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.
Jane says
How many cups of beans in a 1 lb. Bag? I buy raw beans at the heakth food store.
Faith says
There is 16 Oz to a lb. But it’s about 2 cups of dry beans to a lb. I JUST found a website that might help you
https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/bean-conversions/
Alisa Ricketts says
Great recipe!! did everything just like the recipe stated but did 50 minutes instead of 45. Next time, I believe that I will add only 4.5 cups of water instead of 5.5.
(and I have no idea why I can’t use capital letters. for some reason, my computer must be going bonkers.haha)
thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! I am so glad it turned out great for you.💖🙌🏻
dannie says
I would partake the meal with boiled rice.
Linda in TX says
Which IP is this? I have an IP lux min (3 qt). Are these directions/amounts for the small pot or the 6 (or greater) pot?
Thanks!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Linda! I only have the 6 qt. So this recipe was written for that. Without having tested it, I think if you half the recipe amounts, then you can use the same cook time. Hope you enjoy!💖
Jon Preston says
I’ve been using this pressure cooker recipe for 10+ years, however, I presoak or quick soak to avoid gastric distress. Since I presoak I only use 5 cups of water. Add a chopped onion, a chopped bunch of cilantro, 1 tbsp cumin and a whole chipotle for frijoles rancheros.
Woody Farrar says
I par-boiled my beans for 30 minutes, then I cooked them 45 minutes in the instant pot – they came out perfect. I used chicken broth instead of water and the bullion and I also used a pinto bean seasoning (3 tbl).
Linda c says
My bag of pinto beans was 20 oz. so I removed about half a cup of them. Need I had worried about the extra in the bag?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Linda! Great question. Instant Pot does not recommend filling bean recipes more than half full in the pot (including liquids and all other ingredients). I can’t remember for sure, but I think they would have fit they extra 4 ounces. You would have needed to increase the liquid and seasoning a little too.
Mom2fouronly says
16 ounces = 1 pound.
Kassis says
I did 40 minutes to cook beans before making chili. Worked great!, I figured I can always cook the whole thing a bit more if the beans are still tough…
I also like using dry beans because it makes me feel green: so much waste in buying the cooked beans in a can with all the stuff you really don’t need to buy: the can, the water, and you can store the dried beans just as long as a can.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yessss! I agree about feeling more “green” eating beans this way. Not that we never eat canned ones (we totally do), but it feels so efficient.🤗
A says
Not to mention the chemical preservatives and can lining…
Linda says
I have fixed pinto beans in my INSTANT pot several times. I went by your recipe but found the 45 minutes just wasn’t enough, beans still a little hard. I adjusted cooking time to 50 minutes and find this is perfect! Thanks for your recipe!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad it turned out delicious. Yep, times may vary for a variety of reasons. Glad they were good after the 2nd go-around. 👌🏻
Dorothy says
I cooked my pot of beans 40 minutes, did a manual pressure release, taste tested the beans. Not quite done enough for me plus I wanted to add more spices. Then I cooked another 15 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. Perfect!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Dorothy! That’s the beauty of the Instant Pot. You can always test them, or add more flavor, and then put the lid on and cook them a little longer.
Shelley says
Just made these tonight–they turned out great EXCEPT the 45 minutes with 26 minutes of natural release STILL left me with tough beans. : ( (My IP says 25-30 minutes for beans so I really thought your 45 minutes would be enough!)
Just to let anyone know, if your instant pot works the same way, i put the lid back on and did another 12 minutes of pressure cooking with another 26 minutes of natural release. I wasn’t sure if you could just redo it, but it worked!! Not sure why mine took so much longer, but they were exactly what I wanted after round 2!!
Thanks for the recipe!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Shelley! Glad you liked the flavor. Yep, it’s possible that your beans were a little different size maybe?🤔 Glad you knew just to turn them back on for a few minutes. 👍🏻
Brianne w says
I was always told that Adding salt to the beans while they cook makes them tough. Add the salt after, and they won’t take nearly as long.
Jacquie says
America’s rest kitchen has disproved that old wives tale- although I was heard that too! Age of beans really affects cooking time- old beans take longer.
Marie westrope says
Would it cook faster if you presoak the night before? The pot recipe tells you to presoak and I think that might be the reason that the. Shorter time is enough. NOTE : I have only made the refried beans recipe
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Marie! Yes, they would definitely cook faster with soaking. I just never do it that way since I got my Instant Pot.
Fred says
This is not rocket science, she gives a very confusing cooking time for a few bean
Deanna says
Another reason the beans took longer to cook could be that they were older beans. if they have been IN STORage for any length of time they will probably take a bit longer.