I discovered pinto beans about ten years ago and have been using them ever since. Pinto beans are my favorite choice when I’m making beans and rice. I also use them when I make baked beans in the Instant Pot or crock pot.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you click, you’ll be taken to another website, and if you make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.
If you make beans, an Instant Pot makes your life easier and faster. Amazon usually has the best prices, but the Instant Pot has been showing up in retail stores for the past year or so.
I use the 7 in 1 Instant Pot.
Other companies have got on board with the programmable pressure cooker. I haven’t used either of these but they look like popular choices on Amazon:
Anyway, the new guys on the scene seem to be keeping the original Instant Pot’s price down a bit!
The other thing you’ll need to make pinto beans in the Instant pot is – ta da! – pinto beans!
I usually buy them at Walmart. Pretty much the best price around. I haven’t found them cheaper online.
I’m a single so I’m sure not cooking a 2 pound bag of pinto beans all at once! I maybe cook a cup and split the cooked beans between a couple of meals.
I put them in a colander and sort through them, removing broken beans, ugly beans, and looking for pebbles. I’ve never actually found a rock in any beans I’ve cooked, but one time I did remove a small clump of dirt, so don’t skip this step.
Then I rinse with water, which also helps show up any deformed pinto beans I want to remove.
I put the pinto beans into the inner stainless steel pot. You know the removable one, not directly into the innards of the Instant Pot. That would be quite a mess to clean up it you oops! Add water, covering the beans by at least an inch of water. If I was using the entire bag of beans, I’d add more water, covering at least two inches because beans expand when cooking.
Then I add seasonings.
I like Cool Runnings Caribbean Spice & Roasted Garlic.
I might add some chili powder into the Instant Pot too. You can season it how you like.
I’m also trying to use up a bottle of Memories of Montego Bay and I find adding a dollop to the Instant Pot works really well with the pinto beans. Liquid smoke is also a good choice to help give the pinto beans a little extra zing!
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
Press the “Manual button”.
Use the – or + until you get to 30. That’s the amount of minutes to cook the pinto beans.
And then … step away from the Instant Pot!
It will automatically do its thing. The 30 will disappear in a few seconds and be replaced with “On”.
In about 10 minutes you’ll hear the Instant Pot do a lot of hissing and then hear a pop when the venting knob seals into place. At that time the 30 appears on the screen. A minute later 29 appears on the screen. A minute later 28. And you get the picture. The countdown has begun.
Once the pinto beans have cooked, a timer sounds from the Instant Pot and it switches into warming mode and another countdown begins to let you know how many minutes have passed, preceded by “L”.
Wait about 10 minutes or so, put on oven mitts and then manually release the lid’s knob to the “venting”position. A lot of steam will escape and the knob will eventually drop down. Or you can just chill out and eventually the knob will drop on its own when the Instant Pot has depressurized.
Turn the Instant Pot off (hit the cancel button on the bottom right) or just leave it alone and it will keep the pinto beans hot until you’re ready to eat.
Or dish the pinto beans into a bowl and eat them right away.
You can remove the pinto beans from the Instant Pot and put them into a container. Now the Instant Pot has been freed up to make rice. Click here for how to make brown rice in the Instant Pot.
If I’m making rice and beans I like to shred a little cheese over it and sprinkle with chili.
Today I’m putting pinto beans in a bowl with spinach, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and corn.
From dry beans to dinner in about one hour. Enjoy!
