Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe (Charro Style)

I am a big fan of the whole pinto beans you get in a good Mexican Restaurant.  I like them more than the refried beans and they’re actually healthier, because refried beans are fried with FAT – which makes them tasty – but not necessarily healthy.

I got an Instant Pot (actually it’s a Cuisinart Pressure Cooker) and I was anxious to try to recreate my favorite beans.  These are excellent – and really flexible.  I put them in my Oven Baked Tacos Recipe, we eat them alone, you could “refry” them if you like – and for sure you can freeze them when you make too much!

I’m not exactly sure what makes these “Charro Style” but the recipe I adapted was a Slow Cooker Charro Beans recipe.  The only thing I left out was the tomatoes, which just didn’t go with what I wanted to accomplish.  Hopefully these tickle your tastebuds as well!

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Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe (Charro Style)

Tasty pinto bean recipe that are great on their own or as in another recipe. Beans are the perfect "instant pot" food! Give this recipe a try!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Pinto Beans Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 10

Author Carrie Hill

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon sliced into lardon (or chopped)
• 1 lb dry pinto beans
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 - 4 oz Can Green Chiles mild or hot, to your taste
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups beef stock homemade if you have it
• 2 cloves garlic smashed & minced
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno minced
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Instructions

1. Set your pressure cooker to "Browning" setting and start the bacon browning
2. While bacon is browning, rinse your dry beans and pick through for any stones or other smutz you might find.
3. When bacon is crispy, drain and reserve 1-2 Tbsp of your bacon fat, add it back to the instant pot and saute the onions in the bacon fat (or use olive oil if you're health conscious).
4. When onions are soft, add back in the bacon then addin the pinto beans, water, stock, garlic, seasoning, green chiles.
5. Place lid and set to high pressure and 45 minutes.
6. When done, let pressure come off naturally - this will likely take about half an hour. Be patient - if you do a quick pressure release, you'll likely end up with some tough beans.
7. When you can remove the lid, sample and then salt and pepper to your taste.
8. Enjoy!