This Instant Pot Cowboy Beans recipe will kick up your next summer BBQ – made with dried beans, vegetables, and spices ! A hearty and high protein side dish everyone will love.
These beans can be made in your pressure cooker ahead of time, or right before the party. Great with veggie burgers, corn on the cob, and a hearty side of homemade vinegar & oil coleslaw.
Kick off your next summer BBQ by making these delicious high protein Instant Pot Cowboy Beans! This dried beans recipe is a rich, flavorful, and hearty side dish everyone will love. A fun take on baked beans, these hearty beans are great for serving up when dinner is ready. Smoky, loaded with BBQ flavor, and so easy.
These cowboy beans are made with dried beans, and are high protein with a tasty and delicious sauce. We made these for Memorial Day, and they were SO unbelievably good! I can’t wait to make these beans again and again.
These Instant Pot Cowboy Beans Are
Bright
Saucy
Smokey
Loaded with Flavor
High Protein
A great side dish for summer
What Are Cowboy Beans?
Cowboy beans are a smoky BBQ bean dish, made with a variety of beans (pinto, kidney, and navy), ground beef, and spices. They are similar to baked beans, but not as sweet as their traditional counterpart. Beans were a staple for frontier cowboys, and this version uses a few varieties for a high protein, hearty meal.
Instant Pot for the Easy Beans!
For all my recipes I use the 8-Quart Instant Pot Ultra, its larger than the standard models (which are only 6 quart) so I have extra room to meal prep and batch cook more meals for the week. The Ultra model also has some great extra settings like cake baking and yogurt making which are really neat. I love that everything can cook in one pot, which makes for way less dishes and hands-off cooking.
The Instant Pot is hands-down my favorite kitchen appliance, and actually makes my life so much easier.
What’s In These Pressure Cooker Cowboy Beans?
See the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
Dried Beans: pinto beans, navy beans, and kidney beans. You can use your favorite combo too – black beans would also be delicious in this!
Ground Beef – or a plant-based alternative if desired.
Chili Powder: for a really nice flavor in this dip – the chili powder isn’t spicy but will give you a rich and bright flavor.
Onion Powder: adds a delicious and savory flavor to this dish as well, and the onion powder pairs nicely with the onions in these beans.
Fresh garlic cloves
Tomatoes
Bell Pepper: If you don’t have fresh peppers, sweet roasted red peppers are a great substitute! I love adding them to breakfast bakes, sandwiches or wraps, and soups.
Corn
BBQ Sauce
Jalapeno
Frozen Veggie Recipes For the Win!
I used a few frozen veggies (like frozen corn and peppers) for this recipe instead of fresh produce. Frozen produce is a great option for finding fresh and flavorful vegetables in the off season. By using freezer ingredients, I can stock up when they are on sale, and use them in all kinds of great dishes. It saves me a trip to the store, and I can add amazing veggies right into the recipe.
How Do I Make Cowboy Beans in the Instant Pot?
To the Instant Pot, add the ground beef, and set to Sauté mode. Brown the ground beef for 8-10 minutes until all the meat is browned. Drain any grease and add meat back to the pot.
Add the remainder of the ingredients to the Instant Pot except the barbecue sauce and jalapeno. Cook on High Pressure or Manual mode for 25 minutes. Once finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 30 minutes and then carefully release the remaining pressure.
Remove lid and stir in the barbecue sauce and jalapenos. Garnish with extra jalapeno and cilantro and enjoy.
More Side Dish Recipes for Your Next BBQ or Cookout:
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To the Instant Pot, add the ground beef, and set to Sauté mode. Brown the ground beef for 8-10 minutes until all the meat is brown.
Add the remainder of the ingredients to the Instant Pot except the barbecue sauce and jalapeno. Cook on High Pressure or Manual mode for 25 minutes. Once finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 30 minutes and then carefully release the remaining pressure.
Remove lid and stir in the barbecue sauce and jalapenos. Garnish with extra jalapeno and cilantro and enjoy.
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below, let us know what you loved about it!
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Kelly Jensen has 7 years experience as a food blogger, freelance recipe developer, content creator, beekeeper, and loves cooking everything she can from scratch.
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