Instant Pot Baked Beans
User Reviews
5
Instant Pot Baked Beans
Description
This recipe for Instant Pot Baked Beans begins by sorting and rinsing dried pinto beans, then pressure cooking them with water or broth until tender. Separately, a sauce is prepared including diced ham or bacon, cooked with onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic for aromatic depth. The sauce also contains ketchup, spicy brown mustard, molasses, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, paprika, and chili powder, all combining to create a sweet and smoky flavor balance.
After the beans are cooked and pressure released naturally, the sauce ingredients are added to the pot and the beans are cooked further to meld the flavors. This two-step method avoids overcooking the sauce and ensures the beans remain tender without burning the ingredients.
This dish works well as a substantial side for barbecues or hearty meals and can be easily prepared in advance. The recipe suggests using neutral oil if not using bacon for cooking the vegetables. The flavorful sauce and tender beans create a comforting, robust side dish favored in many cuisines.
When using diced ham, sauté the vegetables in oil first until soft before combining with beans and sauce for best flavor development.
Ingredients
Prepare Dry Beans
- 16 ounces pinto beans dried
- 8 cups water (or chicken or vegetable broth)
Prepare Baked Beans With Sauce
- 3/4 cup ham OR 6 slices Bacon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil optional. Don't use if using bacon, generic cooking oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 jalapeño optional, diced and seeded
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard spicy
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
Prepare the Dried Beans
- Sort Through The Beans. Go through the beans and pick out any dried up beans, debris, or small pebbles.
- Rinse The Beans. Using a strainer, give the dried pinto beans a good rinse under cold water before pressure cooking.
- Pressure Cook The Beans. Pressure cook the pinto beans in 8 cups of water or broth first for 25 minutes before adding the other ingredients. If ingredients for the sauce were added now, they would be overcooked, and could potentially burn on the bottom of the pot. So baked beans in an Instant Pot require a 2-step process for the best results. Pressure cook beans first and then add the ingredients for the sauce and finish cooking the beans with the sauce.
- Natural Release. Let the pressure in the Instant Pot release naturally, which means you do nothing for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, then move the PRESSURE RELEASE VALVE to VENTING to release the pressure. (This may take a couple of minutes.) After the pressure is completely released and the pin has dropped, carefully remove the lid.
- Drain The Beans. Drain the beans, emptying all liquid from the inner liner pot of the Instant Pot.
Prepare The Baked Beans
- Cook the bacon or ham, onions, bell peppers or jalapeños. If you are using bacon, cook the small pieces of bacon in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE feature. After the bacon is cooked for a few minutes, add the onion, bell pepper and/or jalapeños. After cooking for about 3 minutes, stir in the minced garlic for about 3 minutes. NOTE: if you are using ham instead of bacon, you will need about 1 tablespoon of oil before cooking the ham, onions, and bell peppers.
- Add the Remaining Ingredients. Add back the cooked beans, Ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, molasses, seasonings, and 1 cup water or broth.
- Pressure cook the beans on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Quick Release. After 10 minutes of pressure cooking, do a quick release by moving the pressure release valve to the VENTING position to quickly release the pressure. Press CANCEL and carefully remove the lid and serve.
Notes
- Sort and rinse dried beans to remove debris before cooking.
- Pressure cook beans separately first to prevent overcooking and burning sauce ingredients.
- Use natural pressure release for 10 minutes before venting to retain bean texture.
- If using diced ham instead of bacon, sauté onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño in oil first until softened.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 225 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 225kcal | 11% |
| Carbohydrates | 43g | 14% |
| Protein | 10g | 20% |
| Fat | 2g | 3% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 4mg | 1% |
| Sodium | 361mg | 15% |
| Potassium | 760mg | 16% |
| Fiber | 6g | 24% |
| Sugar | 18g | 36% |
| Vitamin A | 258IU | 5% |
| Vitamin C | 13mg | 14% |
| Calcium | 79mg | 8% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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