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Instant Pot Baked Beans may not be baked, but they are undeniably delicious and insanely easy to make! Using dried beans or canned beans, this recipe yields classic Boston-style baked beans that will quickly become a staple for all your gatherings!
Inspired by my Papa's famous homemade baked bean recipe, the Instant Pot speeds up the process and delivers baked beans that are sweet, tangy, and perfectly delicious.
Instant Pot Baked Beans at a Glance
Baked beans are a summertime staple. But instead of turning to canned baked beans, homemade is the way to go!
And while the Instant Pot makes the process that much easier, I want to highlight a few key points before we jump into the recipe.
- Use dried or canned navy beans. The choice is yours! Dried beans are significantly cheaper, canned beans are a time-saver.
- Dried navy beans should be soaked. While you can pressure cook unsoaked navy beans, soaking them first helps them hold their shape and prevents mushy beans. I even note that in my Instant Pot Dried Beans guide.
- Add bacon or keep it vegetarian. While bacon adds smoky, savory depth, the baked beans are delicious without the addition.
- Don't skip the apple juice. It is an oddball ingredient, but it pairs beautifully with the maple and molasses to create a sweet, caramel-like sauce to the baked beans.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
5-Star Reader Review
I am constantly amazed at the wonderful things I can make in my IP. This recipe was a keeper!! -Jessica ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes on Ingredients
- Navy Beans: Navy beans are the classic choice when it comes to making baked beans. I have included instructions for soaked, unsoaked, and canned beans. Trying to help cover all your bases for you!
- Bacon (Optional): If opting to add bacon, use thick-cut pork bacon. This is not the time to use turkey bacon.
- Onion: Select a yellow onion, which will add savory depth and balance out the sweetness of the beans.
- To Sweeten: A combination of maple syrup and molasses sweeten the beans while adding rich, smoky undertones.I typically add brown sugar as well for really sweet Boston-style baked beans, but you can omit and still have delicious results.
- Apple Juice: Use 100% apple juice. Not apple cider, apple cider vinegar, or flavored apple juice.
- Tomato Sauce: Plain, canned tomato sauce for a tangy base. If desired, ketchup can be used, but your baked beans will be on the sweeter side and you may want to omit the addition of brown sugar.
- Tomato Sauce: The tomato sauce will add a nice depth of flavor and balance out the sweetness.
- To Season: Kosher salt, dry mustard powder, and apple cider vinegar help to balance out the sweet and tangy sauce. If you don't have dry mustard use a squirt of yellow or deli mustard.
How To Make Instant Pot Baked Beans
The process of making baked beans is not hard. But the following steps help walk you through the process to ensure perfect results--the next best thing to me standing in the kitchen with you. 😊
- Soak Navy Beans. Rinse and sort your dried beans (you would be surprised at how dirty they sometimes are!). Place the rinsed beans into a large bowl, cover with water, cover the dish, and let soak overnight at room temperature.
Do you really have to soak the beans?
No, and I have provided cook times for unsoaked navy beans. However, as stated above, navy beans will have the best texture if they are soaked before pressure cooked.
- Pressure Cook Beans. Drain the soaked beans, place them into the inner pot along with a fresh 6 cups of water and pressure cook according to the directions. Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally, then drain off the cooked beans.
using Canned Beans?
If you want to speed up the process of making baked beans in your Instant Pot even more, skip steps 1-2 and replace the dried navy beans with 4 cups of canned navy beans that have been rinsed and drained. (Measure AFTER draining, you will need about three 15-ounce cans of navy beans.)
- Sauté Bacon & Onions (Optional). Turn the Instant Pot to sauté, add the diced bacon and minced onion and let cook until the bacon has rendered out it's fat and the onion is beginning to soften.
For Vegetarian Baked Beans
Omit the bacon and simply fold the raw minced onion into the mixture before pressure cooking. No need to sauté first.
- Deglaze The Inner Pot. If you sautéed the bacon, you MUST deglaze the inner pot to prevent a burn notice from happening. To do this, add in the some of the apple juice and scrape up browned bits on the bottom of the Instant Pot using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Combine. Add the rest of the apple juice, salt, vinegar, and dry mustard and stir to combine. Gently fold in the beans and top with tomato sauce, molasses, maple syrup, and brown sugar (if using).
Important tip from Kristen
When I originally published this recipe back in 2018, I recommend stirring the tomato sauce into the bean mixture. Since newer models are much more prone to burn notices, I now recommend NOT stirring the tomato sauce or sweeteners into the beans before pressure cooking.
- Pressure Cook. Pressure cook with a full natural pressure release, to keep your beans intact and the sauce finish developing flavor.
- Thicken Sauce (optional). If you would like your baked beans to have a super thick sauce, simmer the beans using the sauté button until thickened, stirring often.
- Serve. Along with his famous baked bean recipe, my Papa taught me that the best way to eat baked beans is to ditch the silverware and use plain potato chips to scoop the beans. If you haven't tried it--I am urging you to give it a try! The sweet and salty combo is insanely delicious.
Entrees To Pair With Baked Beans
Instant Pot Baked Beans make a fabulous side dish to endless dishes and a must-make for summer cookout menu, along with sour cream cucumber salad, burgers, and Texas sheet cake. Below are a few of my favorite entrees that pair beautifully with a side of baked beans.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Instant Pot Baked Beans
Ingredients
For the Beans
- 1 pound dried navy beans
- 6 cups cold water, + more for soaking beans
For the Baked Beans
- 4 ounces bacon, chopped, optional
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 cup apple juice
- ¼ cup water, *if using an 8-quart Instant Pot
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup brown sugar, optional
Instructions
To Cooked Dried Beans
- Soak Beans (Optional But STRONGLY Encouraged). Place 1 pound dried navy beans in large glass bowl, cover with water, cover bowl and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. After soaking, drain off the soaking liquid.
- Pressure Cook Beans. Place soaked or unsoaked navy beans into the inner pot along with 6 cups cold water Close lid and seal the lid, and set to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes for soaked beans, 20 minutes for unsoaked beans.
- Drain Beans. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, then do a release of any remaining pressure. Remove beans from Instant Pot and drain off any excess liquid in a colander. Set the beans to the side and dry out the inner pot and return to the instant pot base.
For Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Saute Bacon. Turn Instant Pot to sauté, add diced bacon and minced onion and let cook for 3-5 minutes, or until bacon begins to brown and the onion begins to soften. Turn the Instant Pot OFF by hitting cancel on the pressure cooker. (Skip this step for vegetarian baked beans.)
- Deglaze Inner Pot. Add 1 cup apple juice to the inner pot and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot. If using an 8-quart Instant Pot, add ¼ cup water.
- Layer. Add in 1 teaspoon dried mustard, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegarIf you didn't sauté onion, add the minced onion to this mixture as well. Stir in cooked beans. Top with ½ cup tomato sauce, ¼ cup molasses, ⅓ cup maple syrup, and ¼ cup brown sugar (if desired). Do not stir.
- Pressure Cook. Place lid on the pressure cooker and be sure the vent knob is sealed. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes.
- Thicken (Optional) : If you would like your baked beans to have a thicker sauce, simmer using the sauté function for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published in 2018 and updated in 2025.
Absolutely the best!!!! I have tried many recipes over the years but never found one I didn't want to change..so moved on. These are perfect texture, taste, and great instructions (although I use a stove top pressure cooker). Didn't change a thing but the apple juice had me wondering. These are going to an end of the year sugaring pot luck (maple syrup) party. I am hoping I can come home with some for us, if not another batch right away. These will be great to have on had with summer coming.
Hi Dee! I am thrilled you love these baked beans so much! They will be a perfect dish to celebrate maple syrup as well 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I soaked the beans and then pressure-cooked them. At that point, they were almost mush. Was I really supposed to pressure-cook them again?
Hi Gene. Yes, the instructions for cooking once alone and once with the sauce when using navy beans. This process helps prevent mushy beans. Did you happen to do a quick release of pressure? That can cause the texture of the beans to be mushy?
This was delicious! I followed exactly as written. I wasn't sure about adding apple juice, but it worked! Thank you for a very easy and fail-proof recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Judy!
I made these several months ago and our guests LOVED them as my family did as well. They texted us for the recipe on their drive home! I plan to make them this weekend for a family reunion; can I make ahead and freeze them? Or the other question is , if I don’t freeze them how long will they be good for in fridge?
Hi Joanne! I absolutely LOVE hearing you and your guests loved the baked beans. They will last for 5 days in the refrigerator, but also can be frozen. Prepare as directed, allow them to cool fully, then transfer the beans to a freezer-safe airtight container or freezer-safe bag, leaving 1-2 inches of extra space for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, allow the beans to thaw fully in the refrigerator and then reheat the beans in a baking dish, covered with foil (or fitted with an oven-safe lid) at 300 degrees F for 45 minutes to warm through. Alternatively, you can microwave them in a heat-safe dish fitted with a heat-safe lid for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute.
Delicious! Made as instructed. This will be my go-to baked bean recipe going forward.
Thanks for sharing, David!