Instant Pot Pinto Beans

a bowl of pinto beans topped with red chilis in front of an instant pot

Easy NO SOAK Instant Pot Pinto Beans in less than an hour! Save time and money by making your own pressure cooker pinto beans at home, with better flavour and less salt than canned.

Course Beans

Cuisine American

Keyword Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Pressuring / Venting 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings

Calories 203kcal

Author Katie Trant

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

1 pound dried pinto beans
4.5 cups water
1 small yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 medium bay leaves
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Place your dried pinto beans into a mesh strainer and rinse well. Check for any stones or broken beans, and discard those.
Place the rinsed beans into the insert of your Instant Pot, together with 4.5 cups of water and any aromatics (diced onion, garlic, bay leaves, and chili powder).
Seal the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the vent is set to "sealing". Set to Manual / High Pressure for 40 minutes (for firmer beans) or 45 minutes (for softer beans). It will take about 20 minutes to come up to pressure.
Once the pressure cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15-20 minutes. Then, flip the vent to "venting" to release the remaining pressure.
Open the lid and stir the beans. Season with salt, and use as you wish.

Notes

Nutrition values are an estimate only and are based on 8 servings of cooked pinto beans.
If the beans are too firm when the cooking cycle is complete, you can pressure cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Cooked beans can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for 3-6 months.

Nutrition