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Instant Pot Baked Beans
5 from 24 votes

Instant Pot Baked Beans

Instant Pot Baked Beans are made by first pressure cooking dried pinto beans until tender, then simmering them with a flavorful sauce that includes ham or bacon, onion, bell pepper, garlic, ketchup, mustard, molasses, brown sugar, and spices. The result is a hearty, savory side dish with a rich, sweet, and smoky profile.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Additional Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 40 mins
Servings: 12
Calories: 225 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

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 black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

Prepare the Dried Beans
    Cup of Yum
  1. Sort Through The Beans. Go through the beans and pick out any dried up beans, debris, or small pebbles.
  2. Rinse The Beans. Using a strainer, give the dried pinto beans a good rinse under cold water before pressure cooking.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Drain The Beans. Drain the beans, emptying all liquid from the inner liner pot of the Instant Pot.
Prepare The Baked Beans
  1. 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.
  2. Add the Remaining Ingredients.  Add back the cooked beans, Ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, molasses, seasonings, and 1 cup water or broth. 
  3. Pressure cook the beans on high pressure for 10 minutes.
  4. 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

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%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 225

% 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.