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.
Lucy says
If I only cook 1/2 lb instead of one Lb pinto beans, do I reduce the amount of water or keep it the same? Thanks
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Lucy! I would cut the water in half as well. Also, I might add an extra 5 minutes of pressure cook time. Why? Because the pot will come up to pressure quicker. Since the beans begin cooking during this come-to-pressure-time, and the pot heats up quicker, adding extra time will help ensure they get done. 👌🏻 The only case I would not add extra time would be if you are making it in a 3 quart. In that case, half the ingredients, and keep time the same. Enjoy!
Virginia Bermudez says
What if I am doubling the recipe
Linda c a says
I am planning to cook my first pot of beans (well, actually anything) in my instapot. We like hamburger in our beans. Usually cook HB on stove top until almost done. I do season the hb with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder and cumin. I then throw it in the pot to cook the beans. How/when do you suggest I add the HB to the instapot?
Kathleen D says
would the time need to be adjusted if I do soak the beans? I thought the whole point of soaking beans is to help remove the oligosacharides that cause gas.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yes, the time and the liquids would need to be reduced, although I am not sure by exactly how much. I have not noticed a difference for us, so I don’t soak them anymore. Also, canned beans are not soaked either. So I am okay with not soaking. But feel free to modify to suit your preference.👌🏻
Judy Barton says
when Iuse your recipe for beans should I set on high pressure or normal ?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Judy! High pressure👌🏻
saabstories@att.net says
Hello! love my instantpot!
Pinto beans are among my favorite because they are so versatile.
Everyone has their own taste but my experience tells me:
Cook the beans without adding any salt, for 3/4 of the cook time.
Don’t need more than 1 Tablespoon bouillon or one large cube for 1 lb pinto beans.
don’t add more than 5 cups to start.
Cook the beans for 25 minutes and do a quick release. .Put a towel over the relief valve so it doesn’t blow steam where you don’t want it.
open the pot and taste the beans.. They should be firm but edible..
Add the boullion, vegetables, and any cooked meat.. I also add balsamic vinegar, but that is a personal taste thing!
stir it up and see if it needs more salt or more water.. I usually add another cup water.
once youre satisfied, put the lid on, close the relief valve and manually set for 10 minutes.. Let it naturally cool down after it’s timed out.. I pull the plug.
open it up and taste again.. you can always add more salt or water at this point if needed…
if it is too firm just cook it another 5 minutes.
I put chopped scallions and parsley on top..
Can freeze for up to one month.
Total cooking time should be no more than 35 minutes.
Bob says
This is a follow up on a previous post. No wonder they tasted too salty for me, the bullion in this recipe has almost 4000 mg sodium. The 15 mg per serving in the Nutrition facts is way off. That would make this recipe serve 250
.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Bob! I love BTB, but that is its major downfall – so much salt. I never add any salt when using it. My recipe nutrition generator did not have BTB as an option, so I calculated it with regular vegetable broth. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will add a note to the recipe card.
Marnie w. says
There is a reduced sodium version of the veggie byb with only 500 mgs sodium per Tablespoon.
Marnie w. says
byb = btb typo alert
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is good to know. Thank you Marnie!
Bob says
I followed your recipe exactly and they taste very good. But – there is way to much liquid left and the beans are overdone. They are falling apart and none of the beans are still whole.
Next time I’ll try a cup less water and try 39 mins. instead of 45.
I did read somewhere that the older the beans are the longer you need to cook them. Maybe mine were really new. (???)
(This Internet site won’t allow caps. I tried a different browser-same thing.)
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Bob! Beans can vary a bit, depending on their age. Just try less time next time, and check them. You can always cook longer. As far as the liquid, it seems to be about right for most people. Did you pre-soak? This recipe, including the liquids, is written for un-soaked beans. If you did them un-soaked, try adding a little less liquid. Don’t decrease too much, or you could get a burn warning and a few un-cooked beans. They need to be covered with water to cook properly, FYI.
Pam Wolfe says
altitude also has an affect on how long it takes to cook the beans. The higher the altitude, the longer to cook.
John says
Not in a pressure cooker. Cook times vary because the boiling point varies with atmospheric pressure- of course The pressure cooker eliminates the effect of altitude on boiling point.
Ian woollard says
Pressure cookers work at a fixed gauge pressure, not a fixed absolute cooking pressure. That means that they don’t cancel out the reduced pressure at altitude; they always cook at a certain pressure ABOVE ambient.
Bob says
Update to my previous post. I’m less than 100 feet above sea level. I didn’t pre-soak. My beans came out perfect this time. I reduced water to 5 cups, reduced time to 35 mins. and reduced BTB to 1 teaspoon. Next project (with some of these beans) Tortilla soup. BTW I found bulk beans on sale here, Palm Springs, California, for 39 cents a pound.
Mary Larson says
I am a true novice with the instant pot, but just finished a pot of these beans and they turned out amazing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Mary! Glad to hear it.
Bonnie says
Great tip for cooking beans in InstaPOt! I also had used the automatic setting for beans and found they were way too hard. This did the trick. I had a half a bag of beans, cooked mine in 5 cups of water and added a whole peeled onion, a couple of cloves of garlic. When they were done, I fished out the onion/garlic, tossed in a jar of salsa, some frozen corn, a bit of our favorite bouillon seasoning and had a yummy soup.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to circle back and leave a comment and rating.🙏🏻💖
Michelle says
How long do you increase the cooking time if you increSe beans by 1/2lb?
Victoria says
I made 2 pounds of beans and turned out great. I used 8 cups of water, 2 tbsp of vegetable better than bouillon. I have the 8 quart instapot and it didn’t even fill it half way. It took 20 minutes to come to high pressure. Cooked 45 minutes and slow release for 25 mins. Came out perfect. thanks for the great recipe!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Victoria! I am so glad you enjoyed it.💖 That is so helpful to know all those details. Thank you for taking the time to circle back and leave that feedback.