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.
Where to buy an Instant Pot to Make Perfect Instant Pot Pinto Beans:
If you’re looking for an Instant Pot or other Electric Pressure cooker, here’s my top picks (via affiliate link):
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:
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- Cheesy Taco Soup
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- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
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- Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes with Asparagus
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- Black Bean Soup
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- Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice
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- Ranch Pot Roast
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!
Click the video to watch me make the recipe, then find the simple easy tortilla soup recipe below:
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! Pinterest now lets you add reviews (with pictures!!) to your pins, and I LOVE seeing when people make my dish!
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- 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
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Put dried beans in Instant Pot.
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Add salt, seasonings, and water until pot is half full.
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Use “Manual” setting for 25 minutes of pressure.
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Allow pressure to naturally release, approximately 30-40 minutes.
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Season beans to taste.
Karissa
Just wanted to share my appreciation that your recipe gives an estimate for how long things will take! Knowing I need to allow almost an hour for NPR helps keep expectations realistic.
Cathy C
Excellent dish! I added salt AFTER cooking. Also, I decreased the garlic powder and onion powder to 1 tbsp each. I added 6-8 cups water, and poured off excess after cooking. NOTE: my FADOR cooker recommended adding oil to prevent frothing. I added 1 tbsp oil for that purpose. My husband gave your recipe 10 Stars! Thank you!!
Dorothy Morris
I have recently bought an instant pot so am happy to have recipes other people have tried and are successful. Thank you!!
Alexandr Lorvinus
Such great ideas. Can’t wait to try them.
Kenneth Iosue
How do I stop getting your email/site from showing up on my chrome?
Courtney ODell
Hi Kenneth-
I use a company to send out push notifications for me (like an email signup) – to get them you must have clicked to accept them. It’s very hard for me to unsubscribe users individually, since I don’t see any of your personal data (which is why I like the company I use.)
To unsubscribe, you can follow these instructions: https://documentation.onesignal.com/docs/unsubscribe-from-notifications
Hope that helps!
Billie McDonald
Do I leave the steam valve open or closed?
Courtney ODell
It needs to be sealed for the pressure to work – so go ahead and close it.
Emily
Just remember when you live at high altitude (like I do) you must add cooking time. Chart is easy to find online.
At 4800 ft, I add 10% cooking time.
Heather McCroan
The cooking time didn’t work for me at all, however, this could have to do with the Rotel tomatoes I added or the fact that my beans are from my food storage, which may mean they take longer to cook. I have more success when I cook them for over 45 minutes. Otherwise, the flavors are great and using garlic and onion powder is convenient for when I do not want to have to saute ahead.
Siobhan
Absolutely, In my experience adding salt to dried beans (or something acidic like tomatoes) can really increase the normal cooking time considerably, especially if the beans are older. If you wait to add the salt after the beans are done, they will cook faster next time.
Renee
trying these today
Mandy
I made these beans with the chopped onions and plenty of spices. They were very tasty! Thank you for the recipe.
After cooking, there was a lot of water with the beans. Do you just throw that out? Or do you have some use for it? Could I use less water to cook the beans another time?
Also, have you tried freezing these?
Courtney ODell
Hi Mandy – we do drain off the excess water. As far as freezing goes, I 100% recommend it especially if you want to make refried-style beans!
Renee
Yes they freeze well. I have made pot of pinto beans forevermore and always divide them up so that I can take them out for a quick meal from the freezer.
Bunny
Am I reading the recipe correctly, that there are tablespoons of garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder? About to add this to my Instant Pot recipes, but wanted to make sure first. It seems like a lot (that’s not a criticism – I’m fairly new to cooking beans in the IP). 🙂
Courtney ODell
Hey Bunny – we do put that much in (this recipe makes a TON of beans) – but you can always reduce it by half, taste, and add more later if you want more! It’s always easier to add more later than take away flavor 🙂