These Instant Pot baked beans are easy to make with no soaking. The sauce is made with bourbon and molasses which gives the beans a deep and intense smoky flavor.
3cupsbeanssome combination of black beans, navy beans or kidney beans
6cupswater
1teaspoonsalt
6slicesthick cut bacon
1onionchopped
2clovesgarlicminced
1cupwater
8ouncestomato sauceor ketchup
1/3cupmolasses
1/4cupbourbon
2Tablespoonsbrown sugar
1TablespoonWorcestershire sauce
1teaspoonpaprika
2teaspoonmustard powder
1teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonpepper
Instructions
Rinse the beans and pick out any broken ones.
3 cups beans
Put the beans in the pressure cooker along with the 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
6 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt
Put the lid on, make sure the seal is in place and set the pressure cooker for Manual, high pressure for 25 minutes.
It will take about 10 minutes for the beans to reach pressure. Once they are done let the pressure release naturally, which will take another 20 minutes.
Take the lid off the pressure cooker and drain the beans. Wipe out and dry the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
Put the Instant Pot on Saute. Dice the bacon into pieces about 1 inch long and put the Instant Pot. Cook, tossing the bacon every few minutes to brown it.
6 slices thick cut bacon
After 5 minutes add the diced onion to the pressure cooker. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and cook for another 1 minute before turning off the Instant Pot.
1 onion, 2 cloves garlic
Add the 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot and stir to deglaze. Use a wooden spoon to scrape off any bits of browned bacon and onion from the bottom. This reduces the chance of getting an Instant Pot Burn error.
1 cup water
Mix the tomato sauce, molasses, bourbon, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, mustard powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Return the drained beans to the pressure cooker and pour the sauce mixture over the beans. Stir gently to mix everything together.
Put the lid on, with the seal in place and the valve closed. Set the Instant Pot on Manual, High pressure for 10 minutes.
It will take another 10 minutes to reach pressure again. Once it is done cooking let the pressure naturally release for about 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and serve.
Notes
For an alcohol free dish replace the bourbon with water.
If you want to use canned beans with this recipe just drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Then skip steps 1-5 and start with step #6.
I make and test my recipes in a 6 quart Instant Pot. You might need to make modifications if you are using a different brand or larger model. I think that for a larger pressure cooker you'd need to add more water, but I haven't test this.