Mexican-Inspired Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans
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The Husband and I love to watch cooking shows on Food Network. One of our favorites before the format changed too much was Iron Chef and on that show, they often used a pressure cooker. Ever since then I’ve wanted to try to cook with one, so when I was given the opportunity to review a pressure cooker, I couldn’t wait to try it out to make Instant Pot pinto beans.
For my first recipe, I decided to try Instant Pot pinto beans. My family loves beans and it was an easy way to get used to my new pressure cooker. I’m a throw stuff in a pot kind of cook and was very pleased with how these beans came out. This is a nice versatile dish; The Husband chose to eat them in a bowl, while Red and I turned them into tacos. If you like Mexican inspired flavors then these pinto beans are for you.
Instant Pot pinto beans with salt pork
For this recipe, there isn’t any need to soak your beans ahead of time; the pressure cooker will cook them perfectly without this extra step. This recipe couldn’t be more simple! Just add the dried beans to the Instant Pot or your pressure cooker of choice then add water, olive oil, onion, garlic, cubed salt pork (can be left out for a vegetarian option), Mexican oregano, cumin, bay leaf, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Set the pressure cooker to beans or your Instant Pot to pressure cook and cook for 45 minutes. Don’t forget to allow extra time for the pot to come to pressure to release after your beans are finished. The pressure will build and the button in the back will pop up. Once this happens, the Fairwind pressure cooker will then switch to cook mode.
Once the beans are cooked it will switch to “Hot” and you will release the pressure valve on top. This is a lot of fun because the steam will come pouring out of the top of the pressure cooker for a few minutes. Once the pressure and steam are released, it’s dinner time!
My pinto beans were cooked to perfection. I warmed up a flour tortilla in a pan until slightly crispy, filled it with pinto beans, cabbage, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and sour cream. So good! My husband ate them in a bowl with some bread.
We have also made these beans for burritos and burrito bowls. So simple and so good!
While the Fairwind pressure cooker will take some getting used to as I attempt more dishes, especially meat, I am excited to experiment with it more. It has the ease of using a slow cooker but cooks in a fraction of the time. If you don’t have a pressure cooker yet, it is worth picking one up. You can purchase the Fairwind pressure cooker directly and other fine retailers.
Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked
- 1/2 salt pork, cubed, optional
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, whole
- 1 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp fresh cilantro
- 5 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon soup base, vegetable or chicken
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add beans into pressure cooker, cover with water and bouillon, onion, garlic, spices, and cubed salt pork (if using). Soaking the beans first is not necessary.
- Set pressure cooker for the bean/chili setting or Instant Pot to pressure cook setting; cook for 45 minutes. Allow time for the pressure cooker to come up to pressure and use either natural or quick release when finished.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 400
My family makes this amazing cinnamon beef roast. it’s like usual beef roast but with apple cider vinegar in there and you really rub in a lot of cinnamon into the meat and yum with some potatoes and carrots it’s the best.