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This Instant Pot Pinto Beans recipe is a great way to get started with meal prep and cooking beans with an instant pot. It simplifies the process and ensures you won’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to have a bowlful of pinto beans.
Remember the days when you had to cook beans on the stove for hours? I don’t know about you, but any recipe that translates to having to watch something on the stove for hours and having to check every 15 minutes is something I completely avoid.
Life is busy and there’s hardly any time to spare, so the quicker we can prepare a healthy and nutritious meal for our family the better.
If you’re ready to explore more vegan instant pot recipes, check out this vegan bean chili! It’s so hearty and delicious.
Why This Recipe Works
- A total game changer when it comes to batch cooking for the days ahead.
- So many ways to use pinto beans to create different meals throughout the week. Burritos, veggie bowls, or our favorite bean salad, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.
- Only takes about ONE hour to cook and almost no effort is involved.
- No advanced cooking skills are required.
What Goes Into This Recipe
The basics for this recipe requires only three simple ingredients, two of which you likely already have available! You will also find some additional suggestions for ingredients you can add if desired to give your beans a bit more flavor.
- Pinto beans: Choose beans that look fresh and intact (not like they’ve been on the shelf for years) with a well-sealed bag.
- Water and salt: Just the basics for cooking.
- Optional additions: Consider adding some yellow onion or garlic cloves to add some aromatic flavors to your beans. If you like a little heat, some fresh jalapeno or red pepper flakes are terrific options. Cumin is our favorite spice to add when cooking pinto beans in the Instant Pot!
How To Cook Pinto Beans in the Instant Pot
- 1) Add the beans, water, salt, and any optional additions that you’re using to your instant pot. Set it to cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- 2) After the cooking time is finished, release the pressure, remove the lid, and use the “saute” function to cook for another 25 to 35 minutes, or until the beans reach your desired softness. Stir occasionally.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Every bag of beans cooks a bit differently. So be prepared to be a bit flexible. The variable time at the end of the recipe using the saute function allows for this fluctuation.
- Be sure to allow beans to fully cool before storing. When warm, the beans take longer to cool down and may spoil more quickly.
- Don’t forget to label with the date cooked (and the name) when storing for meal prep.
- Add your seasonings of choice for a more flavorful Instant Pot pinto beans recipe.
Nope, it’s not necessary! That’s the great thing about cooking pressure cooker beans. However, if you do decide to soak them, they will require a shorter cooking time.
How to Store
Refrigerator: Cool down your beans and then transfer them to an airtight container to store for up to five days.
Reheat: If frozen, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Return the beans to a pot and heat over medium until heated through. If using the beans in other recipes, thawed beans can be added as instructed in the recipe.
Can I Freeze Cooked Pinto Beans?
Yes, you can! Once you’ve mastered how to cook pinto beans on your Instant Pot (or stovetop if you’re old school!) you might want to spread your efforts into the future by freezing your newly cooked beans to eat later (or whenever the cooking inspiration is running low).
First, let them cool down, measure them into the desired portions, and then place them in freezer-friendly bags (like these silicone ones!).
We recommend writing the date they were cooked and the portion on the outside to make it easier to use them later.
How to Serve Pinto Beans
The possibilities are endless for different ways to enjoy pinto beans!
Serve them up in a bowl with some rice! Or mash them up for refried beans.
You can throw them into just about any salad or soup as a way to boost the protein content or use them in one of these recipes with pinto beans!
Need more ideas? Explore this list of 59 ways to use a can of beans! Swap any bean with pintos!
More Vegan Bean Recipes
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Video
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of dry pinto beans
- 8 cups of water
- ½ teaspoon of salt
Optional additions:
- 1 jalapeno minced or red pepper flakes (if you like spicy)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ yellow onion diced
- ¼ teaspoon of cumin
- More salt to taste
Instructions
- In a 6-quart pressure cooker, add the beans, water, salt, and any optional additions that you’re using. Set it to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, release the pressure, remove the lid, and use the “saute” function to cook for another 25 to 35 minutes, or until the beans reach your desired softness. Stir occasionally.
Notes
- Every bag of beans cooks a bit differently. So be prepared to be a bit flexible. The variable time at the end of the recipe using the saute function allows for this fluctuation.
- Be sure to allow beans to fully cool before storing. When warm, the beans take longer to cool down and may spoil more quickly.
- Don’t forget to label with the date cooked (and the name) when storing for meal prep.
- Add your seasonings of choice for a more flavorful Instant Pot pinto beans recipe.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I’m confused between the stove top vs IP serving sizes. Stovetop has way less protein, I’m assuming the stovetop serving size is less.
This simple bean recipe has become a staple in our kitchen. The beans are always perfectly cooked beans with minimal fuss. I love how adaptable these beans are – from main course to supporting player, they always shine. Our little tweak? A touch more cumin (1 tsp total) and double the garlic, because why not? Thank you for sharing this simple and tasty recipe!
That’s so awesome! Love the extra cumin and garlic!
I will have to try it this way. I usually just hit the bean/chili button to pressure cook for 45 minutes, drain off most of the excess liquid, and then blend them with my hand wand to make refried beans. Cooking the liquid down like this might add/save more flavor. Thanks!
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Let us know what you think if you give it a go!
I make mine much the same way, but I add 2 teaspoons of Liquid Smoke and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika to mine. It’s adds a nice, smoky flavor to them, which tastes more like my mother used to make. I always sort and rinse the beans before cooking because a bag of pintos often contains a rock or two. Also, It helps to relieve intestinal issues if you put them in a pot of water, bring them to a boil and boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them sit for an hour. Then drain, rinse and cook in the Instant Pot as directed. This reduces the cooking time, too.
Do you have to adjust the recipe to double or triple in the instant pot?
You can double or triple the recipe if you’d like more beans. Enjoy! 🙂
Yummy super delicious and meal prep friendly
When you make a batch and want to freeze them, do you freeze with the liquid, or drain the liquid off and then freeze them?
Either should work!
This is the best-tasting and easiest recipe!! It’s our go-to!
Thank you
Gotta love the easy bean recipes!!
I’ll never buy canned refried beans again … this way a great way to cook pinto beans!
You won’t need to! This recipe is such a great one and go-to!
Yum! So good with the added onions, too.
Yesss – the onions add such a nice touch to the beans!
These look so yummy but I don’t have an instant pot. Would a crockpot work?
This might be a better recipe for you to follow 🙂 https://plantbasedonabudget.com/pot-beans-frijoles-de-olla/
Love how easy it is to make pinto beans in an instant pot!
Yesss! The IP makes whipping up pinto beans such a breeze!
Fool proof recipe and another favorite for meal prep Sundays!
Agreed! Such a simple and awesome IP recipe to meal prep!
I am eating vegan for the month so it is very useful to have bean-cooking tips! Excited to try these 🙂
Perfect! Hope you enjoy these super easy IP beans!
I’ve made black beans in the crock pot before, but not pinto beans. I’m excited to give these a try and mix things up next Mexican cuisine night here at home!
It’s going to come out so good. Enjoy!!
I’m new to using my Instant Pot and absolutely love this recipe. It’s easy to follow and flavorful.
This one is a great one to try out as a new IP owner!
Ever since reading ”How not to die” I’m trying to incorporate more beans in my diet, this recipe is perfect for that 🙂
Beans are everything!!
Thanks for the easy to follow instructions.
Toni makes this recipe super simple!!
love how easy it is to do dried beans in an instant pot
Right?! The IP makes these beans so easy!
Love this instant pot pinto beans recipe! So easy!
I was craving a specific bean texture for burritos and found this recipe and I’m so glad I did! I’m new to the Instant Pot and hadn’t tried beans yet. This recipe is awesome! I added the onion and garlic and when they were done I mashed them in the pot and they turned out perfectly! I’m saving this recipe for next time. Thanks so much!
Love it! So glad you enjoyed these beans 🙂