How to Cook Pinto Beans in a Pressure Cooker 
I don't care too much for the traditional method of cooking beans. It takes too much planning with the overnight soaking and tending to the cooking pot for 2 hours. I've used a pressure cooker for so long now, it's second nature to me.
My first pressure cooker was a hand-me-down from Memaw. That was a great pot. The only reason I don't have it now is that the manufacturer stopped making the replacement parts. Some years ago, Charlie gave me a 6 quart Presto for Christmas. (Yes, I love appliances for Christmas.) It's been my kitchen buddy ever since.
Do you have a pressure cooker? Go over to the SDR Kitchen Store and get yourself one. They're great to have around. With a pressure cooker, there's no need for soaking the beans over night, or boiling for two minutes then waiting for the beans to stand for one hour. I KNOW! See? You need a pressure cooker!
HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
- 2 1/2 cup dried pinto beans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups water
All beans need to be rinsed and checked for foreign objects.
Follow your pressure cooker's user manual for specific cooking directions.
Put all the ingredients in the pressure cooker. For my Presto 6 quart pressure cooker, I close the cover securely. Place pressure regulator on the vent pipe. I use a high heat setting to heat up the pressure cooker until the pressure regulator starts chattering, then I immediately lower the heat to medium low.
Cooking time begins when the pressure regulator begins to rock. Reduce the heat to medium low or low, maintaining a slow, steady rocking motion and cook 50 minutes. If the pressure regulator is allowed to rock vigorously, excess steam will escape. Therefore, too much liquid will evaporate and food may scorch. Never leave a pressure cooker unattended at high heat settings. It could boil dry, overheat, and cause damage to the pressure cooker and stove top.
When cooking time is complete, turn off the burner. If using electric stove, CAREFULLY remove cooker away from burner. Let the pressure drop of its own accord, i.e. allow to cool until pressure is COMPLETELY REDUCED and the lid lock drops. It is now safe to remove the pressure regulator and the cover. If the cover turns hard, there still may be some pressure in the unit. Do not force the cover off. You can place the pressure cooker in the sink and run cold tap water over the lid until steam no longer is escaping from the vent pipe, the air vent/cover lock has dropped, and the cover turns easily.
The beans are ready to serve.
Safety is important and it's good to know how to properly handle a pressure cooker. They really are great to have in the kitchen. Yes, you have to learn how to use them properly, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of using one. After that, you won't want to cook beans the long slow again.
I just might know what to ask for Christmas this year…can’t wait to see hubby roll his eyes over the thought of having to figure out which pressure cooker is the best!!
Oh Topsy, I really like my Presto 6.5 quart.
Presto makes an 8 qt. but 6.5 will easily cook 4 cups of dry beans. That’s quite a lot beans to store up in the freezer for later.
Now, I don’t know if my cooker is made of aluminum or stainless steel, but it is heavy in weight and made to last. Don’t skimp on quality here, because this is an appliance that you won’t need to replace for a long, long time.
If I may suggest looking through SimpleDailyRecipes’ Kitchen Store to find one for less than the department stores.
FIND REAL DEALS ON KITCHEN GOODIES HERE.
I have a pressure cooker but I don’t use it to its full range of possibilities. I never thought of doing beans in there! Great idea. The French use pressure cookers for lots of things, but I’m just getting used to it…
I hear ya, Hopie.
In the past, I routinely cooked whole roasts in the pressure cooker and have them cooked in a hour. The roast comes out very juicy and fall apart tender, like it’s been cooking all day.
The owner’s manual gives out lots of recipes I wouldn’t ever consider; rice, fresh vegetables, desserts, etc.
I’ve learned to treat my pressure cooker the way I treat my cast iron skillets. Pressure cookers become seasoned over time. For instance, since I routinely cook beans, mine has the aroma of beans in it. And yes, I thoroughly wash it, by hand. Don’t put it in the dishwasher.
I wouldn’t think to make a dessert in it, unless I had a small cooker designated for them.
I agree with you. It does take time to feel comfortable or familiar with a pressure cooker. It’s like getting to know a friend. You’ll learn how to listen for a good chatter. You’ll learn what happens when you use too much water and not enough. Then in between, you’ll have some really delicious meals that would have normally taken all day to cook, in very little time.
I’ve learned to use the extra bean broth after cooking pintos, red kidney or chick peas for flavoring soups. It a great substitute for chicken broth.
It’s really delicious and so budget friendly.
If you cook the extra bean broth down, it will get thick and is delicious served with the beans with cornbread, spinach and fish.
We used to eat potatoes with them, but changed to spinach as we gained weight.
Thank you Jo!
Would you have time to write your bean recipe with the added spinach here in the comments? I’d like to try it.
Hey!
That was a fantastic recipe. Easy, fast and even a person with ADD like myself could do it. I do have a question about the unsavory digestive side-effects of beans. I know that if you soak them for 24 hours and then pour off the water and start with fresh, most of the oligosaccharides (gas-creating sugars) are gone with the first water change. Since I cooked and ate it everything, do these gas-creating sugars break down in the high-pressure cooking stage or am I in for a rude awakening tomorrow?
Honestly NRS3, I have no idea if the gas-creating sugars break down in high-pressure cooking. The directions in my pressure cooker manual say that it’s not necessary to presoak the beans before cooking. So I don’t.
And to be really honest, I have a gassy family to begin with, but I’ve never noticed that we have more gas after eating beans cooked in the pressure cooker without the presoaking step.
Beans are more digestible when soaked first. This removes the enzyme inhibitors, thus allowing the enzymes to start working. These enzymes help break down some of the starches etc. ALSO, some beans are poisonous if eaten raw or undercooked due to the Phytohemagglutinin content (kidney). This is reduced by soaking the beans and then boiling them for at least 10 minutes (no problem using a pressure cooker
but I would say it is BAD practice to NOT soak your beans! Even lentils are best if soaked for a couple hours, then drained and rinsed (to remove enzyme inhibitors). Learn some basic science.
Thank you Eric, for prompting me to ‘learn some basic science.’ My years at college with all the Biology, Microbiology and Chemistry were a little dusty.
I had to look up the everyday, basic science word, Phytohemagglutinin. I understood it to be a sugar-binding protein that is valuable for cell mitosis (cell division by way of duplicating chromosomes then dividing) and helps red blood cells to bind together, which is a good thing when it comes to fighting an antibody.
And yes, while it is considered a toxin in undercooked beans, it is easily cooked out with 10 minutes of boiling. I could not find that presoaking was a preventive measure. This news still gives me no cause for alarm, because I have NEVER cooked a bean that was ready in less than 10 minutes. So I take your, “learn some basic science” and I raise you, “use your common sense.”
Hey Eric,
Why not bond your attitude to those enzyme inhibitors and blow it out?
LOL!!! Thank you, Old Gringo!
Hi Jill,
thanks for the idea of pressure cooking pinto’s, I live on the south coast of England and in the autumn (fall) and winter we suffer from rapid changes in the weather, where a “light meal with salad day” can all too quickly become a “hearty hot stew day”! I restrict a lot of my (unplanned) cooking to the pulses that need no soaking. I have had a Prestige hi dome pressure cooker for more than 30 years now and even though the manufacturer went bust (we think because the cookers were too good they last too long!) the spare seals and safety valves are still available.
As a disabled parent on a very low fixed income I learnt a long time ago how to make good use of my pressure cooker, freezer and microwave I don’t know how people survive without them! My son, 19, who is very keen on the “outdoor life” even has his Gran’s old Prestige pressure cooker(over 35 years old, the cooker not his Gran) to take camping with him! His camp fire can be smelt from miles around as he conjour’s up a feast in one pot all at high speed and pressure!
As to soaking, I learnt NOT to soak lentils as the will end up all mushy, but hey who am I to comment? It’s well known that the english can’t cook, that’s why Gordon Ramsay spends so much time in the USA! LOL