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These delicious Saucy Pinto Beans go great with Mexican dishes. They’re gluten-free, anti-inflammatory, easy-to-make, and delicious!

You might think that living in the South means that one naturally makes delicious pinto beans. If that is true, then I am an exception. I can thank my northern roots for that, I guess.

Thanks to this Saucy Pinto Bean recipe for the Instant Pot from Maryea Flaherty (HappyHealthyMama.com), I can now make delicious pinto beans and you can, too.

The recipe comes from Maryea’s cookbook, The “I Love My Instant Pot®” Anti-Inflammatory Diet Recipe Book: From Orange Ginger Salmon to Apple Crisp, 175 Easy and Delicious Recipes That Reduce Inflammation (“I Love My” Series). There’s a whisper of heat thanks to the jalapeño.  

If you are a pinto bean lover or have never had them, this is a recipe that you will like.  Try it and see for yourself.  They make a great side dish or you could even eat them with a main course served with a side of cornbread.  

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Saucy Pinto Beans

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 31 minutes

Total Time: 41 minutes

If you’re looking for a perfect accompaniment for your Mexican dinner night, these Saucy Pinto Beans are the perfect pick.  This bean dish is filled with bold flavors and will leave you satisfied.  It is wonderful served with Basic Brown Rice (see recipe in Beans, Rice, and Whole Grains chapter in The "I Love My Instant Pot®" Anti-Inflammatory Diet Recipe Book ) and a side vegetable for a complete meal.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (1 pound) dry pinto beans
• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3 ½ cups chicken stock
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Place the beans in a bowl and cover with 3” water.  Soak the beans 4-8 hours.  Drain the beans.
2. Press the Sauté button of the Instant Potâ and add the oil.  After the oil heats 1 minute add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic.  Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add soaked beans, stock, tomato sauce, chili powder, mustard, oregano, cumin, pepper, bay leaves, and salt to the inner pot.  Stir well to combine and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Secure the lid.
4. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and adjust the time
   to 25 minutes.
5. When the timer beeps, let pressure release naturally until float valve drops and then unlock lid.
6. Remove and discard the bay leaves and then transfer the beans to a bowl for serving.

Notes

Excerpted from The “I Love My Instant Pot” Anti-Inflammatory Diet Recipe Book by Maryea Flaherty. Copyright © 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 150 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 3mg Sodium: 435mg Carbohydrates: 19g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 5g Sugar: 3g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 7g

Nutrition information is an approximation.

The “I Love My Instant Pot” Anti-Inflammatory Diet Recipe Book

I am still working my way through the book which has 175 recipes to make in our favorite pressure cooker, the Instant Pot.  Some of the recipes that have piqued my interest are:  Easiest Vanilla Pumpkin Pudding, Coconut Lentil Chickpea Bowls with Kale, Vegetable “Cheese” Sauce, Coconut Curry Lentils, Jasmine Rice with Mushrooms, Spicy Black Beans, Healthier Refried Beans, Chili Lime Black Beans, Comforting Lentil Balls, Vegetarian Unstuffed Cabbage Soup, and “Cheesy” Broccoli Cauliflower Soup.

I like that the book includes some basic recipes for using your Instant Pot, like Basic Quinoa, Basic Chickpeas, and Black Beans.  I feel like it gives me some control because I can purchase organic dry beans/peas and use filtered water to make nourishing food without additives or preservatives.

Working with Dry Pinto Beans:

• Soak the beans prior to cooking.  Be sure to have enough water to cover them entirely.  In fact, have more than enough.  Dry pinto beans increase in size as they soak up fluids.
• For this recipe, you can soak your beans before going to work and they will be recipe ready when you get home hours later, just in time to make dinner.
• Some people swear that soaking the beans with a little bit of salt helps to make them tender.

Fun Facts About Pinto Beans

• Beans are a nutrition powerhouse known as legumes.  While they are healthy, they can cause gas.  Soaking the beans and discarding the soaking water helps to minimize the unpleasant side effect.
• One cup of cooked pinto beans has 15.4 grams of protein.
• You could substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock to make this a vegan/vegetarian dish.