Home » Recipes by Method » Instant Pot » Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Want a one step, no soak, easy way to prepare pinto beans? Use your Instant Pot! These cook up perfectly with very little effort and the leftovers can be frozen and used for weeks!

pinto beans in a white bowl with spoon

Making pinto beans in the Instant Pot is healthy and efficient!  Beans contain fiber and antioxidants.  They’ll bulk up any meal and are an inexpensive way to feed your family.  Making them in the Instant Pot saves you precious time on busy days.
 
If you want to meal prep, batches can easily be doubled or tripled.  Make some ahead of time and portion them out in batches.  Freeze beans up to 2 months for use later.  Try them in my Instant Pot Chicken Tacos and Meal Prep Burrito Bowls (recipe coming soon).
 
Pressure cooking beans lowers the amount of phytic acid and lectins in the beans.  This means they are more easily digestible.  
 
Soaking is not required.  However, if beans give you (a’hem) tummy troubles, soak them before putting them in the Instant Pot. Soaking removes the complex sugars that cause problems with digestion. 
process of making pinto beans in Instant Pot

Ingredients You’ll Need:

  • dried pinto beans
  • cumin
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • salt
  • water

pinto beans in an Instant pot with wooden spoon

How To Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans:

  1. Pick over beans to remove any debris if necessary and give them a rinse
  2. Add to Instant Pot along with remaining ingredients 
  3. Cover completely with water to about 1 inch over top of beans
  4. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes
  5. Allow natural pressure to release
  6. Drain and serve or cool and place in zipper bags for freezing
     
     
    pinto beans in a zipper freezer bag

Pro Tips…

If you prefer to soak your beans overnight, reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes.
 
To freeze beans, drain all of the liquid and portion into individual freezer bags. (A can is about 1 3/4 cups.)
 
They will freeze well for about 2 months.
pinto beans in a white bowl with spoon
 
pinto beans in a white bowl with spoon
4.34 from 3 votes

Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Print Recipe
Want a one step, no soak, easy way to prepare pinto beans? Use your Instant Pot! These cook up perfectly with very little effort and the leftovers can be frozen and used for weeks!
Add to Collection
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Pressurize:25 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried pinto beans
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cups water

Instructions

  • Pick over beans to remove any debris if necessary and give them a rinse
  • Add to Instant Pot along with remaining ingredients
  • Cover completely with water to about 1 inch over top of beans
  • Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes
  • Allow natural pressure release
  • Drain and serve or cool and place in baggies for freezing

Notes

  • If pre-soaking, reduce cook time to 15 minutes
  • Freeze for up to 2 months

Nutrition

Calories: 133kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 133kcal

 

 

 
 
 

3 Comments

  1. 3 stars
    I had to adjust this recipe a bit. For me 45 mins was not long enough. The beans came out more firm than I was wanting. I ended up putting them back in for another 5-10 mins or so. I also added more salt, because there just wasn’t enough flavor. (I use Redmond Real salt, which to me is less salty than regular table salt, so that could be why I needed more salt.) With these changes, the texture and flavor were much more to my liking. So next time I plan to try 55 mins at high pressure, plus the natural release. I’m also going to double the salt and do a third less water than listed in the recipe. That will hopefully get me to what I ended up with.

  2. 5 stars
    This is our go-to pinto bean recipe! We have occasionally had it come out a firm, but added more time. It usually has to do with our impatience on “natural release.” Lol! They freeze well so we usually double the recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    As someone that has for many years, made pinto beans on the stove, this was perfect! I set it for 45 min and left it to naturally release and warm..it turned out soft, favorable, and simply delicious! This method of making beans in my option supersedes the, “watch the beans” so the water does evaporate. I do use fresh onions and pierce a large jalapeño when I make mine, but aside from that, I would change nothing. The only question I have, when cooked, what is the serving size?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating