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!

Instant Pot Baked Beans served in a white bowl with a handle, and another filled bowl in the background.

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.

Process photos for making baked beans in the instant pot including an overhead photo of an instant pot with dry beans and water in it, next to another photo of bacon, onion and green bell pepper added to the 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.

Bacon, onion, green bell peppers, ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, cider vinegar and liquid smoke in the instant pot, next to another photo of the mixture stirred together and brown sugar added on top.

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.

Baked beans cooked in an instant pot pressure cooker with a wooden spoon stirring the mixture.

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).

A close-up photo of a white bowl filled with baked beans with bacon, that were made in the instant pot.

 
Make it a meal and serve these Baked Beans with:

Instant Pot Ribs or Slow Cooker Ribs

The BEST Cornbread

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Recipe

Instant Pot Baked Beans served in a white bowl with a handle, and another filled bowl in the background.
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 1 hour 20 minutes
Total 1 hour 30 minutes
Save Recipe

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

To 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.
Don't miss my other favorite INSTANT POT RECIPES

Nutrition

Calories: 195kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 585mgPotassium: 287mgFiber: 4gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 250IUVitamin C: 7.8mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1.2mg
Have you tried this recipe?! 
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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4.80 from 512 votes (305 ratings without comment)
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Erin
5 years ago

5 stars
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!!

MikeEh
6 years ago

5 stars
So simple and very tasty. I let the beans soak for 2 hours prior just to be sure but you really don’t have to. I added 1/4c of Jim Beam and it really adds to the flavour depth.. kudos!

Lauren
6 years ago

5 stars
Sorry if comment is repeated! Having troubles posting. I LOVED these beans! Im making again and wondering if I could do an overnight soak instead of step 2? If so, would the 15 minutes of pressure cooking with all other ingredients be enough? Has anyone tried this?

Thanks!

Ed Green
6 years ago

3 stars
I used great northern beans. 25 minutes was not enough time for initial cook with dried beans. Even after the complete pressure cook the beans were still not completely soft. I finished the batch in slow cooker mode of 4 hours. They were satisfactory after that. If I do the beans in the one pot again I will soak them in saltwater overnight first. my pinto beans are always perfect when I soak them in the fridge overnight before cooking.

Mary L. Downes
6 years ago

4 stars
Looking forward to trying these! Prefer to make these with no salt as my husband can’t have any salt and all canned beans have too much salt in them. Thanks so much for this recipe!

Jannet
6 years ago

5 stars
Excellent! After reading everyone’s comments I added a 1/4 more water and instead of the bell pepper I added a jalapeño pepper. Next time I make this. I will hold back a bit on the brown sugar and add a couple more jalapeños.
I didn’t have any scorching.

Lynne
6 years ago

I’m unclear re the amount of water to cook beans? Then the amount to re add when cooking all ingredients? Directions please. Thank you

Barb
6 years ago

4 stars
I had the same burn problem. I added more brown sugar and also molasses, honey and cayenne. Pinto beans were not quite done in allotted time. I will try them again tho. Good flavor.

Jessica L Thomas
6 years ago

2 stars
Flavor was alright but I couldn’t even cook the beans the last 15 mins because everytime I would bring it to pressure it would burn. I followed the directions and measured everything perfectly. I tried 3 times, making sure to scrap the bottom good each time.

Ellen
6 years ago

5 stars
I use a steamer basket for recipes that might burn. Meatballs with tomato sauce and this recipe. Apparently some older model Instant Pots don’t have the safety features that the newer models have. Also, put some water beneath the steamer basket. Hope this helps.

Jody
6 years ago

5 stars
When I first got my IP, many suggestions indicated to avoid placing ingredients with high sugar content on the bottom of the liner. With that in mind, I added 3/4 cup water to the IP then the beans and then the rest of the ingredients on top with an extra 1/4 cup of water. I tamped the ingredients down a bit to mix with the top layer of beans. I didn’t have a problem with the burn error message.

Trish Farano
6 years ago

Try removing the bacon/onion/pepper to a paper towel-lined plate and deglazing the pan with the 1/2 cup water. Add beans and bacon mixture. Combine remaining ingredients (BBQ sauce-brown sugar) in a bowl. Pour over the top and pour an additional 1/4 cup water over that. Do not stir. Cook as directed. Worked great for me.

Michelle
6 years ago

Did we resolve the scorching issue? I want to tr6 this recipe for a family gathering and don’t want an6 problems…..

Leslie Rizzo
6 years ago

5 stars
Well this is batch #4. We LOVE them. They even freeze well! Thanks!