Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans are the most delicious, easy way to make delicious pinto beans in under an hour – no soaking overnight needed!
Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans are easy and so delicious – and are the perfect way to make delicious beans from dried in less than an hour!
These perfect pinto beans require no pre-soaking, and taste just like they are from your favorite Mexican restaurant – in under an hour!
My husband loves beans (and has firmly taken over my instant pot as his own), and tested out a ton of different recipes for Pinto Beans – and came up with this delicious, foolproof Restaurant Style Pinto Bean recipe that has quickly become one of our favorite side dishes of all time.
These beans are truly easy and restaurant quality – and don’t require soaking overnight! It’s a pain to have to think that far ahead and soak beans in water all night, so this delicious no soaking pinto bean recipe is a huge game changer at our house!
Just Take Me To The Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans recipe already!
If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, i think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the best easy restaurant style pinto beans recipe ever – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
Tips to Perfect Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Don’t make two batches at once. While you might be tempted to add more beans into the pot, don’t overcrowd! You don’t want your pot to be over half full, with beans and water, when you go to cook – or it won’t come to pressure and cook properly.
Don’t Overfill with water. Overfilling your instant pot can be a nightmare, so make sure to not overfill! Since you can make these beans in under an hour, it’s best to make more batches than try to cook it quickly.
Let the pressure cooker naturally release. Don’t rush the time it takes to naturally release pressure – this is a vital part of the cook time for these beans since they aren’t pre-soaked beans. This will help them soften and help the flavors develop – and will drastically change the outcome of your beans. Ideally, this will rest for another hour after the cooktime.
Instant Pot Pinto Bean Recipe Variations
If you love this easy Mexican Restaurant style pinto bean recipe, and want to make some flavorful tweaks, consider the following twists on this delicious recipe:
- Add in a can of chili seasoning Ro-tel diced tomatoes (don’t drain).
- Add in canned green chilis or jalapenos for a spicy kick.
- Sautee 1/4 cup finely diced garlic and a finely diced onion until browned with 2 tbsp butter or lard in the instant pot before adding beans. Make sure there are no browned bits on the bottom of the pan before adding beans and water or the Instant Pot wont come to pressure.
- Mix with lard and blend for deliciously authentic refried beans.
I love how quick, easy and versatile Instant Pots are to cook with – they make dishes that normally take all day take just a few hours.
While I don’t love Instant Pot cooking for everything (it can sometimes be more of a hassle than it is worth) – my Instant Pot is my favorite go-to kitchen tool for restaurant style dishes that normally take hours and hours to develop flavor and break down tough meats or fibrous legumes.
Other Delicious Easy Restaurant Quality Instant Pot Recipes
If you love this delicious easy Instant Pot Pinto Bean Recipe, please check out some of my other favorite recipes I made in my Instant Pot pressure cooker!
These recipes normally take hours to break down and develop flavor, but are done in a flash thanks to an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
Click through to see my favorite instant pot recipes some and try them for yourself:
Easy Instant Pot Cheesy Steak Taco Soup Recipe
10 Minute Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables Meal Prep Bowls
Instant Pot Skinny Mongolian Beef
Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice
Or, check out my absolute favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe – this soup is one I’d normally let simmer and break down the vegetables flavors for hours – but this is done in under 20 minutes start to finish for the most flavorful restaurant style Chicken Tortilla Soup ever, right from your Instant Pot!
I love Chicken Tortilla Soup in the summer, but hate to heat my house up with tons of pots on the stove, so this easy Mexican Restaurant inspired Instant Pot tortilla soup is perfect!
10 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup (Instant Pot, Stovetop, or Slow Cooker)
Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe
If you love this Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and Pinterest!
CONNECT WITH SWEET C’S!
Be sure to follow me on social media, so you never miss a post!
Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | Pinterest | Instagram
Only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table? Sign up for my 30 minute dinner plans direct to your inbox!
Find and shop my favorite products in my Amazon storefront here!
Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans are the most delicious, easy way to make delicious pinto beans in under an hour - no soaking overnight needed!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of dried beans
- 1 tsp of salt
- t tsp oregano
- 3 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 liters water
Instructions
- Put dried beans in Instant Pot.
- Add salt, seasonings, and water until pot is half full.
- Use “Manual” setting for 25 minutes of pressure.
- Allow pressure to naturally release, approximately 30-40 minutes.
- Season beans to taste.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 77Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 556mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 4gSugar 5gProtein 4g
Michele
I made these yesterday for my Cinco de Mayo dinner. There are great! I would say that in the instructions it says to add 2L of water or to that half full line. For my Instant Pot, that was more than 2L, and WAY too much liquid. I drained it off and am trying to decide what to do with it. I have never successfully cooked dry beans before, or in an Instant Pot. So simple! My kids like more bland so I cut the spices a bit, and they are perfect for them. I would add the ro-tel or peppers for myself. Will definitely make again and experiment. Thanks for the recipe!
Holly R.
These beans were very easy to fix and nice and tender but the flavor is not very good. I’m going to add some bullion seasoning and maybe a little fat. Then I will mash some to thicken them and they will do well enough. I would give them three stars.
Larry
I have a question about cutting the recipe in half. Does this also change the time used for cooking and the time that naturally let the IP come down before releasing the pressure from the IP.
Kenneth Cramm
Why two liters… almost 8 cups of water? Your recipe doesn’t mention what to do with the water after cooking.
Courtney ODell
Hi Kenneth – since we’re using dried beans, they absorb the water.
Michelle
Tried this recipe and it turned out great I added hamburger meat and put over rice. And will do this again.
onarock
I will be making this today.
k
Jeff Winett
I have just prepared your brainchild recipe, and am beyond smitten. I opted to add in the can of those spicy tomatoes you’d mentioned. My question is about all of the seasoned broth. Is this something you drain off, or perhaps most of it. I don’t know if you are supposed to eat this along with the beans, or not. Life is good, if this is my big worry 🙂 Thank you for what you’ve shared.
George
You can also take a few tablespoons of the beans and mash them and mix in well, this will thicken the sauce. If there is still too much liquid pour some into a pan and reduce in by boiling it down and adding it back to the beans, it will also concentrate the flavors.
Adeana Estoll
Thank you for this. Most other recipes call for 45 min. To an hour of cooking, but that ends up with mushy beans. These were perfect! I added roasted Hatch green Chiles, smoked paprika, onions, liquid smoke, and jalapeño and it was perfect!
Astrid Olson
I tried this recipe and the beans were tough after the cooking and pressure release time. I had to put them in the microwave to soften them up.
Linda Haney
I tried this recipe and loved it. The beans were almost too mushy. Could be a difference in our machines.
M Reed
Altitude also makes a difference. As does the temperature of your water you pour over your beans. I added instant rice after cooking and that soaked up the water. I also added a can of tomato sauce. If you like a thicker bean you can do a paste instead as well.
Courtney ODell
Awesome tips, thanks!
Alma Silva
I have made these beans at least 6 times. I usually eat them straight out of the pot all by myself over the course of a few days with some queso fresco or by themselves. I made a batch for my handy woman today, and she couldn’t believe how tasty and easy they are to make. She had never heard of the instant pot, so she was going to purchase one for her mother to make these beans. Thank you for this recipe… it is the best I have found for homemade beans.
Lynn
These are fabulous and easy! Thank you for posting this recipe. I just wanted a little more tang because I crave tartness with my beans so I added 1 T tomato paste, a few shakes of worcestershire, and a 1/2 tsp citric acid. I will definitely be making this again. Also, I pre-soaked so I cooked them on high pressure for 17 minutes. But I’m glad you have the no-soak option because I don’t usually plan ahead 🙂 .
onarock
Thanks for the tang tip.
k
Lorraine
My fiance loves pinto beans and jalapeno sausage. I’m new at using an Instant pot and searched for a recipe to get the timing. I used your recipe instead of my slow cooker one. We both thought it was not very good. Beans were tender, but too bland and a strong onion taste. We eat out a lot and never had these beans. Will use your directions, but with my recipe next time. Will check out your other recipes though.
Courtney ODell
No worries Lorraine – I know lots of people like different things. PS – If people could be as nice and courteous with comments online (while giving your honest opinion) as you are, the world would be a much better place! xoxo
onarock
yep
Ali
Kind of rude…..Seriously?
John
Why am I getting popups?? I never asked for them!
Also, why do you use both metric and English measures in this recipe? Shouldn’t you stick to one or the other?
Courtney ODell
John – sometimes the popups register on your own computer. you can see how to unsubscribe here (this works on ANY notifications on any site, so bookmark it if there’s others you’d like to remove) : https://documentation.onesignal.com/docs/opt-out-of-web-push (this actually comes through your browser – I would take you off but it doesn’t collect data on people who click it, so I can’t isolate one person for your privacy.)
Logan
I’ve made these about 8 times now and they consistently get rave reviews. I’d never really used powdered onions or garlic before this, preferring the real thing, but they are awesome in this recipe, I’m a convert. Thanks!
D
I’m not seeing the recipe for this
Jen
I’ve made these twice now, it’s perfect for my bean loving dad! Only change I made is I sub half the water with pork bone broth. It was a huge hit at my house! Thx
Bill
My family loves ham and beans. I cooked the beans as the recipe calls and after venting, added the ham and set the IP to soup for 30 minutes to heat the ham thru. Delicious
KarenB
I have beans in my Instant Pot right now. Just got the 8 quart and was so used to the 6 quart, so still trying to adapt. I use these seasonings, but I also chop up pablano peppers (from my garden this summer I froze, half an onion chopped, and a couple teaspoons of minced garlic. I then add about 1 tbsp of oregano and then sazon goza seasoning. I dont add salt until the last 10 minutes, as I found it can make them tough.