Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef
I’ve updated this recipe for Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef so it now has more beef and is a bit lower in carbs! And you can make this tasty stew in the Instant Pot or in a regular pan on the stove.
PIN Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef to make it later!
A few weeks ago I updated the photos for the oldest pressure cooker recipe on my site, and this recipe for Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef is the second-oldest recipe that I first made years ago when I had a stovetop pressure cooker. Of course now I’d make it in the Instant Pot, but there are also instructions in the recipe for making it on the stove if you prefer that method.
I first made this back in the day when I ate a lot more dried beans. But now I wouldn’t want so many carbs, so when we updated the photos we also adapted this recipe into a version with more ground beef so it’s lower in carbs. And Kara and I both though that was a delicious change, and it also made the recipe have eight servings. (If you were a fan of the original version, you can use that link to see the printer-friendly recipe.)
And by the way, if you looked at the photo of Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef and wondered why it wasn’t called chili, there’s no chili powder in this, so it’s definitely not chili! Actually cilantro is one of the predominant flavors here, so if you’re one of those people who doesn’t enjoy cilantro, maybe you’ll want to replace the cilantro with thinly-sliced green onion or just search for a different stew recipe!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- canned pinto beans (or see note below to start with dried beans)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- ground beef
- Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- dried Mexican Oregano (affiliate link)
- ground Cumin (affiliate link)
- dried cilantro (affiliate link) (optional, but recommended)
- chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
- tomato paste
- canned petite diced tomatoes
- sliced green onions
- chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- fresh squeezed lime juice or fresh-frozen lime juice
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- avocado for serving (optional)
Making Pinto Beans with Ground Beef with dried beans:
If you’re not a fan of canned beans, you can easily cook dried beans in the slow cooker or in the Instant Pot. You will need to cook about one cup of dried beans to replace the two cans of beans.
How to make Pinto Beans with Ground Beef even lower in carbs:
If you check the nutritional information you’ll see that our change of doubling the ground beef and adding a bit more stock made this a recipe with about 22 net carbs in a serving. If you’d like a version with even fewer carbs, just reduce the pinto beans to one can and add about another cup of chicken broth, for a soupier version.
What if you don’t want cilantro in the Pinto Beans with Ground Beef?
You can omit both the dried and fresh cilantro for this recipe if you prefer, but if you don’t use fresh cilantro I’d recommend doubling the amount of sliced green onion.
What size Instant Pot did I use?
I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out my growing collection of Instant Pot Recipes!
How to make Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- For two pounds of ground beef, we cooked the ground beef in a pan for best browning. Season the beef with Spike Seasoning or another all-purpose seasoning blend. I love the Hamburger Meat Chopper (affiliate link) you see in the first photo.
- While ground beef browns, drain pinto beans into a colander placed in the sink. You can rinse if you prefer but it’s not necessary for a stew like this.
- Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT and heat the oil, then add onions and cook about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, then add the Mexican Oregano, ground cumin, and dried cilantro (if using) and cook about 2 minutes more.
- Add ground beef, beans, tomato paste, canned tomatoes with liquid, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Lock the the lid and set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH TEMPERATURE, 2 minutes
- When time is up let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes; then release any remaining pressure.
- When pressure is released open lid and add sliced green onion, chopped fresh cilantro (if using) and lime juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Serve hot, with diced avocado to add at the table if desired.
More Soup with Dried Beans and Legumes:
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe for Pinto Beans with Ground Beef has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef
This Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef recipe has been updated into a version that's lower in carbs, and this is a delicious bean stew.
Ingredients
- two 15 oz. cans pinto beans
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 2 tsp. Spike seasoning
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1 T dried Mexican oregano
- 1 T ground cumin
- 1 T dried cilantro (optional)
- 4 cups chicken broth (see notes)
- 2 T tomato paste
- one 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or one whole bunch)
- 2 T fresh squeezed lime juice
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- diced avocado for adding at the table, optional
Instructions
- Since we were using two pounds of ground beef, we heated one tablespoon of oil and cooked the ground beef in a pan for best browning. Season the beef with Spike Seasoning or another all-purpose seasoning blend.
- While ground beef browns, drain pinto beans into a colander placed in the sink. You can rinse if you prefer but it's not necessary for a stew like this.
- Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT and heat the oil, then add onions and cook about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, then add the Mexican Oregano, ground cumin, and dried cilantro (if using) and cook about 2 minutes more.
- Add ground beef, beans, tomato paste, canned tomatoes with liquid, and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Lock the the lid and set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH TEMPERATURE, 2 minutes
- When time is up let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes; then release any remaining pressure.
- When pressure is released open lid and add sliced green onion, chopped fresh cilantro (if using) and lime juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Serve hot, with diced avocado to add at the table if desired.
How to Cook in a regular soup pot on the stove:
- For canned beans, rinse and drain as described above.
- To use dried beans, you will need to soak beans overnight, drain, add fresh water to cover by a few inches and simmer until beans are soft, about 45 minutes.
- Follow directions as above for browning meat, browning onions with garlic and herbs, and deglazing frying pan with chicken stock.
- Combine browned meat, onion mixture, chicken stock, water, cooked beans, tomato paste, and canned tomatoes in heavy soup pot, adding 1 cup more chicken stock for cooking in open pan.
- Simmer over low heat about 45 minutes, adding a bit more water if needed.
- When stew seems done, add green onion, chopped cilantro, and lime juice as above and cook a few more minutes.
Notes
I would use my homemade chicken stock if I had some.
Recipe created by Kalyn when she had a new pressure cooker!
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 511Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 7.9gUnsaturated Fat 11.1gCholesterol 103mgSodium 1088mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 12gSugar 3.6gProtein 42g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet . Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Recipes with dried beans will be high in carbs for a low-carb diet, but if you’d like an even lower-carb version of Pinto Beans with Ground Beef, use one can of beans with about another cup of chicken broth and the increased amount of ground beef. As long as you use lean ground beef, everything in this recipe is approved for all phases of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stew Recipes or Instant Pot Recipes for more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2009 when I had a new stovetop pressure cooker. Now it’s perfect to make in the Instant Pot. The recipe was updated with new photos and more information in 2022 and was last updated with more information in 2024.
79 Comments on “Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ground Beef”
Recipe states you can use canned beans. Says use 2 cans. What size? I buy the small, normal kitchen type and the larger. Wasn’t sure what ounce size can to use.
Pinto Beans with Ground Beef recipe
I am talking about 15 oz. cans for the beans, sorry I didn’t specify that size. I will edit to clarify that. (And actually this week I am making this soup again in the Instant Pot to get better photos, so the recipe instructions will get a careful going-over at that time. This is one of my very earliest pressure cooker soups!)
I would never dismiss anyone who didn’t like cilantro…. sorry but to us it makes the whole dish taste like a chemical or soap. Just simply omit the cilantro.
We can’t help that it taste that way….
I do realize that cilantro doesn’t taste good to some people and that it’s a genetic thing. I wasn’t dismissing that idea, just suggesting that cilantro is important in the flavors in this recipe. But of course you are free to make it without cilantro if you like.
If you look around on my site you’ll see I always recommend options for those who don’t like cilantro and usually recommend using thinly sliced green onion instead.
What if I can only find Mediterranean oregano right now? Can it be substituted for the Mexican?
The flavor is not that similar. I would either leave it out completely or use a bit less if you’re using regular oregano.
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Any recommendation for cooking in a crock pot. I recently got rid of my pressure cooker cause I barley used it and prefer coming home to it already being cooked since we get home late many nights
I wouldn't be able to give instructions for adapting this recipe without trying it in a slow cooker, but there is a huge section of Slow Cooker Recipes that you can browse through by photo; many of them have beans.
Lynne, any kind of general all-purpose seasoning can be substituted for Spike. I can't recommend a specific one because I've used Spike for years, but there are quite a few good ones.
This looks fabulous, and I really want to try it, but I have a question: What can I use in place of the Spike seasoning? I'm allergic to some of the ingredients in it. 🙁
I guess this is another sign from above that I honestly need a pressure cooker. It looks heavenly.
Erin – ekcantcook.blogspot.com
Thanks Deb, this is really good with extra cilantro!
I really need to get a pressure cooker! But I'm glad you included other instructions as well, because I'm a cilantro lover and this sounds wonderful.
Teresa, sounds like I need to learn more about Brazilian cuisine, as I love those flavors!
Thanks Renee. Glad you are enjoying your pressure cooker!
This is one beautiful pot of stew! I love all the fall colors and the ingredient list has all of my favorites. I bought a pressure cooker last year and will now add your stew to my pressure cooker favorites!
You can never go wrong with cumin and cilantro in a pot of beans. In Brazil those 2 things are basically the main ingredients to our daily beans. 🙂
Lydia and Aggie, I am sold on pressure cooking; just need to do more of it!
Peter, beer is not approved for the South Beach Diet so, I wouldn't want to use it, but feel to experiment with the recipes any way you like!
This looks so hearty and warming Kalyn, the flavors sound great. I'm so intrigued by pressure cooking!
Try substituting a bottle of dark beer or ale for an equal amount of water… gives a rich flavor accent and the alcohol cooks off.
Okay, time to buy a pressure cooker. I'm convinced.
Thanks Barbara, and I am hoping to find a lot more ideas from your great new blog!
What a great hearty, inexpensive meal!
Yvette, so glad you liked it!
I just cooked this in my pressure cooker and I loved it. I ended up making a double batch and I can eat lunch for a few days and freeze some for another week! Yummy- thanks for posting this.
yvette
Susan, glad you found the recipe and that it was such a hit.
Hi -I googled 'pinto bean pressure cooker recipe' and this came up. I made it this afternoon and it got raves. It's definately on our 'do again' list. Thanks!
Thanks Basil. So glad you liked it!
Oh my gosh, this soup was faulous. I always love your recipes- they are marvelous, and really healthy. The lime was so different, unlike anything that I have tasted before. Great ideas!
Glad you like the recipe and thanks for the mention.
We love the way this recipe looks, hope you don't mind but we linked back to it from our blog: http://pressurecookeroutlet.blogspot.com/2011/01/recipes-for-cold-weather.html Thought our readers would benefit from your blog.
Linda, thank you! Just put it on my Costco list.
Kayln,
I checked the Costco website and the PC they are selling is the Cuisinart, same as the one I bought at Williams Sonoma and the price is better. There were 5 star reviews from almost everyone that purchased one. Maybe this could be an early Christmas gift to yourself?… 🙂
Linda, thanks for that info. I recently saw on at Costco and was thinking about splurging on it.
I have cooked with a pressure cooker for years as did my parents and grandparents. I can't imagine cooking dry beans w/o a pressure cooker. Last year I splurged and bought an electric PC from Williams Sonoma. I can't begin to tell you how great it is. You put the ingredients in, close the lid, set the timer and walk away until you hear the beep that alerts you that it is finished. SO much easier than using a PC on the stovetop. It is hands down the best appliance in my kitchen.
Brenda, I can see why you'd be leery about pressure cookers, although the newer models are really safe. I'm sure it will be delicious made in a regular pan too!
I'm so glad you posted this again. I just found big bag of pintos in my cupboard so I'll make this later this week. Then it will show up on my blog 🙂 I won't use a pressure cooker though, I had one explode on me once and that cured me.
So glad you liked it!. I think this is one of the best things I've made so far on my pressure cooker!
I made this the other day, even though it's still in the 90's here in Tucson. All the ingredients were in the house, so I whipped it up per your pressure cooker instructions. Yum, Yum!! Even better the second time around. Served it with chopped red onion, chunks of avocado, sour cream, a squeeze of lime and my favorite hot sauce, Arizona Gunslinger. Next time, I'll make this ahead and freeze it for a quick company dinner. Thanks!
Claire, of course I would always vote for cilantro but good to know it was okay with parsley.
I did make this a few weeks ago. Pink beans were fine. At the last minute I discovered that I had grabbed parsley not cilantro at the grocery store. It tasted great with parsley. Now I’ll have to try cilantro.
This is a healthy and tasty looking stew!
Wrestling with whether to make this or the Chili with Black Beans and Lime. (I have some ground beef I need to cook). No pinto beans, but I have pink beans which I presume wouldn’t be that different. I also have some open beef stock – see that this recipe uses chicken stock. Wonder what impact that change would have? Maybe I’ll just have to try it…
Love hearing that there are so many pressure cooker fans.
Anonymous, I’ve heard good things about the electric pressure cookers. Hope you like the recipe.
Visited your blog today. I am a new owner of a ELECTRIC pressure cooker and just re-learning about cooking with a pressure cooker.
I am anxious to try the bean recipe.
OK
This is a great recipe for a lot of reasons– I LOVE cilantro, pinto beans and fresh lime juice. I also adore my pressure cooker. I’d choose that kitchen tool over my crockpot anyday!
Great blog!
pressure cooking is the best, hands down! I cook ALL MY BEANS in the pressure cooker. I sure hope you’ll come by and take a look! Oh and cumin is my fave spice to use in my most my foods.
This looks great! My mom is Colombian, and we cook with a lot of cilantro so this is right up my alley! I will be making this soon!
BC, in general you can adapt most any soup or stew recipe for a slow cooker by reducing the stock (for more concentrated flavor) and maybe increasing the amount of dried herbs a little. I’d start with the same amount of stock, then simmer the stock until it’s reduced by about 1/3. Canned beans would be great for the slow cooker, but if you want to use dried beans, cook them before adding to the slow cooker.
I’d guess about 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low in the slow cooker after you make those changes. Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Sorry, but I don’t know anything about other brands of pressure cookers, but if anyone else does, please chime in!
How would this do in a slow cooker? I don’t have a pressure cooker right now, but would like to try this out. If not good in the slow cooker, can anyone recommend a low cost but decent pressure cooker?
I have a friend who loves Mexican food but somehow hates cilantro. When you accompany her to a Mexican restaurant you have to plan for a very long meal; she meticulously picks out every speck of cilantro from every dish where it happens to show up.
You’d think she would just change her eating habits and decide to like something else, Greek cuisine maybe.
And for the person who was asking about tough beans: I’ve always heard that leaving the salt and seasonings out during the soaking and initial cooking stages is essential to get tender beans.
Can’t just change or eating habits because we dislike cilantro! Lol I live in south Texas… just order it without! Makes the whole dish taste like chemicals for us.
I love slow cooked dishes. The flavor is always so good. Can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks!
This has everything I love..cilantro and a pressure cooker! Plus I have about 50 pounds of ground beef in my freezer!
This looks absolutely delicious! Cilantro is also my favorite herb 🙂
Thanks for Sharing!
Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs!! Happy V-day to you!
Hi Kalyn!
I just wanted to let you know that you and your site have made South Beach so great with all of your recipes. Thanks so much and keep up the great work with everything!
Kalyn
I thought of you this morning – the “human interest” story on the front page of the Wall Street Journal was about the Cilantro Haters and how it is such a love it or hate it sort of herb. Who knew??? I’ve always loved Cilantro and until recently had no idea it inspired such hatred! Now the WSJ is talking about it. Go figure.
Just wanted to add- cooking black beans in a pressure also posed some problem with me- tough and hard like stones!
Well I read somewhere it works best if you cook them without salt and then add salt and seasoning later. Haven’t tried though. Will let you know when I do.
I do love my pressure cooker- its my only prized possesion from India. I make this kind of stew at least 1-2 times and will try it your way with chicken next time. Another vegetarian option would be to use garbanzo beans with tomato (ginger, garlic, cumin and cilantro of course).
A pressure cooker not only saves time also saves a lot on cooking gas bill.
Cilantro is one of those things like Barry Manilow: you either love it like me or you hate it. There’s no middle ground.
And yes, a pressure cooker is a wonderful tool to have around. When I bought mine three years ago, I had no idea how often I’d use it for everything from soups to pot roasts to chicken for chicken salads.
I may need to think about getting myself a pressure cooker. The one hour from dried to plate seems too good to be true!
One question, 1 cup dried or 2 cans – is that correct?
Even though I don’t eat meat, this is a good jumping off point for using the pressure cooker to cook beans and use lots of cilantro. I bet that I can use tempeh or tofu or seitan instead.
And anyone who doesn’t have a pressure cooker ought to heed your advice, and mine, to get one, especially a new one very soon.
I did know that they are used in Brazil and many other countries successfully.
Old beans don’t do well with any kind of cooking.
Thanks for the post.
Your stew looks absolutely beautiful! And yes, I did think it was chili at first, but you could still kind of call it chili because you added cumin. 🙂
That looks delicious – sadly no one in my family would probably touch it!
Cilantro is BY FAR my most favorite herb (probably rosemary is a close second!).
I am going to borrow my mom’s pressure cooker the next time I see her to see if its worth purchasing my own.
Your pressure cooker posts keep reminding me that I’ve GOT to buy one. They are so cool. Thanks for the link, Kalyn!
The picture alone is enough to entice me . . . but I really enjoy a real bowl!
Fluffy Bit, Spike is just a general all-purpose seasoning, so any type of seasoned salt blend that you like the taste of could be substituted.
ValerieAnne, my pressure cooker is flat on the bottom.
Joanna, yaay for cilantro!
From one cilantro fan to another…LOVE IT!
I’ve had a pressure cooker for a few years. I realized recently that it has a rounded bottom which takes a LONG time on my glass electric cooktop. I wonder if there are pressure cookers with flat bottoms? Does any one know?
What would you suggest as an alternative to Spike Seasoning? I am allergic to some of the ingredients.
Thanks everyone. I’m truly loving the pressure cooker and have no regrets at all about buying it. I’m still figuring out how to use it, so if the beans are not cooked evenly I never know if it’s my lack of knowledge or the method. The only beans I had trouble with were black beans, and they were pretty old. I think it’s like stovetop cooking in that older beans will take longer to cook. I bought some fresh black beans and will try again.
Also glad to know that at least some of you are like me and could never get tired of cilantro! I try not to overdo it, but I could eat it every day I’m sure!
Kalyn, we cook beans in pressure cookers here all the time (it’s not commom for Brazilians to eat canned beans).
This recipe sounds delicious and I’m sure many of us here would love it!
Kalyn: Well, you’re obviously still enjoying your pressure cooker. I have just GOT to get one of those! Especially because I cook dried beans a lot and this seems like the way to go. Do you feel the consistency of the cooked bean is the same as doing it in regular pot? I love these chilis/soups you fix.
I was so excited to find your blog! I honestly could get lost for hours in it. Love it! Anyway, this pressure cooker recipe looks great. I love my pressure cooker. I use an old-fashioned one that was my mother’s. Haven’t upgraded to the new fancy ones. Will try this recipe this weekend. Thanks!
I love cilantro too and I love the way you use a lot of it. 🙂
oh lord. you’ve just convinced me to get a pressure cooker.
This look so so yummy! Thank you for the recipe.