FAST, Creamy, thick, hearty, smoky and delicious! These pressure cooker pinto beans hit the all the right notes for a fast filling dinner that’s ready in minutes instead of hours!
How To Cook Pinto Beans in a Pressure Cooker Without Soaking
This is the question that everyone has! How do I cook pinto beans in a pressure cooker without having to soak them overnight?
That’s no problem! Simply do a quick 10 minute “precook” and you’ll be good to go with pinto beans that are ready in minutes instead of hours!
Remember when mama used to cook them on the stove all day long? You don’t have to any more, this recipe works in either an Instant Pot OR a Pressure Cooker!
Plus…. NO SOAKING! YAY!
Here’s What You’ll Need
- Dry Pinto Beans – cooks up fast and is so very affordable!
- Bacon Grease, any type of cooking oil or butter – this adds flavor so don’t skip it1
- Bacon, Ham or Ham Bone (these are optional) – I give tips for how to add the same great flavor for vegetarians in the note section of the recipe. I’m using the left over hambone from a winter meal that I froze.
- Onion Powder, garlic powder and a few other spices and herbs – these add a ton of flavor to give those old beans a perfect balance.
Here’s How You Do It
- Rinse the beans and sort through for broken or bad beans.
- Cover with water by 2″, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pour off the water, rinse in a colander, cover with fresh water, add other ingredients and pressure cook for 25 minutes with a natural release.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
It’s so easy to add flavor to your beans by just adding it in before you start the pressure cooker, see the recipe below.
These beans are good for about 5 days if kept covered in the refrigerator.
Yes, place into a freezer safe container, seal by squeezing out as much air as possible and place into the freezer for up to 3 months.
Watch Me Make This
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Pinto Beans
- There are a number of substitutions you can make in this recipe as it is very flexible. The recipe outlines these.
- If you are making these beans vegetarian, then use a vegetable based oil and leave off the bacon grease/meat options. Use 1 tsp liquid smoke to get the smoky flavor.
- When I make pressure cooker beans, I cover the beans with water to allow for plenty of “pot liquor”, however, if you prefer less, you can use less. That said, use at least 1 1/2 cups of liquid in your beans so that they cook completely.
- If using a bouillon cube instead of broth concentrate, you’ll notice that you will not have to use much salt, if any.
- This recipe produces a mid range soft bean much like the texture of pinto beans from a can. If you prefer a softer bean, cook for an additional 5 minutes in the pressure cooker.
- This recipe will work for either a stove top pressure cooker, electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot.
If You Enjoyed This Pinto Recipe, You Might Also Enjoy
The Secret to Perfect Pinto Beans
How to Cook Canned Pinto Beans
Can You Give Me a Hand?
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Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans
Ingredients
For PreCook
- 16 oz dried pinto beans
- fresh water
For Pressure Cook
- 1 Tbs bacon grease or alternative fat like cooking oil/butter/etc.
- 1 tsp broth concentrate or substitute broth for water
- water to cover beans
- ham bone or substitute a few slices of bacon
- 1 tsp garlic powder or substitute 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder or substitute 1 chopped onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
After Pressure Cook
- 1 tsp salt add more to taste
- 1 tsp black ground pepper add more to taste
- 1 tsp cider vinegar more to taste (some people like the vinegar with hot pepper in it).
Instructions
For Pre Cook
- Rinse the beans in a colander and remove any broken beans or beans that appear to have a bad spot.
- Place rinsed beans into a stock pot or into the bowl of a stove top pressure cooker and cover with cool water.
- Cook over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the stove top, pour back into the colander and rinse with cool water.
For the Pressure Cook
- Place the rinsed and precooked beans into the pressure cooker.
- Add the bacon grease, broth concentrate, water, ham bone, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaves and cayenne.
- Secure the pressure cooker lid onto the base and set for high pressure. Bring to temp and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow to release naturally.
After Pressure Cooking
- Add salt, pepper and cayenne (the cayenne is optional, leave it off if you don't like any spiciness to your beans). Stir well and taste. Add more salt and pepper as needed. If the beans don't taste like they have enough flavor, add more salt.
Notes
- There are a number of substitutions you can make in this recipe as it is very flexible. The recipe outlines these.
- If you are making these beans vegetarian, then use a vegetable based oil and leave off the bacon grease/meat options. Use 1 tsp liquid smoke to get the smoky flavor.
- When I make pressure cooker beans, I cover the beans with water to allow for plenty of “pot liquor”, however, if you prefer less, you can use less. That said, use at least 1 1/2 cups of liquid in your beans so that they cook completely.
- If using a bouillon cube instead of broth concentrate, you’ll notice that you will not have to use much salt, if any.
- This recipe produces a mid range soft bean much like the texture of pinto beans from a can. If you prefer a softer bean, cook for an additional 5 minutes in the pressure cooker.
- This recipe will work for either a stove top pressure cooker, electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot.
Nutrition
I’m going to tell you something, I get very angry and I stay angry for a very long time.
It isn’t becoming. It isn’t right.
I find that I mostly do this when I’m feeling hurt. Matthew 5 is a good place to start when one is feeling this way. How is it that you get angry?
Matthew 5:22
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Michael
Wednesday 7th of September 2022
Good recipe but one important note is that you should not add cayenne or any other hot chili powder until after cooking, as this can harden the skin and make it difficult to fully cook beans.
Wendi Spraker
Friday 9th of September 2022
Thanks Michael, but I've been doing it this way for quite a long while and haven't had that problem yet.
Annon
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
I was with you until the Bible verse. So-called “believers“ do God a serious injustice by believing the Bible is His work. He did not create the world in six days—He actually created an entire cosmic universe capable of evolving itself and creating its own life. I doubt he is pleased with the many unthinking followers, who close their minds so they can believe whatever simple stories they’re told. The Bible has true wisdom, to be sure, and it deserves better treatment than as a mystical book from which to quote verses. He deserves infinitely more credit than arrogant stories claiming man was created in His image, and woman’s only purpose was as a helpmate to men. Ugh!
Wendi Spraker
Thursday 2nd of December 2021
Hi Annon, Thanks for commenting and putting a lot of thought into your comment. I'm pretty sure that the verse quoted on this article is some of that real wisdom. Also pretty sure I didn't say anything about swallowing all of the Bible stories hook, line and sinker because that is not my own personal beliefs to do so. I would never ever say that a woman's only purpose was as a helpmate to men. lol. never ever. lol. But, as I said here, I sometimes have an anger issue and when I look to the Bible for wisdom about handling my anger, I usually find some good advice that I can run with. Wishing you much peace and many blessings as we head into the new year. Cheers.
Wendi J Spraker
Wednesday 15th of September 2021
Aggregate ratings test
Raloh
Tuesday 31st of August 2021
Easy recipe for pinto beans
Wendi Spraker
Saturday 11th of September 2021
Thanks!