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.
Kathi says
Awesome! I cooked 2 pots of beans in the same day. One was the standard soak and cook for 2 hours AND the second was your recipe with just a bit of a tweak. my husband and I hovered each pot tasting! Yours are THE BEST! Made chili rellenos with some, ate as soup and mushed the others as reFRIED. THE best RECIPE ever and no soaking.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Kathi! I am so happy to hear that.💖 Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback.
Janna says
Can i double this recipe? What would the time adjustments be? I am making for a birthday party with quite a few people and would rather make it all at once then 2 separate pots
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Janna! I am note sure about doubling it. I know with beans you don’t want to fill the pot too full, or you may get some issues like starchy liquid shooting out the top, or the pot may not come up to pressure. I would say make sure the pot is no more than about 2/3 full. Cook time would be close to the same. The come to pressure time will take a little longer. And you could cut down on the natural release time by quick releasing after 25 minutes or so. Just guessing, but I hope this helps! The great thing about the IP is that if something is not done, you can always put the lid back on and cook a few more minutes.
Christine says
Best beans, evahh!! Thanks for the recipe! I’m also fairly new to the instant pot community. Best compliment was from my sister who said the beans tasted like momma’s! Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad that you enjoyed them!
Lisa b says
What constitutes a serving? 1/2c? I need to figure out the points value for WW so I know how much I can have at mealtime!!
Donna Kirk says
Pintos are free on Weight watchers!
Krystal says
Follow this recipe, exactly, and you will have the best beans. Cooked just right first time!
I didn’t have the Better Than Bullion vegetable base. I just added salt at the end, because that’s how I prefer mine. the cooking times and portions are exact! I was pleasantly surprised because I am new to instant pot cooking. I am most thankful that I found a recipe that was actually accurate! Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Krystal! I am glad you enjoyed it.💖
Kristine says
I appreciate you making a basic recipe. I took your ingredients and instructions and I now use it to make the beans for the burritos I make. I just season them with the ingredients I always have, and they’re done to perfection. Thank you for the massive time saver!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Kristine! Thank you for that feedback. I am so glad you are enjoyed the recipe.
Irma says
Thank you for this recipe. I did tweak it though .
I used 61/2 cups water. omitted the BTB and added a little
Salt , pepper, onion and garlic powder and Also added about
5 slices of uncooked bacon( cut in 3” pieces.)
Adjust the pressure cooking time to 60 minutes. beans were flavorful and soft. Came out like if I cooked them the conventional way. Then when I refried them I included the bacon pieces. Delicious!!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed it Irma! The refried beans sound delicious too.
Donna says
I always cook my pintos with pork side meat cut in chunks. I guess I would just throw it in with the beans and water?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Donna! Yes, you can add meat to the broth (or water + bullion) and beans.
Donna says
I always cook my pintos with pork side meat. I guess I would just throw that in with the beans and water?
Linda says
I have made these several times, and wow they are great, I sometimes use chicken broth, other times some ham flavoring. It blows my adult children away that I can put a great pot of beans on the table in an hour with no soaking. Thans for the recipe.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Linda! Isn’t technology awesome?! I completely agree, and I am glad you liked the recipe.💖