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.
This post has been updated from the original posted June 7, 2020
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If you love Restaurant Style Mexican Pinto Beans as much as we do, you’re going to want to make this delicious 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
The photo on the left includes fresh onions, garlic, red peppers and jalapenos. The photo on the right produces the same delicious mexican style beans with only ingredients from the pantry. I’ve included directions for either. You can decide, based on what you have.
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. 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! Start by softening the onion. The instant pot has a saute function that heats up quickly.
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! If you’ve opted to skip the fresh veggies and use jarred salsa, you can skip this step.
Fresh garlic gives these beans an authentic flavor. I use a garlic press or a microplane grater to mince the garlic with no fuss.
If you’ve opted to go the “salsa” route, you’ll start here. Otherwise, stir in the tomato sauce and then hit the “cancel” button on your instant pot to turn off the saute function.
Drain the dried bean, 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.
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.
What to serve with Homemade Mexican Style Beans:
FAQs
Although soaking beans for at least 6 hours, or overnight will shorten the cooking time, you can use a “quick soak” method or skip the soaking all together if you don’t have time/forgot.
Cover the beans with boiling water and soak for however long you can. If you don’t soak the beans at all, add to the cooking time, as directed in the recipe card. NO PROBLEM.
Pinto beans have a neutral flavor, making them perfect for adding your favorite spices. I like to include Mexican spices like cumin, oregano and chili powder. You can also add a blend, like no-salt taco seasoning which makes them super tasty.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Mexican Beans
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 ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Turn instant Pot on to "Saute" function. Add onions plus 1-2 Tablespoons water and saute until beginning to soften (approximately 3 minutes), then add in red pepper and jalapenos, continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Hit "cancel" on the instant pot. Stir iIn the garlic and tomato sauce, mix well. Stir in the spices.
- Drain beans, rinse well and add the drained beans to the pot along with water and bay leaves. Mix well and then 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.
- When the time is up, allow the instant pot to naturally release the pressure. This will take 15-20 minutes. Make sure to manually release any additional pressure before unlocking the lid.
- Discard the bay leaves, and serve warm.
- OPTIONAL GARNISH: sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, avocado slices.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Laura
These beans turn out really well in the Instant Pot. Way less time to make than on the stove. Thanks.
Michele peterson
I’m really tempted to get an instant pot after reading how you can saute and then cook the beans in one pot. I love how versatile this recipe is!
Sue
Why have I never tried this before? What an easy way to make your own beans!
Emily Flint
You must have been reading my mind, I’ve been wanting to make beans in my Instant Pot for a while. Can’t wait to make these!
Chef Dennis
it’s been ages since I’ve made pinto beans. I can’t wait to try out your recipe!
Chef Dennis
It’s been ages since I’ve made Pinto Beans. I can’t wait to try out your recipe!
Debra Klein
It’s about time to try them again. You’ll love this version.
Raquel
I have not tried making these in the Instapot – delicious!
Lathiya
The instant pot Mexican beans looks delicious. It’s great to cook in Instant pot to save the time.
Marina
I am using lots of beans at the moment, thank you for a great recipe!
Amy
Delicious! Perfect for cold weather!
Melissa Crea
These beans are so good! I was impressed at how easy they were to make! Thanks for the recipe!
Jen Ta
Wow! These look so flavorful! Thanks for the recipe!
Debra Klein
You’re welcome. Super tasty!
Natalie
Oh wow… pinto beans. I haven’t use them for ages. Thanks for recipe and reminder. I will definitely make this soon. Looks delicious!
Debra Klein
The perfect pantry recipe!
Leslie
These look so amazing and full of flavor! Great recipe!
Sara Rodriguez
I love Mexican beans and Mexican food so much!
Sanna bhavsar
Such an awesome recipe!
Debra Klein
Thank you. Totally agree.
michele
Loved how these turned out in my Instant Pot. Perfect texture!
Debra Klein
Totally agree…one of the reasons I started making beans in the instant pot.
Andréa Janssen
What a great recipe! I love my slow cooker and certainly will go and try this recipe!
Marlynn
Such an easy wonderful recipe that makes flavorful pinto beans. Thank you!
Debra Klein
You’re welcome!
Angela
Great instant pot recipe!
Lilly
These beans are so flavorful and delicious!
Maur
Instant pot is the gift that keeps on giving. Love how this turned out.
Debra Klein
Totally! I love mine more and more each time I use it.
Swathi
looks delicious
Jessica Formicola
We are having tacos tomorrow night, and these pinto beans are on the menu as well! Can’t wait to try them!
Debra Klein
The perfect side dish for tacos!!!
Amanda Scarlati
This recipe was so good and the directions were easy to follow. Thanks!
Alexandra
So tasty – thanks! Love this recipe for Mexican Beans
Emily
Great recipe. (I cheated and didn’t soak the beans, but they still turned out great.)
Michelle | Taste As You Go
These beans are so delicious and the perfect side dish to my cheese enchiladas!
Marcellina
One of my fav recipes to make in my Instant Pot!
amy liu dong
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I am so excited to make this for everyone.
Amy Liu Dong
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I am so excited to make this for everyone.
Tyanne
I loved this recipe! I’ve been looking for a Mexican bean recipe for a long time
Freya
Such a delicious recipe, I love all those Mexican herbs and spices, so much flavour!
Nora
They turned out perfectly! Thanks for this lovely instant pot recipe!
Debra Klein
Terrific…glad you enjoyed them.
Brianna
Easy to make in the Instant Pot and great flavor!
Meghan Gillies-Edwards
What did you mean when you said hit “canel?” Cancel? I have an old crockpot so it only has low and high setting. Thank you
Debra Klein
Typo…yes, it’s meant to say “cancel” and I appreciate you pointing that out. I fixed it so nobody else would have that same question.
Amy
Only 2 cups of water? Did I miss broth? Or maybe I was supposed to cook the beans first? 2 cups of liquid didn’t make a dent in covering them up.
Debra Klein
Thanks Amy for the comment. It was a typo in the recipe card. I just updated it. 4 cups is the correct amount of water to use.
Harish
Look like so yummy 😍🤤
Thanks for sharing this recipe 😋
Jess
omg. As i began this comment (I wanted to mention how a lot of comments are from ppl who havn’t even made this recipe yet, and maybe you somehow could encourage more comments based on a final result) and was in the middle of cooking my beans when i realized i forgot to insert the IP’s removable silicone gasket back into the lid after washing. Oops! So i lost about 15 minutes of cooking time with all that lost steam 🙃 oh well… starting over with 10 less minutes manual time. Wish me luck
Debra Klein
Beans are forgiving…I’m sure they turned out great! I put a reminder in the post and also in the recipe card instructions to seal the valve because that has happened to me before. It’s so frustrating!
Sandy
Flavorful without extreme heat. Thanks for a great recipe. I used the stove top method. Froze leftovers and they are just as tasty out of the freezer.
Debra Klein
That’s the way to do it!
Shelby
Hi Debra! The recipe looks delish, I’m soaking beans as we speak. I’m pretty new with my instant pot and have a question about the time – do I manually release pressure once the 25 minutes is up? Or do I let the time lapse by 15-20 minutes AFTER the 25 minutes is up, then manually release any leftover pressure? Thank you for the clarification!
Debra Klein
Let the pressure release naturally AFTER the 25 minutes is up. That is why the total cooking time indicated is much higher than the actual 25 minutes. Enjoy the beans and the instant pot!
Jolene
I’m cooking for about 30 people. If I double the recipe to make 12 cups, what would the cook time be? Can the recipe be tripled in a 6 quart instant pot? If so, what is the cook time?
Debra Klein
I don’t think you can fit a triple batch in a 6 quart instant pot. I have the 6-quart…that is what’s shown in the photos for reference. If you want to make a triple batch, I would do it in a large stock pot on the stove top. Use the timing listed in the recipe card.