Instant Pot Baked Beans

Baked Beans

Heinz baked beans might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about baked beans! Side note: my parents call them “ketchup beans”.

They’re British-style baked beans, which aren’t the same as American-style Baked Beans.

British Baked Beans

British-style baked beans is usually made in a tomato-based sauce without meat.

Compared to American-style baked beans, the sauce is thinner, doesn’t have smoky flavors, and tastes less sweet.

Many people enjoy it for breakfast, whether in a full English breakfast or beans on toast.

American Baked Beans

American-style baked beans are sometimes known as Boston baked beans. It’s usually made with pork (bacon) and molasses.

It tastes richly sweet, savory, and hickory-smoky-barbeque-y. The glaze-like sauce bursts with a complex depth of flavors and aroma.

Compared to British-style Baked Beans, the sauce is much sweeter, thicker, richer, and smoky (barbeque-y).

Many people enjoy it as a side dish at BBQs, outdoor cookouts, and parties.

Instant Pot Baked Beans

We crafted this Baked Beans Instant Pot Recipe with the traditional American-style Baked Beans in mind. Let us know in the comments if you’re looking for British-style baked beans!

Why Baked Beans in Instant Pot? 

• Don’t need to turn on the oven – especially great during the hot summer
• Set it and forget it – don’t need to check on the beans to make sure they’re not dried out
• Save time & electricity – it usually takes few hours to make baked beans in the oven
• Easy to yield consistently tender, creamy, and flavorful baked beans

Instant Pot Navy Beans Experiment

From our experiments cooking baked beans in Instant Pot, we found that molasses slow down the bean cooking. And the acidic ingredients (such as vinegar, dijon mustard, tomato sauce, and ketchup) slow it down even more. So it’s best to add in the acidic ingredients after pressure cooking.

How to Make Instant Pot Baked Beans

Ingredients for making baked beans in Instant Pot:

What Beans to Use for Baked Beans? We used dried Navy Beans to make this Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe. Based on our experiments, soaking the dry beans overnight yields the best results.

Blackstrap Molasses: this is a key flavoring in this baked beans, so choose a high quality brand with a flavor profile and aroma that you like.

Maple Syrup: it’s common to use brown sugar to make traditional baked beans. But, we chose to use Maple Syrup instead for more complex flavors and aroma.

Regular Soy Sauce: soy sauce is not a traditional ingredient in baked beans. But, it’s one of our secret ingredients for a kick of some umami flavors and aroma. This will enhance the baked beans’ flavor profile. Try it!

Tools for Instant Pot Baked Beans

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (6qt)
• Large container
• Mesh strainer
• 1L (4 cups) Glass measuring cup

Soak Navy Beans

Option 1 – Overnight Soaking Method:

1. Place 1 lb (454g) dried navy beans and 1½ tbsp (25g) fine table salt in a large container.
2. Pour 6 cups (1.5L) cold water in the large container, then give it a few stir.
3. Soak the beans overnight for at least 8 to 16 hours.

Option 2 – Quick Soaking Method:

If you’re short on time or forgot to soak the beans overnight, you can use this quick soaking method. But, the result won’t be as good as the option 1 overnight soaking method.

1. Place 1 lb (454g) dried navy beans, 1½ tbsp (25g) fine table salt, and 6 cups (1.5L) cold water in Instant Pot.
2. Close lid, then Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 0 minute, then Natural Release for 30 minutes.

Drain Beans

Discard the soaking water, then drain the navy beans through a mesh strainer.

Rinse the beans with cold tap water. Drain well.

*Note: The soaked beans should almost double in weight.

Render Bacon in Instant Pot

Place chopped bacon in Instant Pot, then press Sauté button.

Stir occasionally and allow the bacon bits to crisp (~3 minutes).

Add in diced onion, freshly ground black pepper, then sauté for a minute.

Add in chopped garlic cloves, then sauté until fragrant (~30 seconds).

Make Molasses Mixture

While the bacon is rendering in Instant Pot, combine ¼ cup (80g) blackstrap molasses, ¼ cup (60g) maple syrup, 1 tbsp (15ml) regular soy sauce, and 1¾ cup (438) cold water in a 1L (4 cups) glass measuring cup. Mix well.

Deglaze

Pour ½ cup (125ml) of the molasses mixture in the Instant Pot.

Deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pan and mix them into the mixture.

Pressure Cook Navy Beans

Add ¼ tsp fine table salt, 2 bay leaves, soaked navy beans (889g) and the remaining molasses mixture in Instant Pot. Mix well and make sure all the beans are submerged in the molasses mixture.

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 20 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, turn the Venting Knob to Venting position to release the remaining pressure. Open the lid carefully.

Season, Thicken, Serve Instant Pot Baked Beans

Add 2 tsp (12g) dijon mustard, and 1 tsp (5ml) apple cider vinegar in the baked beans in Instant Pot. Mix well.

Press Sauté button, then stir to thicken the baked beans to your desired consistency.

Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more blackstrap molasses, salt, or vinegar if necessary. For reference, we added another tablespoon of blackstrap molasses.

Serve these deliciously sweet ‘n smokey baked beans as a side dish at your BBQs, picnics, potlucks, or dinners.

What to Serve with Baked Beans

These sweet-savory baked beans are a crowd-pleasing side dish for bbq, potlucks, picnics, or parties. You can serve them with fresh cornbread, potato salad, crusty artisan bread, homemade biscuits, or mac and cheese.

Here are some tasty main dishes you can serve with your Instant Pot Baked Beans:

Pork

• Instant Pot Ribs
• Instant Pot Pulled Pork
• Instant Pot Pork Loin
• Instant Pot Pork Shoulder
• Instant Pot Pork Chops
• Instant Pot Ham

Chicken

• Instant Pot Whole Chicken
• Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
• Instant Pot Chicken Salad
• Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie

Beef

• Instant Pot Roast Beef
• Instant Pot French Dip
• Instant Pot Short Ribs
• Instant Pot Brisket

Enjoy Flavor-Bursting Instant Pot Baked Beans~

Other Instant Pot Beans Recipes

• Instant Pot Chili
• Instant Pot Black Beans
• Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• Instant Pot Pinto Beans
• Instant Pot Split Pea Soup