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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.
I haven’t done the recipe yet so i was wondering if i could used my sprouted pinto bean? Would it also change the cooking time by how much? Thank you
Hi! We on the PBOAB team haven’t tried out this recipe using sprouted pinto beans so can’t guarantee the results. I would bet that they would cook faster though so you’ll most likely need to experiment with a lesser time needed in the IP! Let us know how it turns out if you end up giving it a go 🙂
Do the beans need to be soaked before hand? Thank you.
Hi! No you don’t 🙂 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.
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.