Why you’ll love pressure cooking pinto beans
Once you learn how to cook pinto beans in an Instant Pot, you’ll never go back to stovetop or slow cooker methods again! This no-soak recipe is the fastest, easiest way to prepare flavor-packed pinto beans for all your meals.
- Quick – With no soaking required, this entire recipe is ready to eat in just 30 minutes.
- Flavorful – Say goodbye to bland, boring beans. Seasoned to perfection, every bite of these Instant Pot pinto beans is bursting with bold flavor!
- Meal prep-friendly – One batch makes enough for 6 servings and stores and reheats well to enjoy for several days.
Once you taste these beans, you’ll never go back to canned options! Serve them at barbecues with Instant Pot ribs or for easy weeknight dinners alongside quick & easy grilled chicken breasts. Even picky eaters will ask for seconds!
Key Ingredient Notes
- Dry pinto beans – I use two pounds of dry pinto beans for this recipe. If you’re curious, you can learn all about the types of beans and how you can add them to your diet in my beans 101 post!
- Seasonings – I use a pinch of kosher salt and homemade taco seasoning. Store-bought taco seasoning packets will also work if preferred. You can also use onions, garlic, bay leaf, or any kind of herbs instead for a slightly different taste.
- Kombu – Kombu is dried seaweed and can be found on Amazon. It’s an optional ingredient, but some say that kombu reduces the gas-producing properties in beans, making this dish easier to digest.
How to cook pinto beans in an Instant Pot
- Rinse the beans in a colander to remove any dirt or debris.
- Transfer the rinsed beans to the inner pot of an Instant Pot.
- Add the salt, taco seasoning, and kombu. Then, pour in the water.
TIP: For even more flavor, feel free to use low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.
- Close the lid, turn the know to sealing, and set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual for 25 minutes on high. It took about 10 minutes for my pot to come to pressure! If you want to speed up the time, boil the water before adding it to the pot.
- Once the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally. This just means to let it sit for about 25 minutes! Once the pin drops, carefully open the lid.
How to use Instant Pot pinto beans
My favorite way to use pinto beans is in this refried beans recipe! However, they’re also great in 30-minute chili, Instant Pot chicken chili, or slow cooker white chicken chili.
Or, you can serve them as a filling side dish with main courses such as Instant Pot salsa verde pork loin roast, Instant Pot BBQ chicken, or pan-seared cod with cherry tomato sauce.
Storing Tips:
Store the cooked beans in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze cooked pinto beans for up to 8 months!
I like to freeze 2 cups of cooked beans per container, which is equivalent to one 15-ounce can of beans. If using a Ziplock bag, fill the bag, squeeze all the air out, and flatten the beans into an even layer. Place the flattened bags on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once fully frozen you can remove the baking sheet. This way it’s easier to store and defrost the beans!
FAQs:
You don’t have to, and in this recipe, we don’t. Soaking dry beans before cooking can help aid digestion and promote even cooking. However, it’s not really necessary, especially if you’re using high-quality beans!
This is a heavily debated topic when it comes to cooking dry beans. Some argue that salting the beans will prevent them from softening. However, salting Instant Pot pinto beans is the best way to go! Don’t believe me? Check out this article on Serious Eats, answering, “Should I Salt My Bean-In Cooking Water?”
Make sure to season the cooking water well! Then, add seasoning like taco seasoning. Or, use aromatics like onions, shallots, garlic, bay leaves, or anything you like best. You can also substitute the water with broth, similarly to how you add flavor to garlic butter rice.
How to Cook Pinto Beans in Instant Pot (No Soak)
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans (2 cups)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning optional (Note 1)
- 1 4-inch sheet kombu optional (Note 2)
- 6 cups boiling water or chicken broth (Note 3)
Instructions
- Rinse the beans in a colander to remove dirt and debries.
- Put the rinsed beans in inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add salt, taco seasoning and kombu.
- Pour in the water.
- Close the lid, turn the knob to sealing, set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cooker/Manual for 25 minutes on high. (It took about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.)
- Once the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally, which means let it sit for about 25 minutes. You can unplug the pot. Once the pin drops, carefully open the lid.
- To store the beans, transfer into freezer-friendly container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in freezer for up to 3 months. I like to store in 2-cup amount, which is equivalent to 1 (15oz) can.
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Notes
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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