Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Instant Pot is the easiest method of cooking pinto beans! No soaking needed! Once you try Instant Pot pinto beans, you’ll never make them any other way!

These Instant Pot pinto beans are so perfectly cooked and tender! Cooked from scratch pinto beans are so much better than the canned ones!

With the invention of the Instant Pot, cooking dry beans on the stove became truly obsolete.  Who wants to deal with soaking the beans before cooking?

No Soak Instant Pot Pinto Beans

With the Instant Pot, you don’t need to soak the beans!  All you need to do to cook pinto beans in the Instant Pot is to put dry pinto beans, water and desired seasonings in the Instant Pot, close the lid and cook for an hour on High pressure, followed by a quick release (QR).  The beans will be perfectly cooked and mouthwatering!  Drain excess water and enjoy these delicious pinto beans from scratch!

Instant Pot Pinto Beans Water Ratio

The ratio of beans to water that I like to use is 1 lb of pinto beans to 6 cups water.  When you put the dry pinto beans and water in the Instant Pot, it might seem like it’s too much water, but because pinto beans expand when they cook they actually absorb most of the water.  When the beans are done cooking, just drain whatever water is left.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans Cooking Time

I like my pinto beans really tender, so I use a cooking time of 1 hour on High pressure.  If you like them more firm, cook them for 45 minutes.

Vegan Instant Pot Pinto Beans

This basic recipe for no-soak Instant Pot pinto beans is already vegan!  While there are many variations of pinto beans recipes that include animal products (such as the Southern pinto beans variation below), the original recipe is vegan as its only ingredients it uses are pinto beans, water and salt.

 

Southern Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Southern pinto beans recipes typically add meat and additional seasonings.  Below I’ll give Instant Pot directions for these common Southern pinto beans recipes:

• Pinto beans with ham hocks
• Pinto beans with bacon
• Pinto beans with ground beef
• Pinto beans with smoked sausage

Instant Pot Pinto Beans With Ham Hocks

To make a Southern version of Instant Pot pinto beans with ham hocks, simply add 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning to the cooking water, put a ham hock on top of the dry beans, along with 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic, and cook the same way as the basic recipe.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans With Bacon

For another Southern twist on pinto beans, make them with bacon!  First cook chopped bacon in the Instant Pot on a Saute setting (see my Instant Pot Bacon recipe), then add dry pinto beans, 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic and water and cook as the basic recipe.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans With Ground Beef

To make this hearty recipe variation, first cook a pound of ground beef on a Saute setting, then 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, water and pinto beans and proceed with the basic recipe.  After it’s cooked, stir with a large spoon to evenly mix ground beef with pinto beans.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans With Sausage

Add dry pinto beans, water,  1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 lb smoked sausage to the Instant Pot and proceed with basic recipe directions.

Using Chicken Broth To Cook Pinto Beans

For more flavor, feel free to use chicken broth instead of water (and while you are at it, check out my Instant Pot chicken broth recipe, it’s so simple!).  In a pinch, you can also drop a chicken bullion cube in water for a chicken flavor :)

If you want to use broth for vegan Instant Pot pinto beans, just use vegetable broth.

Cooking 2 lbs of pinto beans in the Instant Pot

The basic recipe is using a bag of pinto beans (which is 1 lb).  A lot of people have been asking how to cook 2 lbs of pinto beans in the Instant Pot at once, so here’s your answer:

• Put 2 lbs of dry pinto beans, 1 tbsp of salt and 10 cups of water in the Instant Pot and cook for 50 minutes on High pressure.  Let the pressure release naturally (NR) for 20 minutes, then quick release (QR) the remaining steam.

You can cook 2 lbs of pinto beans in a 6 qt or 8 qt Instant Pot.  For 2 lbs of pinto beans I recommend using natural release to avoid splattering (as the pot will be filled much more than with 1 lb).

More Instant Pot Recipes

If you like Instant Pot pinto beans, you will also love these easy Instant Pot recipes:

• Instant Pot Refried Beans – turn your pinto beans into refried beans!  Once you try making refried beans from scratch, you’ll never want to eat ones from the can!
• Instant Pot Lentils And Brown Rice – this hearty simple dish is so easy in the Instant Pot! Just dump rice and lentils in the pot and press the button!
• Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts – this classic Southern snack is so addictive! This is an authentic Southern recipe for boiled peanuts made super easy in the Instant Pot!
• Instant Pot Collard Greens – perfectly cooked and tender, Instant Pot is perfect for cooking them!
• Instant Pot Cornbread – this cornbread is so moist, tender and perfect! Yes, you cook it in the Instant Pot!

I love my Instant Pot and have lots of recipes for it on this site – click here to browse all my easy Instant Pot recipes!