Homemade Baked Beans in the Instant Pot From Scratch

There is no better side when it comes to southern food than Baked Beans. I am absolutely obsessed with this Baked Pinto Beans in the Instant Pot from Scratch. I love the combination of the tangy sweet barbecue sauce and the fibrous beans. It Is so flavorful and making them from scratch in the instant pot has never been easier!

You can substitute the brown sugar with maple syrup, it is just as effective. To me, baked beans are such a southern staple and are best enjoyed with Citrus BBQ Ribs, Cornbread, Mac and Cheese, and Crispy Chicken Wings. I absolutely love this dish and I know that you will love making these baked beans as a side.

Dried Pinto Beans: Navy beans are traditionally used but I LOVE using Pinto beans. You can use either or!

Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is essential to add the sweetness to the dish. You can substitute with maple syrup or honey. To go keto, you can use equal parts erythritol.

Tomato Sauce: This is the base flavor. You can skip both brown sugar and tomato sauce and use a premade barbecue sauce, but what is the fun in that?

Onion: It is essential to use onion because it balances the sweetness.

Bacon: this is optional but obviously, you can’t go wrong with bacon!

Add beans, water and salt to your pressure cooker and pressure cook on high for 25 minutes. Allow to naturally release. Take the beans and strain into a colander. Hit sauté function for 10 minutes and add oil and onions. Using a wooden spoon, cook onions until soft about 5 minutes. Scrape bottom with wooden spoon if there are any brown bits stuck to prevent “burn” signal. Turn the pressure cooker off and add the tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey mustard, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, onion powder, cayenne, pepper and salt. Add the strained beans back into the pot, as well as the cooked bacon, and stir. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 15 more minutes. Let it naturally release.