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This AMAZING Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe uses dry beans, and there's no soaking required. Tender cooked beans with bacon, onion and bell pepper in a delicious sweet and smokey sauce. I'm confident this easy baked beans recipe will become a staple at your summer BBQ's!
If you could only pick one, what is your favorite side dish at a bbq? It's a hard choice, I know, but I'd probably say baked beans. They pairly perfectly with any type of meat from the grill. My favorite sweet cornbread, and one of these fresh salads make the meal complete.
I've been really excited to share this instant pot baked beans recipe with you all because it's proof that making baked beans from scratch can happen in about an hour! The instant pot is just amazing, and I'm proud to add this recipe to the ranks of my instant pot recipe archives!
How to make baked beans in the Instant Pot:
To make baked beans in the instant pot, start by adding the dry beans and water to the pot. Cook in high pressure for about 25 minutes, with a natural pressure release. When the pressure has released, remove the lid and pour the beans into a strainer to remove the water. Rinse them well with cold water.
DISCLAIMER: This recipe was created using the DUO 60 6-quart instant pot. Not all instant pot recipes work perfectly for all types of instant pots. See this article for more information on adapting recipes for your instant pot.
I've chosen navy beans or pinto beans for this recipe, but you could also use great northern beans, with the same cooking time.
After straining the beans, wipe out the instant pot and add spray it with non-stick cooking spray. I do this because even though bacon is greasy, it can still initially stick to the bottom of the pot when the saute setting is on.
Cook the bacon until it starts to get golden brown and slightly crisp on the edges. Drain some of the grease (I usually just stick a few paper towels in the pot and use them to blot out the grease). You still want a little grease at the bottom so that the other vegetables don't stick when you add them to saute.
Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot and saute them, stirring often, until they're tender.
Turn the instant pot off and stir in the bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and liquid smoke. Stir until smooth and then add the cooked beans and brown sugar. Secure the instant pot lid and cook the mixture on high pressure for 15 minutes, with a natural pressure release.
Do I need to soak the dry beans?
Normally when making baked beans from scratch you need to soak the dry beans in water overnight, but with the instant pot pressure cooker you can cook the dry beans and water together, without soaking them first, and you'll end up with tender, perfect beans for making baked beans.
Can I substitute canned beans instead of dry beans?
Yes. If you'd rather use canned beans start with step 4 of the recipe, and when it's time to add the beans, substitute 56 oz canned pork and beans (whatever brand you prefer).
Make it a meal and serve these Baked Beans with:
Instant Pot Ribs or Slow Cooker Ribs
Instant Pot Baked Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dry navy or pinto beans
- 8 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 yellow onion, , finely chopped
- 1/2 red or green bell pepper, , cored, seeded, and finely chopped
- 2/3 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- **DISCLAIMER: I created this recipe using a 6 quart instant pot DUO 60. Some users have had problems with a burn notice for this recipe using different versions of the instant pot. I have tested it many times with this version and had no issue.
- Add beans, water and salt to instant pot. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 25 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release.
- Remove lid and pour beans into a colander/strainer. Rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Set Instant Pot to saute setting. Add bacon and saute for a few minutes until it starts to get golden brown, tossing and scraping down the bottom of the pot often. Drain some of the grease.
- Add bell pepper and onion and cook until tender.
- Turn IP off. Add bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and liquid smoke to the pot and stir well to combine.
- Add brown sugar, water and beans and stir to combine.
- Secure IP lid, close steam valve and cook on Manual (high pressure) for 15 minutes. Natural release the pressure.
- Carefully open lid, and gently stir mixture to combine. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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As it was cooking, the aroma was fantastic and the taste was even better, thank you for the recipe 👏👏👏😋😋
So easy and So So Good!!! I took them to a cookout and they got rave reviews. Making them again tomorrow for another cookout! 🙂 Thank you for this recipe!!
Thanks so much for the great review! I’m thrilled you liked the recipe!
Can I double this recipe?
You can double the recipe (I plan to do so this weekend), just remember that if using dry beans, the beans will expand, so it is recommended that the amount of water you use should not exceed the half mark on the inside of your pot. I prefer soaking the beans overnight, for some added benefits I mention in another comment, and the greatly reduced cooking time. For guidance from InstantPot, refer to: https://instantpot.com/instantpot-cooking-time/#tab-id-3
Very good. Made with 8 quart and used a little extra water.
Yes i used my 8 quart as well. I also added 1-1/2 cups water extra. It stopped giving me ( burn) after that.
Awesome recipe Great you can have baked beans and under 2 hours the taste is amazing.
Great flavour but after 18 mins in my IP Duo 6 the beans were over cooked so finished the recipe without the beans and added them afterwards so they don’t have the same colour but taste fine. Will make again but only cook once with all ingredients after sautéing bacon, onion and green pepper.
Best bean recipe ever. I also got the burn notice and used a 6 quart Instapot both times I have made them. I just finish them in the oven at 300 for a hour or two.
These baked beans are SO SO yummy. Tangy and sweet and they turn out absolutely perfect by following the cooking times. My whole family loves them and my kids eat them! I do like to make them early afternoon, as it does take time to get up to pressure each time, etc and the time all adds up. I leave them on keep warm in my instant pot and they are perfect.
I used the techniques from this recipe to make a different recipe with beans. The ingredients for the “sauce” were similar, but I also left out the brown sugar entirely. Instead, I scraped out the bits of orange marmalade from two practically empty jars in the fridge. Also, used chicken stock in place of water. I added a bit too much liquid in the quest to avoid burning, so just took the lid off the pot and cooked on the Sauté setting on High until the liquid had reduced. Yummy recipe, and no heating up the house by letting the beans simmer for hours in the oven.
This recipe is da bomb!!! I used fatback instead of bacon and whatever dried beans I had in the pantry…red beans and some other mix of beans to make up the required 2 1/2cups.
Delicious. Made this today and it will be my go to recipe. Wonderful Flavor. We are having ham, mac and cheese and the beans for dinner. Cant wait to eat. Thanks for a great recipe.
Good recipe. I didn’t have any trouble with the first pressure cook phase. The beans tenderized nicely. I did, however find a problem with the second phase. The thickness/sugar made the burn indicator kick on. It wasn’t a major problem though. I simply sauteed the bean mixture for 15 minutes (while stirring) to dissipate/incorporate the vinegar into the mix instead. It was exactly what I was wanting…sweet, tangy beans. (Being of Polish heritage, I tend to like things with vinegar and sugar) Also of note, I used dried kidney beans and no green peppers. (Simply because I didn’t have any) Instead, I used a few shakes of red pepper flakes since I like a little heat in my sweetened beans. Again…exactly what I wanted. Great recipe…I’ll be making it again!
Delicious! I left out the brown sugar, but it didn’t matter. I finished them in a hot oven for 15 mins while I finished preparing the rest of the meal.