Easy Pot of Pinto Beans Recipe

A few years ago, I was looking for a good basic pinto beans recipe. I came across this recipe, tried it, and loved it. I’ve been making it and variations of it ever since.

I’ve printed it out a few times, but it often goes missing. I just usually look up the recipe as needed, but today I thought maybe I’ll post my variation so that if for some reason the original site ever disappears, I have it somewhere reliable.

Instant Pot version: Do steps one thru three in the Instant Pot for about 30 minutes depending on how soft you want your beans. (The first push of the Beans button is 15 minutes I think.) Then I cook again for about 15 minutes at a time after that if they aren’t soft enough, but usually, 30 minutes is enough for us. After natural release, continue at step four.

Easy Pot of Pinto Beans Recipe

 

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Instant Pot version: Do steps one thru three in the Instant Pot for 45 minutes. After natural release, continue at step four

Author: Shannon

Ingredients

• 16 oz bag pinto beans, rinsed and picked over.
• 3 T beef bouillon
• ½ pound bacon
• (Variation: Pork Neck Bones)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4 T minced garlic
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 T brown sugar
• ½ T freshly ground black pepper
• 5 packets Taco Bell® mild sauce
• Squirt of Sriracha
• (Variation: can of your favorite flavor of diced tomatoes, I often use fire-roasted)

Instructions

1. Place beans, onion, and bouillon in a large pot with a lid and add enough water to cover beans by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. While that's coming to a boil, cut bacon into about ½ inch pieces sauté in a skillet over medium heat until the fat is translucent. Add garlic to the bacon, remove from heat and stir for about 30 seconds. Add mixture to beans. (Variation: If I'm using pork neck bones I just put them in the water. Sometimes I'll fry them for a few minutes to sear the meat a little.)
3. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are soft. This should take about 3 to 3 ½ hours total cooking time. Simmer long if needed. Add more water if needed.
4. When beans are done, add chili powder, brown sugar, pepper, Taco Bell® Sauce and Sriracha. (Variation: Add diced tomatoes here as well if using.) Simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve.
5. We like to serve with shredded cheese and a side of cornbread.

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