Instant Pot pinto beans are delicious, simple and easy! I will show you how to cook dry pinto beans in the Instant Pot, and there is no pre-soaking required.
Side note: if you’d rather use a slow cooker, check out my crock pot pinto beans recipe. (You can make that with or without the ham.)
I am happy to introduce to you The Easiest Pinto Beans Recipe Ever. 🤓👍🏻
Often, I will prepare these exactly like my instant pot black-eyed peas. But I wanted to do a vegetarian/ vegan version for y’all because they are just as good y’all. Seriously.
I love that I can make these from dry beans, and they don’t have to soak them or have hours to cook them.
Dry beans are suuuuper cheap, and they are great for stretching a buck. I barely buy canned beans much anymore. I mostly keep canned ones on hand for emergencies.
You can make them ahead, portion them out and freeze them if you wish.
Sometimes I make a batch of these Instant Pot pinto beans at the beginning of the week, along with some rice, and we eat them for lunch all week with various toppings: diced avocado, cilantro, hot sauce, salsa, etc.
Side note: skillet corn bread is excellent with these, as shown in these pictures.
How to make Instant Pot pinto beans
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
- dried pinto beans
- water
- Better than Bullion vegetable base
Prepping and cooking
Rinse off your pinto beans, and drain them using a wire mesh strainer.
Add them to the Instant Pot, along with the water and Better Than Bullion vegetable base.
Cook time for Instant Pot pinto beans
Close and lock the lid, and cook on manual high pressure for 45 minutes. Note: It will take several minutes to come to pressure.
Allow the pressure to naturally release (Do not use the valve, but let it sit until the pressure indicator pin drops on its own. Mine took about 26 minutes, FYI.)
Additional notes and tips
The last thing I will say about my Instant Pot pinto beans is about the cook time. Usually the Instant Pot recommended cook times are pretty close to accurate. For some reason, they seem WAY off to me with their bean recommendations. That, or I like mine well-done! 😆
And yes, I have tried cooking them both salted and unsalted. Some folks say cooked them seasoned/ salted makes them need to cook longer.
After testing it out myself, I get similar results done both ways. So eliminating salt doesn’t seem to make a difference for me. What can I say, I still like them cooked longer. 🤷🏼♀️
Either way, if you have tried with their time recommendations and have been unhappy with the texture of your beans, I say cook those bad boys at least 50% longer than they recommend.
I cooked these for a whopping 45 minutes (with natural release), whereas Instant Pot recommends 25 to 30.
And they turn out perfect every time!
Storage tips
Store Instant pot pinto beans in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge, and up to three months in the freezer.
Frequently asked questions
I have found that 5 1/2 cups for every pound of beans works perfect. This gives the beans plenty of cooking liquid to get well-cooked.
For super tender pinto beans, cook on high pressure for 45 minutes, with a full natural release. Please note that the pot will take some time to come up to pressure. Total time is around 1 hour, 27 minutes, but most of this is hands off time.
Yes, these freeze really well. Pull them out and thaw prior to using them alone, or in other recipes.
Yes! These make a great base for refried beans, or even un-fried (oil free beans). We make those often, with the cooked beans plus some of the reserved cooking liquid. I like using a stick blender to mash the beans right in the pot.
You can make these with a teaspoon of garlic powder and salt, to taste. They are still very good.
More Instant Pot Recipes You May Enjoy
- Instant Pot black bean soup
- Instant Pot black beans
- Instant Pot whole “rotisserie” chicken
- Instant Pot “baked” sweet potatoes
- Instant Pot classic beef chili
- Instant Pot red beans and rice
- Instant Pot chicken breasts
- Instant Pot chicken thighs
- Instant Pot pasta e fagioli soup
- Instant Pot hard boiled eggs
- Instant Pot spaghetti (one pot)
- Instant Pot chicken recipes
- Instant Pot oatmeal (pot in pot method)
See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.
Tools Used to Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans
This post may contain affiliate links, which pay a referral fee to me at no additional cost to you. My full affiliate disclosure can be seen here.
- Instant Pot
- Better Than Bullion vegetable base – I get mine at Publix or Walmart
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe
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Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Pre-Soaking)
Instant Pot pinto beans are delicious, simple and easy! I will show you how to cook dry pinto beans in the Instant Pot, and there is no pre-soaking required.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pinto beans
- 5 1/2 cups water
- 1 2/3 Tablespoon Better Than Bullion vegetable base
- salt and pepper to taste (Honestly, mine didn’t need any. The BTB flavored them perfectly. Taste them first.)
Instructions
-
Rinse off your pinto beans, and drain them using a wire mesh strainer.
-
Add them to the Instant Pot, along with the water and Better Than Bullion vegetable base.
-
Close and lock the lid, and cook on manual high pressure for 45 minutes. Note: It will take several minutes to come to pressure.
-
Allow the pressure to naturally release (Do not use the valve, but let it sit until the pressure indicator pin drops on its own. Mine took about 26 minutes, FYI.)
Recipe Notes
45 minutes is the pressure cook time, but this will take longer than that to cook. The pot takes a little while to come up to pressure, plus about 25 minute to naturally release.
Nutritional info is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator. Info includes regular vegetable broth, due to the app limitations. Please note a higher sodium content if using Better Than Bullion.
Robbin says
This is my fifth time in five months of making them and they are perfect every time. Each time I do something a little different. First couple of times I used bacon and onions. This time I am using a ham hock. Can’t wait to taste them. Hubby loves these.
Thanks for the recipe and guidance.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Robbin!
Robert Rockhill says
I’ve made my pinto beans with this recipe my any times. They’re so good and not having to soak them is a really deal changer. You can dress it up with different chiles, onions etc. if I don’t have a ham hock I add some bacon.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad that you are enjoying them, Robert! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Barbara Smith says
I like to add about a teaspoon of salt and one whole jalapeño to a pound of beans. The beans are so delicious I could just eat a bowl of them with nothing else.
Amanda Fenn says
If I cook half a pound (meaning halve the recipe), will they cook similarly? I’m new to the instapot 😊
Cheryl says
These are a wonderful way to stay healthy, keep our Earth healthier and save the lives of animals and keep them from being tortured. Your cooking time will be of great benefit to many. Thank you for sharing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Thanks Cheryl!
Andre says
Perfect. I add lots of extras – carrots celery potatoes jalapeño and smoked pork chops and use chicken stick but you are spot on. Good just by themselves too. I just like a way to sneak in veggies
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am glad you enjoyed it, Andre. Your add ins sound delicious too.👌🏻
Annie Podkowsky says
These came out not quite as soft and cooked as they should have been. How much longer would you suggest adding to the time. I timed it 45 min from when I set it. Didn’t account for any longer of it warming up, and I didn’t do the valve release.
Nina says
Hi Annie, I have been playing with this recipe a lot and I put it at 50, with a natural release and if they are quite right I leave them in there for an hour or so. My hubs s a mexican man and just cooking them in the instant pot was a huge change for him! He likes his beans very soft. Good Luck!
Anna Jorgenson says
You are supposed to set the instant pot for 45 minutes on high. So it may take 15 minutes or more to come to pressure and then the 45 minute count down will start. Then natural release.
Gregory Sargent says
I added a Honey Baked ham bone from thanksgiving and trimmed the remaining chunks of ham. Maaaan say, awesome flavor!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Gregory! I am so happy to hear that. Those hambones are like gold at our house. I never throw them away without making some beans or soup. I will even freeze them if I cannot use them right away. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!🙏🏻
Rotnrbn says
I have made these twice now and they are wonderful. First time I did them with a little onion and ham and this time all I had was onion and bacon. They smell awesome.
This is now my go to recipe.
Amy says
Perfect! I add a tablespoon of bacon grease too.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Amy! Glad you enjoyed it.🙌🏻
Tia says
I sauted a pound of Hillshire Farms beef sausage with a half of onion (drained the grease when done). I didn’t have BTB so I improvised. I used a mixture of water, beef, chicken, and vegetable broth equal parts for the total of 5 cups of liquid. No salt needed. Lol. Cooked for 50 minutes with natural release and, WOW!!!
These beans are worthy of my ancesters! (I know this because my 80-year-old aunt said they were the best she’s ever eaten). 🥰
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That sounds delicious, Tia! So glad you made it your own. Thank you for taking the time to circle back and leave a rating.💕🙏🏻
Billy says
Can you throw in a ham hock?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Of course, that is always a great addition👌🏻
Nancy says
This is my first time using my instatpot. My guy has been after me to cook pinto beans in it. So l finally got the courage to do it. I added bacon drippings, onion and vinegar. Waiting to see how they turn out. I am sure they will be great.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I hope you enjoyed it, Nancy!
Alicia Matheny says
What can I do if I only have regular chicken broth- or- BTB Beef? Thanks!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Alicia! You can use chicken broth in place of the water, if you don’t use the BTB. I haven’t made it with beef BTB, but I bet it would be delicious. Hope that helps!
Alicia Matheny says
Thank you!