• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Simply Happy Foodie
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosures / Disclaimers / Copyright
    • Contact Me
    • Meet Gizmo, Our Foodie Pug
  • Cook's Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • My Cookbook
  • About
  • Cook’s Shop
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recent Posts
  • Recipes
  • My Cookbook
  • About
  • Cook’s Shop
×
Home » Blog Recipe Posts » Side Dishes » Vegetable Sides

Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans

December 6, 2017 by Sandy 26 Comments

Jump to Recipe

You don't need to have a picnic to enjoy these rich, delicious Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans! Pressure cooker baked beans cook faster than on the stove, and taste so good!

Smoky Sweet Baked Beans in a white bowl on wooden board

 

Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans

Back in 1987 my family started having an annual 4th of July picnic at a beautiful park on the Puget Sound. Grandpa always brought the watermelon, my mom made her famous fried chicken, and I was asked to make my baked beans. The family loved them! So, they asked me to make them for Thanksgiving. Really? Okay! And so it went.

I kept tinkering with my recipe until I got it how I wanted it. I was now expected to bring them to every family gathering, even Christmas!

Making those beans takes a lot of time, so I would get up early to make sure I had enough time to cook them for the 2-3 hours they needed to become tender and delicious! The old stove top pressure cooker we had was too small, so I baked them in a turkey roaster in the oven.

Our family isn't as large as it was back then, so I don't need to make the same amount of baked beans these days. I decided to adapt my recipe to make Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans, and was very happy with the results. Beans are wonderful made in the pressure cooker!

Smoky Sweet Baked Beans in a white bowl with red stripe on wooden board

I prefer to soak the navy beans for this recipe overnight. You can make it from Quick Soaked navy beans, though the prep time will be longer. (cook times will vary based on the age of your beans, and the type of bean you use).

blue banner with the words you might also like
Instant Pot Chili
Instant Pot Drunken Beans (Frijoles Borrachos)
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup

4.78 from 9 votes
Smoky Sweet Baked Beans in a white bowl on wooden board
Print
Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 

Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans are rich and delicious. Made from soaked or dry beans in your electric pressure cooker.

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pressure cooker baked bean recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 399 kcal
Author: Sandy Clifton
Ingredients
  • 1 lb Navy Beans, soaked overnight, or Quick Soaked*
  • 7 cups Water, for soaking the beans
  • 6 slices Thick Cut Bacon, chopped in 1" pieces
  • 1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
  • ½ tsp Kosher Salt (or ¼ tsp table salt)
  • ¼ tsp Pepper
  • 2 cups Water
  • ¼ cup Pure Maple Syrup
  • ¼ cup Ketchup
  • ½ cup Molasses
  • ½ cup Smoky Flavored BBQ Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Prepared Yellow Mustard
  • 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar (or any vinegar you like)
  • 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
  • ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
Instructions
  1. Soak beans in a bowl with 7 cups of water overnight. Then drain and rinse them. Set aside (You can also make this recipe from Quick Soaked beans. See Note. Sort, rinse, & set aside).

  2. Turn the pot on to the Sauté function. Add the bacon. Cook until mostly done.

  3. Add onions to the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts turning translucent.

  4. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant, stirring frequently.

  5. Add salt, pepper, water, syrup, ketchup, molasses, BBQ sauce, mustard, vinegar, liquid smoke, and stir well. Bring to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the pot to get up any browned bits (deglaze).

  6. Add beans and brown sugar. Stir, and place the lid on the pot and lock in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

  7. Cancel the Sauté function.

  8. Set to Pressure Cook (Manual) and use the + or - button (or dial) to select 40 minutes.

  9. Let the pot naturally release the pressure for 15 minutes after cooking cycle ends. Then manually release the remaining pressure.

  10. When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and give the beans a stir. Sample a few of the beans to check for tenderness. If they are too firm, place the lid back on and set the time for them to cook another 10 minutes, and a 15 minute natural release.

  11. When they are done cooking, if they are too soupy for your taste, turn on the Sauté function and stir them frequently as they cook down. Then turn off the pot. They thicken a little more as they cool.

  12. You can set the pot to the Keep Warm setting if you aren't serving them right away. Put a lid on them (don't set to Sealing if using the IP lid).

Recipe Notes

*Quick Soak Method if you didn't soak your beans overnight: Pressure cook the beans in 4 cups of water, on High Pressure, for 2 minutes. Then turn the pressure cooker off and let the beans naturally release for 30 minutes. Continue with the recipe as directed.

pink button with the words follow my Simply Happy Foodie pinterest board

RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe and more

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Instant Pot Smoky Sweet Baked Beans are rich and delicious. Made from soaked navy beans in your electric pressure cooker. simplyhappyfoodie.com #instantpotbakedbeans #instantpotbeans #instantpotbakedbeansrecipe #pressurecookerbakedbeans

More Vegetable Sides

  • cooked Green Beans in a cast iron skillet
    Easy Sautéed Green Beans
  • Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob on a baking sheet.
    Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob
  • Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Carrots in a white bowl with fork.
    Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Carrots
  • Air Fryer Asparagus spears on a white plate
    Easy Air Fryer Asparagus Recipe

Sharing is caring!

2346 shares
  • Tweet
  • Share

My Instant Pot Cookbook is Here!

Instant Pot Cookbook Cover

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Tanya

    April 10, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    Just made these with diced ham and a ham bone instead of bacon and they're fantastic!

    Reply
  2. Michelle

    May 22, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Do you think I can leave out the bacon to make them vegan?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      June 03, 2020 at 5:03 pm

      Yes. Maybe add a little liquid smoke or smoked paprika if you want that smoky flavor.

      Reply
  3. Alana sult

    May 08, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    Do you think I can triple in an 8qt?? Thanks

    Reply
    • Sandy

      May 10, 2020 at 3:44 pm

      I'm not sure about tripling... Maybe double, but don't double the water.

      Reply
  4. Lara

    June 03, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Made this as a side dish for bbq brisket—sooo delicious and easy! Thank you. I even left out the bbq sauce (because I didn’t have any and didn’t want the extra step of making from scratch). Just cooked down the beans with the ‘saute’ setting until the sauce was right.

    Reply
    • Sandy

      June 03, 2019 at 11:56 pm

      That's great, Lara! Thank you.

      Reply
  5. Kathleen Kerr

    February 03, 2019 at 9:52 am

    I am on my 4th extra 10 minutes trying to get the beans soft. Argh. Not sure what to do!

    Reply
    • Sandy

      February 03, 2019 at 10:11 am

      Oh no! Are the beans old? Did you soak or do the "Quick Soak" first? Using. High pressure? Letting them naturally release?

      Reply
  6. Karen

    July 23, 2018 at 10:48 am

    I just got my first Instant Pot last week and this was the first recipe I tried. They came out amazing and were just delicious! I brought them to a party and they were a big hit and got lots of compliments! Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
    • Sandy

      July 23, 2018 at 1:25 pm

      Hi Karen! Yay! What a fun first IP recipe to make! I'm honored! Thank you for the great review, and here's to many more successful IP meals!

      Reply
  7. John R

    July 17, 2018 at 11:03 am

    The best of taste. I need to double. So: 2 lbs, beans, 14 cups water. Overnight. Then what's wrong with about 60 minutes of IP time at high pressure (rather than precook?) and then 15 min cool-down. Also, I cut sugar and syrup in half, but use full molasses and double Black Pepper. Just wonderful result; not too sweet.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi there! I’m Sandy - foodie with a passion for cooking and sharing my tasty recipes. My hubby Paul, our Pug Gizmo, and I live in Washington.

Sandy wearing a black shirt and a red apron

More about me →

Reader Favorite Recipes

  • Easy Slow Cooker Meatloaf on a white plate garnished with parsley
    Easy Slow Cooker Meatloaf
  • Air Fryer Rib Eye Steak
    Air Fryer Rib Eye Steak
  • Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
    Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
  • Short Ribs over mashed potatoes on a black plate next to a bunch of fresh parsley
    Instant Pot Short Ribs

More favorites

Footer

↑ back to top

Copyrighted Content
This website and its contents are the copyright of Simply Happy Foodie LLC – © 2016-2025.  All rights reserved.

Disclaimers

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

About

  • About
  • Contact
  • Meet Gizmo, Our Foodie Pug

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT