Beans are a wonderfully easy dish that can really help real food budget to stretch and are perfect to prepare when feeding a crowd. With just a handful of simple ingredients and years and years of making this recipe to rave reviews of my family and friends, I feel confident in saying that these are The BEST Instant Pot Pinto Beans under the sun. Super simple to make in your handy dandy Instant Pot (or slow cooker), these beautiful beans are sure to become a dinner staple in your house too.

Pin this recipe for later!

There are two things that seem to intimidate my followers the most:

Cooking with their Instant Pot.
Cooking beans from dry.

And I get it. There have probably been failed attempts with both that have left you feeling frustrated and without the delicious dinner you were hoping for. But, guys, I am here to assure you that you can do both with oodles of success….AND ease!

Don’t get me wrong. When I first tried to use my Instant Pot, I felt like I was trying to launch a rocket ship. And the weird sounds it makes when its building up pressure were not particularly helpful in reassuring me that I wasn’t about to blow up my house. But, luckily, I survived that first Instant Pot experience and have gone on to become very dear friends with this wonderfully helpful kitchen gadget. It has has especially been a game changer when cooking beans from dry.

Now, I have been cooking this recipe for years and years in my slow cooker. In fact, it was one of the very first recipes I even published on this blog! But as the years have gone on and my kitchen game has changed, I have found that I love cooking this pinto bean recipe in my Instant Pot even more.

Full of earthy flavors that really compliment the pinto beans, this recipes is wonderful to enjoy over cauliflower rice, jasmine rice or mashed up enjoyed as “refried” beans in a burrito or quesadilla. My daughter has loved this recipes since she was a toddler just gumming her food and it was the perfect soft finger food for her exploration of solids. She has literally grown up on this dish and looks forward to it whenever I make it.

And, guys, this recipe to soooooo eassssyyyyyy. Ridiculously easy, in fact. Just throw the beans in the Instant Pot (or slow cooker) , set the timer and walk away. It’s a totally beautiful thing that makes this busy full-time working mama an extra happy camper when it comes to dinner.

But, here are some words of wisdom….

While this recipe is certainly easy to make, it is not something that can be thrown together without a little thought or planning.

Why? I mean, it is an Instant pot recipe after-all! Well, because I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended soaking your beans for at least 8 hours before cooking. This makes them so much easier on the digestive system and really cuts down on the whole "beans beans the magical fruit" situation that have most people running away from beans of all kinds.

WHY IS SOAKING YOUR BEANS SO IMPORTANT?

Soaking helps to reduces the phytic acid (enzyme inhibitors naturally present in beans, grains, nuts, and seeds) that makes certain foods hard to digest.

HOW TO SOAK YOUR BEANS

My preferred method for soaking my beans in to do it overnight. But If you only have 8 hours, that will do the trick as well.

Before you soak your beans, give them a good rinse to get all the dirt and stuff off and pick through your dry beans to make sure there aren't any little rocks trying to hang out in your dinner.

Once all that rinsing and picking through is done, simply throw your beans into a bowl and cover them with 2-3 inches of clean water. Throw a clean dishtowel over the bowl to keep random debris and insects from ending up in the bowl with your beans and let the bowl hang out at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

You can also add a tablespoon or two of an acidic medium (apple cider vinegar or lemon juice) to the soaking water to help make the beans more digestible.

healthy instant pot, vegetarian instant pot, real food on a budget

Yield: 5-6 servingsAuthor: TaeshaPin it

The BEST Instant Pot Pinto Beans (+ slow cooker instructions)

Beans are a wonderfully easy dish that can really help real food budget to stretch or are perfect to prepare when feeding a crowd. With just a handful of simple ingredients and years and years of making this recipe to rave reviews of my family and friends, I feel confident in saying that these are The BEST Instant Pot Pinto Beans under the sun. Super simple to make in your handy dandy Instant Pot (or slow cooker), these beautiful beans are sure to become a dinner staple in your house too.

ingredients:

2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and picked over
6 cups water or broth
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon of sea salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1 tablespoon cumin

instructions

For Instant Pot

Combine everything in your Instant Pot and stir a few times.
Place the lid on your Instant Pot, lock the lid into place and make sure the valve is switched to sealed. Set the Instant Pot to Manual and cook the beans on HIGH pressure for 30 minutes.
Once the beans have finished cooking, let the pressure naturally release for 30 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaf. Discard.
If desired, drain some or all of the cooking liquid either using a slotted spoon or by pouring the beans through a strainer (careful, the beans will be very hot and you could be burned by the steam).

TIP: Reserve some of the cooking liquid if you plan to store the beans, as they will become quite dry without them in the fridge or freezer.
Serve warm over cauliflower rice, regular rice or mashed in a burrito or quesadilla.
Store leftovers in fridge for up to a week or in your freezer for a month.

For Slow Cooker

Combine everything in your slow cooker and stir a few times.
Place the lid on your slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 11-12 hours or on HIGH for 8 hours.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaf. Discard.
If desired, drain some or all of the cooking liquid either using a slotted spoon or by pouring the beans through a strainer (careful, the beans will be very hot and you could be burned by the steam).

TIP: Reserve some of the cooking liquid if you plan to store the beans, as they will become quite dry without them in the fridge or freezer.
Serve warm over cauliflower rice, regular rice or mashed in a burrito or quesadilla.
Store leftovers in fridge for up to a week or in your freezer for a month.

Created using The Recipes Generator