Instant Pot Baked Beans are smoky, sweet, sticky and delicious. Easy to make recipe ensures you will never buy canned beans again.
Instant Pot Baked BeansWe’ve all had the Better Homes and Gardens Baked Beans at one time or another, right?
If you’ve been following my blog, you will know that I can never leave good enough alone. I always like to take recipes up a notch. This Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe makes a big pot of beans and easily feeds at least 10 people.
This Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe will have you jumping for joy! You can make these delicious Instant Pot Baked Beans right in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, without an overnight soak and without hours in the oven!
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Baked Beans
Canned baked beans, in my opinion, are usually too sweet. While the BHG Baked Beans are pretty good, I felt like there was something missing and I felt they were a bit cloying. A few changes and additions and I came up with the most delicious Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe ever!
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Navy Beans
- BACON!!!!! – because, heck yeah!
- Pure Maple Syrup – make sure to use Combs Maple Syrup and not the fake stuff like Log Cabin or Mrs. Butterworth’s.
- Molasses – adds a wonderful depth of flavor give these Instant Pot Baked Beans, the delicious “sticky” texture, that everyone loves.
- Onions
- Ketchup
- Dry/Ground Mustard
- Brown Sugar
- Worcestershire Sauce – this is my secret ingredient and really takes this recipe up another notch
- Apple Cider Vinegar – totally “pop” the flavor.
Soak Navy Beans in Water
Vegetarian Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Leave out the bacon and make the following adjustment(s).
- Add two tablespoons of finely crushed smoked almonds.
- Pour 2 teaspoons of hickory liquid smoke into the pot, along with the rest of the ingredients.
Do I Need to Soak Beans Before Pressure Cooking?
- No.
- You don’t need to soak your Navy Beans overnight, if you don’t want to do so.
- The Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker will easily soften the Navy Beans.
- You can always just set the cook time longer, if you do not want to soak your beans.
I only do it to remove any dirt and check for debris.
Drain and Rinse Navy Beans
Why Are My Beans Hard?
- If beans are old, they won’t soften up during a regular cook cycle.
- In fact, they many not soften up at all.
- Make sure to check the date on your package of beans.
- A concern however, is that if the package of beans shows a good date, it is possible they were not package right away and could still be old.
- If making my Instant Pot Baked Beans and your beans are hard and there is excessive liquid, it is most likely due to old beans. Hard beans won’t absorb the liquid properly.
Pull the basket of Navy Beans from the pot of water and rinse Navy Beans again, getting rid of any debris.
Rough Chop the Bacon and Onions
Use a Sharp Knife and rough chop the bacon and onions. The Onions will mostly disintegrate during cooking.
The Bacon will shrink up a lot, so rough chopping will ensure some decent size bits.
Render the Bacon and Sauté the Onions
It is always important to allow your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker cooking pot to fully heat.
This helps make a stainless steel cooking pot, non-stick!
A little Sauté of the Onions in the Bacon Grease will add lots of flavor. Make sure to use a Spatula, so that thing don’t start to stick.
If necessary, add a little water to the cooking pot while rendering the Bacon. The onions should only start to soften.
All ingredients in Pressure Cooker
Add the rest of the ingredients into the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
The secret ingredient takes these babies up a notch!
Excess Liquid in Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Don’t concern yourself with the amount of liquid in the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker cooking pot. A certain amount is needed for the pot to come to pressure and then cook.
- Also, assuming the beans are fresh, they will continue to absorb more liquid after they are cooked. If the beans are old, they won’t soften and won’t absorb the liquid.
- You can always simmer, if you feel the beans are too watery.
Personally, I like my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Baked Beans a bit liquidy (not thin or watery, but with more juice/liquid), as I dip my Homemade Hot Dog Bun into the sauce, before taking a bite!
These Instant Pot Baked Beans will taste like they have been cooking and baking all day in a clay oven.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Holiday Baked Beans
Don’t they look delicious!!!???!! Big ole pot of beans.
Salting After Pressure Cooking
- Salting before cooking can sometimes makes the skin of the beans rather tough.
- This can be a reason beans sometimes take longer to cook.
Perfect to Freeze for Hot Dog Night!
How To Store Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Beans freeze really well, so I always use at least 16 ounces of dry beans.
- They freeze well in Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers. These labels are great, so that I know what’s in the container.
- When you are in the mood for Instant Pot Baked Beans, like on Hot Dog Night, pull a container from the freezer.
They easily reheat in the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
Try my Pressure Cooker New York Dirty Water Hot Dogs recipe, the next time you make Hot Dogs. It’s a super easy 3 ingredient dump and forget method.
Crock of Pressure Cooker Holiday Baked Beans
Instant Pot Baked Beans are not only for holidays such as Fourth of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day. They can be enjoyed every day of the ear.
More Instant Pot Bean Recipes to Make:
- Pressure Cooker Vegetarian Frijoles Refried Beans
- Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans (Frijoles Negros)
- Instant Pot Pork Chops and Baked Beans (Pressure Cooker)
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Southern Style Green Beans
Enjoy!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Cilio Olivewood Spatula
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Electric Pepper Mill
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- Salbree Steamer Basket
- Lock N Lock Storage Container
- Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers
- Freezer Labels
- Real Maple Syrup
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 pound Dried Navy Beans
- 6-8 slices Thick Bacon roughly chopped
- 1 medium Yellow/Brown Onion roughly chopped
- 3 1/4 cups Fresh Water
- 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup (the real stuff)
- 1/3 cup Molasses
- 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)
- 1/3 cup Ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (secret ingredient, shhh)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Dry/Ground Mustard Seed
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Rinse and sort beans, removing any debris.
- Select the Sauté or Browning function on Pressure Cooker and allow to heat.
- Add bacon and onions to the Pressure Cooker cooking pot and cook until bacon begins to render, scraping brown bits from bottom of cooking pot.
- Add 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking until water has evaporated, bacon fat is rendered and onions are semi-soft.
- Add beans, water, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Ketchup, Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard, apple cider vinegar and Pepper to the cooking pot. Stir to combine.
- Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure (most machines default to high pressure) for 60-70 minutes. If you are sure your beans are super fresh, 60 minutes will suffice.
- When beep sounds, wait 10 minutes and then carefully release the rest of the pressure.
- Add the salt. Taste a couple of beans for tenderness and sweetness and add more Molasses, if a sweeter taste is desired. If you prefer a more tender bean, lock the lid back into place and cook for another 10- 15 minutes.
- To thicken up the sauce, select the Sauté or Browning function and simmer until desired consistency. Beans will continue to absorb liquid as they cool.
Notes
Vegetarian Option
- Leave out the bacon and make one of the following adjustment(s):
- Add two tablespoons of finely crushed smoked almonds. Grind them up to a paste and add into the pot of beans. This will give a nice and smoky flavor!
- Pour 2 teaspoons of hickory liquid smoke into the pot, along with the rest of the ingredients.
Excess Liquid in Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Don't concern yourself with the amount of liquid in the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker cooking pot. A certain amount is needed for the pot to come to pressure and then cook.
- Also, assuming the beans are fresh, they will continue to absorb more liquid after they are cooked. If the beans are old, they won't soften and won't absorb the liquid.
- You can always simmer, if you feel the beans are too watery.
Pair the Baked Beans
- They pair well with my Pressure Cooker Carolina BBQ Spare Ribs.
- Santa Maria Style Barbecue Tri-Tip
- Pressure Cooker Bunny Hot Dogs
- Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Don't forget the Pressure Cooker Picnic Potato Salad.
Nutrition
PIN this Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Holiday Baked Beans!
Pressure Cooker Holiday Baked Beans
It looks like the recipe has been updated in the last couple of years, as I have been making your beans for about 3 years and I noticed today that it now calls for apple cider vinegar. I double checked the recipe i printed out 3 years ago and apple cider vinegar was definitely not listed then. Now I am afraid to “mess with perfection” but I will give it a whirl today!
Hi Laura. The acv will just give the beans a little pop. I think you will like them better. Please come back and let me know. Thank you. Jill
I’ve made these several times now and really love this recipe, but of course have come up with a few tweaks. I use Great Northern beans in my IP and cook them for 42 minutes just in water. I love the sauce so much, I only use a cup of beans.
Instead of 1/4 c brown sugar, I use 2 tbs. and I reduced to 1/4 c of molasses. I am very sensitive to sweet and the reduction is perfect for my taste. In addition to everything else, I add a tsp of apple cider vinegar, it really makes all the flavors POP!
Hi Greta. Thank you so much. Your personal touches sound wonderful. I am thrilled you enjoy my recipe. Jill
I used to love home made baked beans but every recipe I’ve tried lately is just way to sweet – some so-much-so that I have had to just throw them out and I hate to waste food! I will try your adjustments and see if it’s any better for me. Thanks.
Great recipe, yummy sauce!
I too had the tough bean situation, but my beans (great northern) definantly were past expiration.
No problem, I just cooked an additional 10 minutes, checked, and added 10 more.
I had no fresh bacon, and instead added a packet of crumbled real bacon sold by the salad dressing section in the store after I sautéed the onions. It worked out just fine.
Thanks, Tracy. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Jill
Well, I made this and was not pleased. It was very watery at first. I retraced my steps and I had cooked it for 60 minutes. It was watery. I pressure cooked it for 10 minutes longer and let it sit And natural release for 1 hr and 20 minutes. It was superb. It thickened nicely and the taste was fabulous. I can’t believe the Big difference that cooking longer and letting it sit made! My new go to! Thank you!
Hi Lori. It is very important to let the beans sit a bit (as mentioned in the recipe) so that they will thicken up. This is why they start out watery, otherwise, you would have a solid mess. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the baked beans. Jill
Loved this recipe. I made a few changes and they turned out perfect! I soaked them overnight. I reduced the water to 2 3/4. We don’t like them very sweet so I just put a splash of maple syrup in. Also added a few drops of liquid smoke. Followed the recipe to a tee…p/c for 65 minutes. They are perfect!! Thank you.
Same for us. I just deleted the other baked bean recipes I had. These are amazing. Followed the recipe exactly except I used some beer that I didn’t finish drinking in the liquid part, and we like picked jalapeños in our baked beans. I will make these often since husband loves beans and toast. Thanks for a GREAT recipe.
Thank you so much, Chantal Marie. Jill
I deleted all my other baked bean recipes too. I also made note of adding beer and jalapeños to my next batch.
If you freeze this recipe, how do you recommend reheating it in the IP?
TY!
The bomb! I make these on the regular. Sometimes a little too sweet so I’m making adjustments every batch.
Thank you, Lizzy. Jill
Can I double the recipe?
Can I substitute pinto or kidney beans for the Navy beans? Really want to do this today for my hubby.
Absolutely you can. Pinto beans will cook in about 25 minutes, so reduce the cook time. Jill
Well…unfortunately my Navy Beans were old. Bought them yesterday but I guess they were sitting on the shelf to long at grocery store. So I quickly made everything again except for the beans. I ran to store before work and put the bacon, onions and all other ingredients in crock pot with rinsed canned navy beans. Everyone still raved about them but I bet they would of been even better with fresh dried Navy Beans.
Hi Ann. It is unfortunate that the beans you had were old and that has happened to me as well. It seems no amount of cooking softens them. I am glad you were able to salvage the recipe. Jill
Dang, followed the list as is and added salt and then cooked. That is what I get for not reading the whole recipe first. We will see how they turn out
Hi Ann. They will turn out fine whether you added salt early or later. Enjoy. Jill
Baked beans are a staple around my house all summer and all year for that matter. I usually grab a can from the store and fix them up. Never again! I made these for my Boss’ birthday party and I’ve been dying to use some of our local Aged Bourbon maple syrup in a recipe! These are Amazing! Never will I ever grab a can these are worth the time! So delish! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Etta. Jill
Oh my gosh, thank you so much. These were the best baked beans I have ever eaten for sure. The texture and the flavor were so yummy and even the picky kid loved them.