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Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans

August 30, 2024

A simple pot of flavorful, Mexican pinto beans is the foundation of many of our favorite quick meals. Plus, thanks to the Instant Pot, pinto beans go from dry to perfectly-cooked in just over an hour.

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No soak instant pot pinto beans in a bowl

FINALLY! An Actually-Good No-Soak Dried Bean Recipe!

A big pot of tender, richly seasoned pinto beans is a wonderful thing, and even better when you can go from a jar of dried beans to a pot of ready-to-eat beans in just about an hour—no soaking required! Cooking with dried beans is a wonderful thing for many reasons—less sodium than canned beans, plus they tend to hold their shape better through the cooking process—but a lot of people are intimidated by the overnight soak that they usually require. No more! Simply seasoned with onions, a bit of stock, and some taco seasoning, this Instant Pot pinto bean recipe is one of our favorite side dishes / tortilla-toppers / tummy-fillers.

No Soak Instant Pot Pinto Beans 3
No Soak Instant Pot Pinto Beans 4
pinto beans, chicken stock, onions and pinto beans in an instant pot
no soak instant pot pinto beans

The Best Pinto Bean Seasonings—AKA What Makes These Instant Pot Beans So Delicious.

This recipe is simple, simple, simple. All you need are pinto beans, a few seasonings, and your Instant Pot—that magical pressure cooker will do most of the work for you. So, what makes these pinto beans so flavorful? Just a few things, most of which you probably have on-hand right now:

  • Onion.
  • Chicken or vegetable stock.
  • TMP taco seasoning. Smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder and oregano are the backbone of our easy, homemade taco seasoning recipe—it’s basically the best ever. However, if all you have is store-bought taco seasoning, that’s OK in a pinch.
  • Salt.
  • Bacon fat. This one is optional, but it will add a huge amount of richness and a lovely smoky flavor, leave it out if you are making these beans vegan or vegetarian.
No soak instant pot pinto beans in an instant pot

How to Make Instant Pot Pinto Beans

No-soak pinto beans that are cooked and ready to eat in just over an hour? Sounds too good to be true, but this pinto bean recipe really is just magical like that.

  1. Start with sautéing the onions in a bit of oil in the Instant Pot on sauté mode.
  2. Now add everything else to the pot—the beans, stock, taco seasoning—and set the Instant Pot to manual mode with high pressure for 1 hour.
  3. After an hour, let the pressure release naturally, about 15-20 minutes.
  4. After you open the Instant Pot, let the cooked pinto beans rest for five minutes before digging in. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to one week.
No soak instant pot pinto beans in a bowl

I Made Pinto Beans! Now What?

Now the sky’s the limit! Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with just scooping yourself a big bowl of beans and enjoying them as-is. But, they’re a little more fun if you doctor them up! We love to serve them:

  • As part of a burrito bowl! Pour a big scoop of these pinto beans over some rice, and top with salsa, guacamole, queso fresco and cilantro. YUM.
  • As a side dish along with our killerslow-cooker carnitas, because who says you can’t use your Instant Pot and your slow-cooker at the same time?
  • In breakfast burritos! Hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, and some of these pinto beans all rolled into a big, warm flour tortilla—maybe a little salsa and avocado, too—and you’ve got yourself a seriously delicious breakfast.
No soak instant pot pinto beans in a bowl with a spoon

Tools You’ll Need

More Easy Bean Recipes You’ll Love

No Instant Pot? No problem. We’ve got plenty of bean recipes that don’t require any fancy equipment.

No soak instant pot pinto beans in a bowl

Instant Pot Success?

We already loved our Instant Pot, but once we realized that it meant we could make no-soak pinto beans from dried beans in no time, we fell for it even harder. If you love this Instant Pot pinto bean recipe, snap a photo of your beans, and show us how you served them! Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can see. Happy eating!

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Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans

  • Serves:  8
  • Prep Time:  6 min
  • Cook Time:  1 hr 20 min
  • Calories:  122

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped, about 1 cup
  • 2 ½ cups dried pinto beans, rinsed, about 1 lb
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1 ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 Tbsp bacon fat, (optional)

Method

  1. With your instant pot on sauté mode, heat the oil until glistening. Add in the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

  2. Add in the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and tightly secure the lid in place. Turn the Instant Pot to MANUAL mode with high pressure selected for 1 hour.

  3. When the timer is done, allow the pressure to release naturally, about 15-20 minutes. If there is any pressure still in the pot, you can manually release it at this time.

  4. Open the Instant Pot, stir and allow the beans to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cooked beans will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 122
  • Protein 5 g
  • Carbohydrates 16 g
  • Total Fat 4 g
  • Dietary Fiber 5 g
  • Cholesterol 0 mg
  • sodium 260 mg
  • Total Sugars 1 g

Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Patricia

    If I want to add smoked ham hock to my beans, will the time increase or would it stay the same?

    If you are adding a raw ham hock to the pot it should be cooked in 1 hour in the IP so you should be fine. If you are putting a cooked ham hock in there, you will definitely be good!

  • Jessica

    Can I make refried beans with this?

    Check Out our recipe for Refried Beans, we have an instant pot method listed. Hope you enjoy!

  • Virginia

    I have made these several times and Absolutely love them! So much that I crave them. I am currently without an instapot, have you ever made these in the crockpot? Recommendations to do so?

    Thank you!

    I have never tested these in a crockpot. You could always follow our stovetop method for our Cannellini Beans.

  • Nancy

    Can I add smoked meat to ins T pot with dry beans & water?

    Sure, should be fine!

  • Lester

    How long do I pressure cook if I soaked beans overnight?

    We never soak this but if you soak them first it should only take 15 minutes cook time in the instant pot.

  • Heather

    A huge hit at our Christmas church pot luck last night, by the time we said our dinner prayer and I served myself there was maybe a cup left! Everyone was raving about how good my beans were. I did add leftover ham with a bit of bacon grease, a 1/2 tsp of cumin, Tony Chachere's to taste (I am addicted), and chopped cilantro mixed in before serving. The chicken stock addition is great!!!

    Thanks Heather, we are so glad that you and everyone loved it!

  • Iris

    After reading the reviews had no doubt these would be awesome and they were!! Had over rice with a freezer pull of BBQ ribs. Really awesome. I would use for refried beans or eat like soup. So so simple and delish.

    Thanks Iris! Glad you loved it!

  • Shannon

    Made these tonight as a side for my fajitas and this recipe is bomb! I have never made home made beans as crave worthy as these. Definitely keeping this recipe for all future Taco Tuesdays!

    Thanks Shannon, so glad you loved them!

  • Chrissy

    Wow these beans are perfect and our new favorite way to make pinto beans! Thanks so much!!

    Thanks Chrissy! So happy you loved them!

  • Sharon

    Super easy and great flavor! Instead of bacon fat, I added 3 strips of bacon. I also added dulse, a seaweed that tastes like bacon and is rich in iodine.

    Thanks Sharon! Glad you enjoyed these, nice thought to add dulse!