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Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans

January 24, 2013

Pressure cookers are one of those appliances you either have and use all the time or really have no clue about. I, for one, used to be in the later category. I had been given one a long time ago and although I always heard about how indispensable a pressure cooker can be -- especially for cooking foods like meats and beans quickly with tender, succulent results -- I always came up with endless excuses to avoid figuring out how to use mine. I found my pressure cooker so totally intimidating in fact, that it sat untouched in my closet for years before being gifted to a friend.

What finally convinced me to change my stubborn ways were beans. For whatever reason, anytime I tasted super creamy beans and inquired as to how they had been prepared, the answer was always: in a pressure cooker. So when an appliance company sent me a new pressure cooker to test out two years ago, I was determined to make the most of it. I started, of course, with beans.

Chloe is an obsessive bean eater, but with the requisite eight-plus hours of soaking and simmering to make most beans fresh, cooking them used to be a real challenge for me. The pressure cooker did away with all that. My friend Nilva grew up using a pressure cooker daily, and she gave me a crash course in how to use one. Much to my surprise, it couldn't have been easier. I just dumped in all of my ingredients, locked the lid, and 40 minutes later, with a whistle as loud as a freight train and a beautiful geyser of steam billowing from the spout, my beans were done and tasted as superior as the best ones I had ever had.

Improvising off of a black bean recipe my husband started using to make black beans in the pressure cooker for the kids, came up with this simple pinto bean recipe. You can almost always find it in abundance in our refrigerator. It has become one of my daughter's comfort foods and the pressure cooker I once feared has become a treasured kitchen tool of mine for effortless, quick meals.

Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes,
  • Total Time: 45 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dry pinto beans
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 bunch cilantro stems, tied together with butcher's twine
  • 7 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Preparation

  1. 1. Combine all the ingredients in a pressure cooker and, following the manufacturer’s directions, cover and lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
  2. 2. Allow the steam to release completely (again, following manufacturer’s directions) before opening the pressure cooker lid.

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Comments






  1. Susan

    February 7, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    I made these (though I forgot to add the onions!) and they were delicious. Pressure cooker beans are so creamy and yummy. I doubled the recipe and froze leftovers in 2-cup portions so that I can pull them out to use as I would a can of beans. Just last night I made them into refried beans for quesadillas!

  2. Heather hill

    February 5, 2013 at 9:22 am

    I used my great grandmother’s Presto pressure cooker to make these beans. They were fantastic. Thank you for the recipe. Maybe I’ll find more ways to use this old pot.

  3. Kate

    January 30, 2013 at 8:39 am

    I have always been terrified of the pressure cooker, but I just might give this a try. 40 minute beans can’t really be topped.

  4. Amy

    January 24, 2013 at 5:10 pm

    Would this work with black eyed peas?

  5. Terri Anton

    January 24, 2013 at 12:20 pm

    They work great for quick artichokes too. Try that in the spring!

  6. Kelly

    January 24, 2013 at 12:01 pm

    I love my pressure cooker! I use it all the time. Don’t know why everyone doesn’t use one, with everyone short on time, but wanting to eat health. Thanks for the bean recipe!

    Love your book & site!

  7. Aprille

    January 24, 2013 at 11:36 am

    No pre soaking required with a pressure cooker? Are the beans gassy?

    • Raachel

      January 24, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      I’m wondering the same thing Aprille.

  8. Cool

    January 24, 2013 at 11:31 am

    I am looking for a pressure cooker to buy. I feel a little overwhelmed. What do recommend?

  9. Lara

    January 24, 2013 at 11:23 am

    This is great! I just got a pressure cooker and I am so excited to try this recipe. Keep bringing on the pressure cooker recipes please!!!