Instant Pot Baked Beans

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Instant Pot Baked Beans

Sweet and smoky these Instant Pot Baked Beans are the perfect side dish for your summer BBQs and potlucks. The beans are cooked right in the pressure cooker - no overnight soaking required - with smoky maple bacon for a rich, savory side dish that's ready in an hour.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked beans from scratch, baked beans recipe, homemade baked beans

Servings: servings

Ingredients

1 pound dry navy beans
7 cups water , divided
3/4 pound thick cut maple bacon , chopped
1 small red bell pepper , diced
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 clove garlic , minced
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons sweet barbecue sauce (such as Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons real maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Rinse the beans under hot water to remove any dirt. Place beans in the pressure cooker insert, add 6 cups of water. Secure the lid and turn the valve to the ‘sealing’ position. Pressure cook on high for 25 minutes, then allow pressure to naturally release. Manually release any remaining pressure after 20 minutes.
Place the bacon in the pressure cooker insert and press the ‘sauté’ button. Cook, stirring frequently until the bacon is rendered and crisp, about 10 minutes. (Maple bacon can be sticky, if it sticks too badly toward the end of cooking, add a tablespoon of water and continue to cook.) Remove bacon once crispy, and drain on a paper towel, set aside. Remove enough bacon grease so only about 1-2 tablespoons remain.
Add bell pepper and onion, sauté until soft and scrape up brown bits in the pan, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another 20 seconds. Press ‘cancel’ on the pressure cooker.
Add in the ketchup, barbecue sauce, molasses, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, liquid smoke, brown sugar, and all the seasonings and stir well to combine.
Add the beans, bacon, and remaining 1 cup water to the pressure cooker and stir gently but VERY THOROUGHLY (see notes). Secure the lid and turn the valve to the ‘sealing’ position, pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, press ‘cancel’, let the pressure naturally release. If the pin has not dropped down after 20 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure.
Stir the beans, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve immediately store for later. If you would like them thicker, use the sauté function to cook them down, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. They will thicken as they stand as well.

Notes

Avoid the burn warning. To prevent getting the ‘BURN’ warning, it’s important to stir the mixture very well before the final pressure cooking phase, and lift the beans up off the bottom of the pot to ensure the water reaches the bottom of the pot. During testing, we had no trouble with burning using this method.

What to do if I get the burn warning? If you do get a burn warning, remove the lid and give everything a good stir, add another 1/2 cup of water and try again. This should fix it!

Soak the beans for quicker prep. You can also soak the beans in cold water overnight, then skip straight to step 2 the next day!

What size Instant Pot should I use? This recipe was developed using a 6 quart Instant Pot. To use an 8 quart model, you may need to increase the liquid during the final pressure cooking phase to prevent getting the burn warning.

Nutrition