and it was such a comfort food on a nasty, rainy day. Love my instapot and love this recipe.
Rachel Gurk says
Oh yum…I want to eat dinner at your house!
Carol Ferrier says
I followed this recipe as written then made Chili with the beans. It was delicious. I added 20 oz bison, a chopped onion, 3 bay leaves, garlic salt, cumin, red chilis, and chili powder to season along with about 3 lbs. canned tomatoes and juice. It was so-ooo good!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Amy says
I made these! I had beer brats that I braised in a bit of apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, and onion. I used the broth from the brats as part of the six cups of liquid in the beans. After the beans were done I served them with broth and added a sliced brat to each bowl. It was delicious. I’m thinking some buttermilk cornbread and maybe a spoon of chow-chow (an old times southern relish made from Green tomatoes) would make it perfect.
Rachel Gurk says
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Mays Milner says
I used zydeco chop chop , yummy .
Rachel Gurk says
Nice! I’m not familiar with that.
Karen says
Wait on your instant pot you put 35 minutes yet the recipe says 50? Because I tried this recipe today and my beans didn’t cook and were dried out!
Rachel Gurk says
Sorry about that! You need to follow the recipe directions. We had the video made but then we ended up retesting the recipe and determined 50 minutes yielded more consistent results. Unfortunately there are some variables, including the age of your beans, that will cause them to take longer to cook.
Susan says
I am from Texas and New Mexico so I know southwestern cooking and this recipe is perfect! I used red onion instead of yellow and a little fresh garlic instead of powder. I also included the chili powder, comino and kosher salt. It was perfect!
Rachel Gurk says
That’s such a huge compliment, thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
Sue says
Does the water thicken when you cook them this way?
Rachel Gurk says
A little, but not a lot. If you want a thicker liquid, you could remove part of the beans and liquid and puree them in the blender and then add them back in. Let me know if you try it!
Katie Zeller says
You might want to adjust your time… 50 minutes plus 15 minutes is not ‘less than an hour’ – and you didn’t take into consideration getting up to pressure. It’s fast, but not that fast ;-)
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks so much! I think what happened is that we ended up retesting this recipe and adjusting the time but didn’t change the narrative. Thanks for pointing it out!
Sam says
I doubled this recipe, since the bag of beans I had was 2 lbs. Don’t skip adding your favorite seasonings. It will help! Turned out great, 50 mins on manual then sit for 15 then quick release the rest. Thanks!
Rachel Gurk says
Yes! I love adding smoked paprika, chili powder, and cumin. So good!
Natalie says
Did you also double the water since you doubled the amount of beans?
Jaci Kroupa says
What size IP did you use for your 2 lbs of beans? My first time to make beans and I want to make sure the beans don’t expand too much! TY
Rachel Gurk says
I have a 6qt!
gail says
I added hot sausage and a can of rotel tomatoes. Added a skillet of cornbread an hubby was on hog jeaven.
Rachel Gurk says
Oh yum! I bet that was phenomenal!
Mike says
Good stuff!
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks, Mike!
denise says
Sounds easy.
I always associate pintos with cornbread thanks to my southern grandma.
Rachel Gurk says
I love that! :)