- #instant-pot
Instant Pot Pinto Beans from Dry, No Soak
A pound of dry pintos to creamy, seasoned beans in about 70 minutes total, no overnight soak. Macro infrastructure for the week — 15g protein per cup at roughly 40 cents a serving.
by John at Baisics
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans, picked over and rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- 1
Rinse beans in a colander and pick out any stones or shriveled beans. No need to soak.
- 2
Add beans, water, onion halves, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and oil to the Instant Pot. Hold the salt for now — adding it after cooking keeps the skins from getting tough.
- 3
Lock lid, seal valve. Pressure-cook on High for 40 minutes. Pressurize takes about 12-15 minutes with this much water.
- 4
Full natural release — 20 minutes minimum, ideally 25. A quick release here will split the skins and turn beans starchy. Wait it out.
- 5
Open lid, fish out onion halves and bay leaves. Stir in salt, taste a bean, adjust.
- 6
For firmer beans (tacos, salads), drain and reserve liquid. For soupy beans (bowls, breakfast), leave them in the pot liquor.
- 7
Cool, then portion into containers. Keeps 5 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen with some cooking liquid.