These Instant Pot Drunken Beans are seriously savory, hearty, scrumptious, and are easily made in 30 min! This makes a wickedly delicious big batch, so if you have leftover…smile.
Today we’re making Drunken Beans, a.k.a Frijoles Borrachos. They are beyond easy to make, especially because we are using the Instant Pot. Side note: These are the times I whisper a word of thanks for my amazing Instant Pot. Back to the beans: You’ll love them. They’re hearty. They’re warm and rustic. They’re the definition of comfort food. Bonus: They have beer (wink). Don’t fret! Most of the alcohol from the beer boil out during cooking.
For those of you who’ve never tried drunken beans, they are basically pinto beans simmered in Mexican beer and bacon. YUM!
These Drunken Beans are one of my favorite side dishes to take to summer potlucks and barbecues since they are the perfect accompaniment to burgers, chicken, carne asada or whatever you’re grillin’ up.
Beans were one of those foods that were pretty common in our household growing up, and one of the things my mom taught me about cooking beans is that they should always be soaked the night before. See recipe notes for instructions.
Most traditional Drunken Beans recipes will require some kind of pepper – Serrano, Jalapeño or Poblano – in order to add heat to the dish, but I decided to use RO*TEL to help me put a spicy spin on my favorite bean recipe.
RO*TEL is made with vine-ripened tomatoes, zesty green chilies and a savory mixture of secret spices. This product is very popular to make queso dips, but I use it in all kind of recipes, such as my restaurant style salsa, enchiladas, carnitas, the possibilities are endless. RO*TEL is here to banish the bland and bring the bold.
I really love cooking beans! they are easy to make, inexpensive, filling, delicious and so versatile. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with beans, at least not at my house.
Let’s keep the party going for the whole month of May.
Enjoy!!!
- 6 slices bacon , cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup onion , finely diced
- 1 cup green pepper , finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 lb (16oz) Pinto beans, picked over, rinsed and soaked (see notes)
- 1 can (10 oz) RO*TEL® Original (diced tomatoes & green chilies)
- 12 oz Mexican beer
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 – 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 pinch black pepper
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Turn on the Instant Pot on “Sauté” mode. When hot, add the bacon and sauté for 1 minute. Add the onions and green pepper and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
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Pour in drained beans, Ro*Tel® tomatoes, beer, stock, salt, cumin, and pepper; mix well.
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Place lid on Instant Pot, make sure steam release handle is on “sealing.” Push “Bean/Chili” mode and cook for 20 minutes. When the time is over allow pressure to release naturally, about 5 – 8 minutes. Open the Instant Pot carefully and mix. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Let it rest a bit before serving, the soup will thicken as it cools.
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Serve the beans topped with fresh cilantro, if desired.
I like to soak the beans overnight, but if you are pressed for time, you can also cook the beans without pre-soaking them, just increase the Instant Pot cooking time from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.
To soak beans: Place 4 quarts water in a large bowl and add beans. Soak at least 8 hours or overnight.
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- Instant Pot
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- Glass Mixing Bowl Set
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- Chef Knife
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- Measuring Cup Set
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These beans sound and look absolutely delicious!
Yum! The Rotel and the bacon really add some flavor to this! Looks great! Thanks for sharing!
It’s a great combination, Kristina!! Thanks for stopping by ????
I’ve never had beans prepared this way. It looks delicious!
Thanks Iryna!! Hope you give a try soon ????
Wow..What a great idea to add Mexican beer to beans. My husband would love beer with his beans.
This recipe is a winner among husbands!! LOL
These beans look AMAZING! I got my instant pot in December and can’t wait to try these!
Thanks Emily!! I hope you are enjoying your Instant Pot as much as I am. ????
What can you substitute for the beer?
Hello Paula! You substitute for chicken or vegetable stock.
FYI, i did not soak the beans and it came out too dry without much liquid….so you may consider adding more liquid if not pre-soaking. I figure that’s why it was dry. Do the beans soak up some moisture during the soaking process?
Hello Jaime! Yes, they do. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I’ll add the note to the recipe. Thanks for trying my recipe.
I absolutely love this recipe but need more than 1# for an event. What are your suggestions on cooking time when doubling the recipe?
Hello Lindsey! Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Yes, you can double the recipe but make sure you don’t fill the pot past the max fill line. Regarding the cooking time, you don’t need to adjust it. Having said that, the pressure cooker will naturally take longer to get to pressure because there is more liquid in the pot. And it will also take longer to do the release the pressure because the pot will be hotter with the additional liquid, but the actual cooking time does not change.
CRAZY GOOD! I love Instant Pot recipes and I like the beans at Taco Cabana so thought this recipe looked easy enough for me.. 😂
I have to admit I added more garlic cloves to mine cause I’m addicted to garlic and I had about 5 slices of Kentucky Legend ham in the fridge I wanted to use up so I added them cut in chunks.
I didn’t soak my beans ahead of time so went with 40 min initially but that wasn’t enough. I had to add another 15 min to it for all the beans to no be hard.
I ate almost the whole pot myself as dinner or lunches and reheating was easy on the stove, just added about 1/3 cup stock to two servings of beans and bam a very tasty and filling meal.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’m going to try your teriyaki meatballs next.
Hello Virginia! I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!🙂 Please keep coming back and trying my recipes. xo
Just made these and they were super good. A couple notes to the author: in the directions you call for pinto beans but the note below about soaking them says black beans. Additionally, we used unsoaked beans and it was quite more than an extra 20 minutes. It was more like an extra 35-40 minutes. Not complaining, just something for future makers of this dish to know.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Hello Maggie! Thanks so much for your feedback and for trying my recipe. I’m delighted to read you enjoyed it so much 🙂
This was the second recipe I made in my new Instant Pot and these are the best beans I’ve ever made!!! I’m in love! Will definitely make these again and again! I used 2 more slices of bacon than it called for to use up what was left in the fridge, 1 more garlic clove, a big jalapeno instead of a green bell pepper, and Modelo. I soaked the beans for about 8 hours and the times and settings were perfect. Thank you!
Hello Rachel! Thanks for trying this recipe and for taking the time to come back and let me know. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!