Instant Pot Pinto Beans

These Instant Pot Pinto Beans are now one of my all-time go-to recipes when I need a side dish for Mexican food! Packed with bacon and green chile flavor.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans No Soak

I have made many pinto bean recipes but they typically come up without much flavor.

But THIS recipe I am just in love with and it has become one of my go-to sides for any Mexican meal!

Here I use lots of spices to really flavor the beans and add in bacon and diced green chiles to make it fun and unique!

And while cooking dry beans can be tedious and long, this recipe is made in the Instant Pot for incredibly fast beans!

Ingredients Needed for Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

• Dried Pinto Beans
• Bacon
• Diced Green Chiles
• Yellow Onion
• Bay Leaves
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Salt
• Chicken Stock

How Many Cups is 1 lb of Pinto Beans?

One pound is two cups of uncooked beans.

New to Instant Pot?

I love a good kitchen gadget but am particular about what I will buy – I have so much stuff and do not need clutter for the sake of clutter!

What I love about the Instant Pot is how you can use it for so many things, and speed up the cooking time of foods. Just like these beans!

Dry beans are cheap and give you a lot of volume. But typically require soaking and a very long cook time.

By using an Instant Pot, these beans are ready in just over an hour!

How to Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans

First put the pot on sauté and cook up the bacon until crisp and the fat is rendered. While the bacon gets softer again, it is important to cook off that fat and develop flavor in the browning process!

Then add the diced onion and sauté 2-3 minutes until it is translucent but not browning.

Add all of the spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Now add the beans, green chiles, and stock, and turn off sauté.

Put the cover on and set to manual high pressure for 45 minutes.

After cooking is done, wait 20 minutes for natural release. This means just let it sit there without touching the venting knob or anything else.

After the 20 minutes has passed, you can open the vent knob to let the remaining pressure out and open up the pot.

Remove the bay leaves or tell people to eat around them. They are not harmful, but still very dry and not pleasant. The beans are ready to serve!

How Long Does it Take to Cook 1 lb of Pinto Beans in a Pressure Cooker?

We are cooking these beans for 45 minutes on high.

They will still have a great texture to them and not be too soft or mushy!

Does Soaking Beans Reduce Gas?

No, it does not appear to.

Soaking helps reduce cooking time but the Instant Pot is very fast regardless!

How Much Salt do you put in a Pound of Pinto Beans?

We are using 1.5 teaspoons of salt for this recipe with one pound of dried beans.

If you are using a bacon with salt or a crust on it, you will want to reduce the amount of salt you use at first and then season to taste later.

How do you Thicken Pinto Beans?

When the beans first come out of the pot after cooking, the liquid will be rather thin.

If you want it thicker, you can start stirring the beans which will release some of the starches into the sauce.

You can also mash a few of the beans and then mix.

Alternatively, add 1/4 cup of flour or two tablespoons of cornstarch (great gluten free option) to the same amount of water, mix in a small bowl, and then mix into the beans. Mixing it with water first will help prevent it from being lumpy. Then let the beans cook over low or warm for a few minutes as the heat will activate the thickener and thicken the bean sauce.