Cooking Pinto Beans In A Pressure Cooker

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)

How Do I Season Pinto Beans in the Pressure Cooker?

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.

How Long Are These Beans Good For?

These beans are good for about 5 days if kept covered in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze These Pinto Beans?

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 Season Pinto Beans

How to Cook Canned Pinto Beans

Can You Give Me a Hand?

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bowl of pinto beans

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).

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.

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 Facts

Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans

Amount Per Serving

Calories 433 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g 8%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 3mg 1%

Sodium 731mg 30%

Potassium 1609mg 46%

Carbohydrates 72g 24%

Fiber 18g 72%

Sugar 3g 3%

Protein 25g 50%

Vitamin A 110IU 2%

Vitamin C 7mg 8%

Calcium 134mg 13%

Iron 6mg 33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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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.