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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!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
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!
Tips and Tricks
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.
Try my other favorites: Easy Instant Pot Cheesy Steak Taco Soup Recipe, 10 Minute Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Black Bean Soup, Instant Pot Skinny Mongolian Beef, and Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice
Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe
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Restaurant Style Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound of dried beans
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 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.
- Taste and add more salt if needed to taste.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
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.
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.