The Best Instant Pot Pinto Bean Recipes

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I love cooking with little speckled, funny looking pinto beans. They are tasty and quite versatile, particularly when starting with dried pinto beans. Here are our recommendations for the best Instant Pot pinto beans recipes.

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What Are Pinto Beans

Pinto beans are a variety of common beans in the same family of beans as kidney, navy, and black beans. They are most popularly seen in North and South America and feature in a lot of Mexican dishes.

They’re sort of fun looking, kind of speckled with splashes of red and brown. Their name comes from the Spanish word for painted – pinto. Although speckled when in raw form, after cooking the beans become a solid color, more pinkish-brown.

Although it’s possible to buy canned pinto beans, it’s probably most common to buy dried pinto beans. They can take a long time to cook, which is why cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot makes sense. Whether cooked on a stovetop or an electric pressure cooker, pinto beans are usually eaten whole or mashed.

Check out our favorite pinto bean recipe: Quick And Easy Instant Pot Refried Beans.

What Are The Benefits Of Eating Pinto Beans

Pinto beans are an excellent and inexpensive source of protein. For people looking to reduce the amount of meat in their diet, pinto beans are a good substitute.

Pinto beans are high in fiber. One cup of cooked pinto beans provides 15 grams of fiber. Other health benefits include reduced risk of heart disease thanks to the high amounts of folate, magnesium, and potassium.

Pinto beans are an excellent source of iron for energy. They also stabilize blood sugar levels, good news for those with Diabetes, while providing slow-burning energy. 

Why Use An Instant Pot For Cooking Dry Beans

If you’ve ever tried cooking dry beans on the stovetop, you know where this is going. From hours of soaking to hours of cooking with no guarantee of success, cooking on the stovetop can be frustrating.

Using an Instant Pot not only cuts down on the overall cooking time but cooks the dry beans more thoroughly. Using an Instant Pot helps to retain more vitamins, nutrients, and most importantly flavors. 

Tips For Cooking Pinto Beans In An Instant Pot

There are a few tips to put into practice when cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot. First, it’s not necessary to soak pinto beans before cooking. Unsoaked pinto beans will cook more evenly in an Instant Pot. They also split apart less often than soaked beans.

However, pinto beans that have been soaked for at least 8 hours are more digestible. By soaking them, the gas-causing sugars in the pinto beans are removed. This is good for people with any digestive issues. Soaked pinto beans will also cook faster. 

Additional things to consider when cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot. Do not salt the pinto beans before cooking. The pinto beans will not become tender if you add salt during the cooking process. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to reduce the foam that forms when cooking pinto beans. This foam can clog the pressure value and interfere with the cook time.

Finally, ensure that you have used enough water to fully cover the pinto beans. Pinto beans absorb a lot of water during cooking. For one pound of pinto beans, use approximately eight cups of water. This will help prevent losing water and potentially burning the pinto beans.  

Which Instant Pot To Buy

We have the Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1. It has a six-quart capacity, which is more than enough to cook for two people or for a small group. There is also an 8-quart option for families.

The Types Of Recipes You Can Cook With Pinto Beans

But what can you make using pinto beans? Our favorite recipe to make is Instant Pot Borracho Beans. This recipe can be served as a side dish along with grilled meats or eaten on its own. It’s a cheap, easy, and filling recipe to make. The pinto beans nicely take on the flavors from the spices and Mexican beer used to cook them. 

Another recipe to make using pinto beans is a Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito. For those familiar with pinto beans, this is the type of dish they most associate pinto beans with. While it might be quicker to head to the local Mexican fast-food chain to pick up a burrito, this recipe is easy to make and healthier (well, a little bit healthier).

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