Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans

Name: Instant Pot Mexican Beans
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 cups dried pinto beans (soaked 6 hours or overnight*); 1 medium onion (or 2 small, diced (approximately 1 cup)); 1 red pepper (diced (approximately 1 cup)); 2 jalapenos (seeds and membranes removed, minced); 3 cloves garlic (pressed); 1 cup tomato sauce; 3 Tablespoon chili powder*; OPTIONAL: for a bit of heat add in 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder; 1 Tablespoon cumin; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; 2 bay leaves; 4 cups water

Published: Jun 7, 2020 · Modified: Sep 29, 2024 by Debra Klein · This post may contain affiliate links · 59 Comments

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This delicious recipe for Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans is easy to make with pantry ingredients. You’ll love this plant-based recipe that’s so tasty and can be used in all your favorite Mexican recipes.

Mexican style beans with fresh herbs in a white bowl.

If you love Restaurant Style Mexican Pinto Beans as much as we do, you’re going to want to make these homemade Mexican Pinto Beans Recipe right now! They’re tasty, versatile, wholesome, satisfying and so easy to make!

Mexican style seasonings make these taste like an Authentic Mexican Beans Recipe, and making them in the instant pot means they’re ready in no time! Win-win in my book!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Use fresh vegetables along with tomato sauce OR make it a pantry recipe and skip the veggies, use jarred chunky salsa. Either way, your beans will be flavorful, tender and delicious.

Bell pepper, onions, jalapeno, tomato sauce, spices, dried pinto beans.

Fresh onions, garlic, bell peppers and jalapenos.
Tomato Sauce
Dried pinto beans
Spices: chili powder, cumin, oregano, sea salt.

Salsa, spices, bay leaves, dried pinto beans.

jarred chunky salsa
bay leaves
dried pinto beans
Spices: chili powder, cumin, oregano, sea salt.

Make it a Pantry Recipe

Sometimes, having fresh ingredients on hand isn’t possible. If you don’t have bell peppers or jalapenos, no worries. You can replace them with some salsa. Trust me, these beans will be delicious, either way. If you’re going with jarred salsa, look for an organic brand that is in glass and doesn’t have added oil or sweeteners.

PRO TIP: Stock your pantry so that it’s easy to pull together a nutritious dinner at all times. I’ve been filling my pantry with staples from Thrive Market.(25% off your first order with this link) * They have a great selection of healthy foods and household items from top selling organic brands at wholesale prices.

Do you have to soak dried beans in advance of cooking?

Good question. Although soaking beans for at least 6 hours, or overnight will shorten the cooking time, you can definitely make these without the lengthy soak. One way is to do a “quick” soak. Cover the beans with boiling water and soak for however long you can. For me, this usually means for as long as it takes me to pull the rest of the recipe together. If you don’t soak the beans at all, add to the cooking time, as directed in the recipe card. NO PROBLEM.

How to make Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Get your ingredients ready in advance. It will make every other step so much easier!

If you’ve opted to skip the fresh veggies and use jarred salsa, you can skip these first 4 steps.

Dried, soaked pinto beans, chopped veggies, tomato sauce and spices plus instant pot sauteeing onions.

Start by softening the onion. The instant pot has a saute function that heats up quickly.

Soaked dried pinto beans, tomato sauce, spices and veggies sauteeing in the instant pot.

Once onions are soft, stir in the diced red peppers and jalapenos. Using the instant pot to saute the veggies means no extra pans to clean!

Instant pot with sauteed veggies, pressed garlic on top. Also some tomato sauce, spices and soaking pinto beans.

Fresh garlic gives these beans an authentic flavor. I use a garlic press or a microplane grater to mince the garlic with no fuss.

Tomato sauce poured on top of sauteed veggies in an instant pot, plus a dish of spices and a bowl with soaking pinto beans.

Stir in the tomato sauce, then hit the “cancel” button on your instant pot to turn off the saute function.

If you’ve opted to go the “salsa” route, you’ll start here. Empty the jar of salsa into the instant pot and then proceed as directed.

Instant pot filled with tomato sauce, spices, bay leaves and veggies.

Drain the dried beans, rinse and then add them to the pot along with water and the spices. Stir well and add the bay leaves. Lock the lid in place. Make sure the valve is set to seal. Set instant pot to manual and adjust the time to 25 minutes.

Instant pot with cooked beans in tomato sauce with veggies.

Let the pressure release naturally. This will take about 25 minutes. If you’re not ready to serve the beans, just leave them in the pot, still sealed. I have left them as long as two hours with the lid sealed. They were warm and delicious when I opened the lid.

Can you make these on the stove top?

YES. I included directions with times in the recipe card for a stove top version. It’s essentially the same recipe with additional time added. Don’t let lack of an instant pot to stop you from making these delicious beans.

Mexian Style pinto beans in tomato sauce, garnished with sliced jalapenos and sprinkled with fresh chopped herbs

What to serve with Homemade Mexican Style Beans:

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