Do you love ham and beans, but don’t have all day to cook them? Then you are going to love this Instant Pot Ham and Beans recipe! Simple and flavorful! No soaking required!
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How to Make Ham and Beans in an Electric Pressure Cooker
Aunt Lou here.
Okay folks…I have become a believer in my Instant Pot. I would have never have thought that you could get the incredible flavor of low and slow cooking Crock Pot Ham and Beans could be achieved in such little time, but I would have been wrong. The best part about this is that you don’t even have to plan ahead. This recipe doesn’t require any soaking! Woot woot! That’s a win in my book!
Ingredients Needed for Instant Pot Ham and Beans
- 32 oz dried Northern or Pinto beans, rinsed and sorted
- 2 cups leftover ham and meaty ham bone or 3 ham hocks
- 4 tablespoons dried minced onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- water
Instant Pot Ham and Beans Notes
- If all your beans are not as tender as you like when the cooking time is over and your liquid is all soaked up or you would just like to have more liquid in with your beans, add in more liquid and stir, seal and cook under high pressure for an additional 8 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes and then quick release.
- This recipe makes a ton, but the leftovers are so good, you’ll want a ton! However, if you want less, you can cut the recipe in half and lessen your cooking time.
- I used a 6 quart Instant Pot to make this recipe. Using an electric pressure cooker is a great convenience in the kitchen, but ALWAYS follow your manufacturer’s recommendations for safety.
- If using a smaller pot, you may need to reduce the recipe to avoid overflow. If using a larger pot, you may need to add additional liquid.
- Also, DO NOT EVER cover the vent of your electric pressure cooker.
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Finally, all electric pressure cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own electric pressure cooker and time adjusted as needed.
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Instant Pot Ham and Beans Recipe
Instant Pot Ham and Beans
Do you love ham and beans, but don’t have all day to cook them? Then you are going to love this Instant Pot Ham and Beans recipe! Simple and flavorful! No soaking required!
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Servings: 8 people
Calories: 487kcal
Ingredients
- 32 oz dried Northern or Pinto beans rinsed and sorted
- 2 cups leftover ham and meaty ham bone or 3 ham hocks
- 4 tablespoons dried minced onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- water
Instructions
- Place your ingredients in your Instant Pot and pour in enough water to cover your beans by about 2 inches
- Cook at high pressure on manual for 60 minutes. Do not allow warming cycle to kick on.
- Then use natural release for 15 minutes and switch to quick release.
Video
Notes
- If all your beans are not as tender as you like when the cooking time is over and your liquid is all soaked up or you would just like to have more liquid in with your beans, add in more liquid and stir, seal and cook under high pressure for an additional 8 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes and then quick release.
- This recipe makes a ton, but the leftovers are so good, you’ll want a ton! However, if you want less, you can cut the recipe in half and lessen your cooking time.
- I used a 6 quart Instant Pot to make this recipe. Using an electric pressure cooker is a great convenience in the kitchen, but ALWAYS follow your manufacturer’s recommendations for safety.
- If using a smaller pot, you may need to reduce the recipe to avoid overflow. If using a larger pot, you may need to add additional liquid.
- Also, DO NOT EVER cover the vent of your electric pressure cooker.
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Finally, all electric pressure cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own electric pressure cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 430mg | Potassium: 1720mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 6mg | Net Carbs: 55g
Tried this recipe?Mention @RecipesthatCrock or tag #RecipesthatCrock!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy:
- Electric Pressure Cooker Ham and Cabbage
- Old Fashioned Crock Pot Lima Beans and Ham
- Crock Pot Black Eyed Peas and Ham
I'm wife to Michael (not Mikey 😉 ) and mom to Mr. Ryder and Miss Iyla. I'm just walking through this life step by step focusing on enjoying the little things in life. I am in awe of the many blessings big and small I receive daily from a pretty amazing God who calls me His own. Sometimes life is crazy and messy, but I am loving every minute of it.
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Perfect and so easy!
Perfect for the New Year’s day tradition!
Just got an insta pot and tried ham and beans recipe. It turned out perfect. Would recommend to anyone.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I hope you find many more Instant Pot recipes to enjoy!
So funny since this recipe came out in 2019? Or at least the first comment is October 23rd, 2019. Guess what I found 3 rocks in my beans. This is 2022. Never let your guard down. Going to try this recipe in my 8.5 Ninja Foodie. I will let yo know how it comes out. Thank You for GREAT RECIPIES.
This is super easy and delicious! I usually tweak recipes, but I decided not to! I made it exactly and these beans are perfection! I am going to add in cooked rice and some of the left over ham from my ham bone, bake some bread and call it a delicious dinner!
Do you soak the beans overnight? And if so, does that reduce the cooking time?
For this recipe, you do not have to soak your beans overnight. I have not tried this recipe with soaking my beans overnight. I can’t know what the cooking time would be with soaked beans without trying it out first. If you give it a try with soaked beans, let me know the adjustments you made and how it goes!
Does this freeze well? Making some things to take to my son who lives several states away.
Thank you!
I haven’t tried freezing this. My only concern is that the beans might become too soft when thawed and heated. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
I usually freeze small containers. It’s works out well!
I used chopped fresh onion and 3 tsp minced garlic for this. So in my 6 qt. Instant Pot, it is extremely full if you use 32 oz of beans. I put the beans, and the ham bone in there and didn’t really have enough space for 2 inches over of water because there is a fill line that you should only go up to in the pot. I had about 1 inch of water over the beans. After cooking for 60 min. and letting it release, I checked and they were not done. Didn’t appear to have enough water either. I added about a cup of water and cooked 8 more minutes. Still not done enough. So cooked another 10 min. So I cooked a total of 78 minutes before getting the right doneness for the beans. There wasn’t enough liquid for my preference left. We ate them and they tasted very good. I will put them in a regular pot and add a little water to them for some “soup”. So…. if I cook them in again, I think I will only do 16 oz/1 lb of beans so that I will have enough room for my water. in this size Instant Pot. Thanks!
I added part of a shredded carrots, 5 peppercorns, chopped celery and it was amazing bean soup!
How much Water?
You will want to use enough water to cover your beans by about 2 inches. Enjoy!
I got my Ninja Foodie not too long ago and wanted to Slow Cook my beans. Can they be slow-cooked instead of pressure cook them? We love to smell everything cooking all day long. NO, I no longer have a slow cooker.
Thanks, I did enjoy your video!
Hi Kathy!
You can find the slow cooker version of this recipe here: https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-ham-beans/. We have found that slow cooking in our Foodi it can some times take a little more time for the recipe to finish. So, you will want to watch it closely the first time you make it to adjust the cooking time as needed.
Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
I have already soaked my beans overnight before finding this recipe. Would that make the cook time any less?
I haven’t tried this recipe with soaked beans. Without testing the recipe myself first, I can’t tell you what the cooking time should be. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
I soaked my beans first as well and this still worked wonderfully. I actually add a little beef broth for a more savory depth. Love this recipe for my instapot 🥰
A different version suggested 35 to 40 minutes for presoaked beans.
Is there a different time setting for high altitude cooking of the beans?
Hi Ken!
We haven’t tested this recipe at high altitude, so we can’t really say. In theory, high altitude may effect the time it takes to come to pressure and time to release pressure, but I don’t think it impacts under pressure time. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
If I halve the recipe how much should i reduce cooking time by? Most similar recipes I’ve looked up have about the same cook time for 16 ozs but don’t want to overcook.
I haven’t tried halving this recipe Kristie. If I did, I would take the cooking time down to 45 minutes and check it. If your beans aren’t quite soft enough, you can always put it on to cook a bit longer. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
Hate to admit that I have never ever used a pressure cooker (the thought of it blowing up always scares me to death…LOL) but this will be my first try recipe in my new Instant Pot…as far as corn bread…when I make ths hubby corn bread its not sweet but has onions, whole corn, shredded cheese and jalapenos in it…either baked or he will cook it on the smoker when he is cooking what ever meats he is doing at the time…my ham that I will be using is smoked ham…anyways Love the videos and recipes…Thanks
Never fear Rogina! The electric pressure cookers now have a safety feature that keeps them from being opened before the pressure is released. I love hearing all the different ways people make their cornbread! There are just so many ways!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! It is a family favorite around here!
Aunt Lou
Instead of water use chicken stock. Ohhhh so good!
Great idea Chriss! I am so glad to hear you liked it!
Aunt Lou
Can a crock pot be used ? I would like to try the beans and ham instant pot recipe, but I only have a crockpot.
Absolutely Brent! You can find the recipe here: https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-ham-beans/
Aunt Lou
Perfect beans! I added real onion and a few cloves of garlic…perfect. The ham from the ham hocks is super tender and adds great flavor. So glad I clicked on your recipe, thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear that you liked it Angelica!
Aunt Lou
Can I use a frozen ham bone from leftover event or should I thaw it first?
Hi Maudie!
With the cooking time on this recipe, I would thaw it first. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! So yummy and comforting!
~Aunt Lou
I have done the dried beans in my new 6 qt Instant Pot but we had leftover fatty ham bone with a little ham on it. I have thawed it out and was going to put it in with the beans this time. Do you have any recommendations or tips using this and also, why not let the keep warm come on?
If should be fine with the recipe how it is Ashley. If you want more ham than is on the bone, you can add it. You turn off the Keep Warm feature so that the pressure can come down naturally. If you leave this feature on, it will keep the pressure up for longer after the cooking time has stopped.
Aunt Lou
your recipe calls for 32 ozs of dry beans. how many cups of beans is that. seems like that is way to much dry beans for a 6 qt ip.
Hi Peggy!
It is 4 cups of beans or 2 16 oz bags. We had plenty of room in our instant pot. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Aunt Lou
is your instant pot a 6 qt?
Yes
32ozs is 4 cups …….
It’s perfect amount unless cooking for few then cut in half… otherwise water is by taste you may add a lil more . I cooked first then if needed add a bit stir and add cooking a lil if needed
Hi! Was wondering how this recipe would change if I used 2 frozen ham hocks? Thanks!
Hi SA!
With all our recipes, we make them first to ensure the best success for our readers at home. Since I haven’t tried this with frozen ham hocks, I can’t say how much more time to add to make sure the ham is cooked through, but not overcook the beans. If you give it a try, let me know what you try and how it goes!
Aunt Lou
Remember if using frozen ham hocks ,to omit a lil water cause then frozen ham will add to water amount.
I used frozen ham bone and the same time (60 minutes) worked great. It just takes longer to get up to pressure then the 60 minutes counts down…
Hi, thanks for the recipe. I’m rather new at all this. My husband bought me the crockpot express for Christmas. Is it the same instructions as the instapot?
Hi Bobbi!
Yes, the instructions should be the same. Your buttons may be different, but the recipe would be the same. Make sure you read your manual to completely understand how all the functions of your Crock Pot Express work. Congrats on the new electric pressure cooker!
Aunt Lou
Aloha,
Looking to try this with a Ninja Foodi, my question is about the 60 minutes- does that incorporate the warm up time? It usually take my Foodi about 5-10 minutes to warm up before it is at pressure.
Thanks,
Greg
Hi Greg!
The 60 minutes is the “cook” time, so it does not include coming up to pressure. It is the time you would set on your Foodi. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Aunt Lou
I chopped up a medium yellow onion in place of the dried stuff. My first try with instant pot and it came out great.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Darryl!
Loved the recipe. Close to my mother’s southern recipe. How can I make soup thicker?
Hi Jerry!
I haven’t tried making the “soup” thicker. It generally thickens up as it sits and overnight. You might try adding in a cornstarch water mixture and cook on saute until it boils while stirring gently until it is just a little thinner than you would like since it will thicken when it cools. I do worry about the beans breaking apart with the extra heat and stirring. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
How do you not let the warming come on. It usually comes on after the timer goes off. Do you just unplug it?
Hi Lori!
It depends on which model of Instant Pot you have. For some of the first models that came out, you push the manual button twice. On some of the newer models, you push the Keep Warm button after pushing the Pressure Cooker button. If neither one of those options work for your particular model, you can just push the stop/cancel button once cooking time is done.
Aunt Lou
I have a new insta pot this sounds really great no soak beans
Hi Tiffani!
I love this recipe! Easy comfort food is always a win in my book. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Aunt Lou