Name: Instant Pot BBQ Baked Beans
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 slices bacon, diced; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 2 teaspoons paprika; 1 teaspoon hot sauce; 3/4 c. chicken broth; 2 (15.5 oz) cans small white beans, drained and rinsed; 1/2 c. brown sugar; 1/4 c. molasses; 3 Tablespoons vinegar; 2 Tablespoons tomato paste; 2 Tablespoons bourbon; 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard

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You’ll never go back to canned beans once you’ve made these easy, sweet, spicy, and completely delicious these BBQ Baked Beans in the Instant Pot.

Let me start with the facts. I really don’t like baked beans. I’m not sure if it’s the texture or the sweetness factor or what it is but they are never something I make for myself.

In fact, I tend to buy the small cans of beans so that I can make them for my husband. He really enjoys them especially when we are grilling out.

I recently saw a recipe for Instant Pot BBQ Baked Beans and they sounded pretty good. I figured I could control the ingredients and the sweetness so maybe I would like them better. If not, my husband would be having beans for days.

I love cooking in my Instant Pot. My favorite breakfast in the Instant Pot are Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites. A really good main dish are these Instant Pot Country Style Ribs that are super tender. I even use it for dessert and my Vanilla Bean Cheesecake is one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had.

Ingredients:

bacon
onion
salt
black pepper
smoked paprika
hot sauce
chicken broth
small white beans
brown sugar
molasses
vinegar
tomato paste
bourbon
brown mustard

To Make the Bacon and Onions: Put the bacon in the Instant Pot and set to saute. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove the bacon. Add the onion to the bacon grease in the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the salt, pepper, paprika and hot sauce and cook for one minute. Add the broth and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.

To Make the Beans: Add the beans, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, tomato paste, bourbon, and mustard to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release steam and turn the pot to saute. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the beans have thickened. Stir in the bacon and serve.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of sugar in this recipe. The brown sugar plus the molasses had me a little worried but I was hoping that the paprika, hot sauce, and bourbon could balance it out.

I love that this entire recipe can be made in an Instant Pot. Put on the saute feature and make the bacon and onion right there in the pot before making the actual beans. It makes for super easy clean up.

What is an Instant Pot?

An Instant Pot is a multi-functional small appliance. It’s a pressure cooker, slow-cooker, rice cooker, and yogurt maker all in one package. Want a quick meal? Use the pressure cooker setting. Need to let something cook all day? Use it as a slow cooker.

Is there a substitute for bourbon?

If you want a non-alcoholic substitute use 100% apple juice in its place. This will add a touch of sweetness but not too much. It will also add a decent amount of flavor to the beans.

Do I have to use the hot sauce?

No way. If you don’t like a lot of heat skip the hot sauce, no substitution needed. You can also use regular paprika instead of smoked paprika to tone down the heat.

Can I use dried beans?

I have not tried this recipe with dried beans so I can’t say. I would use the small white beans or use can use canned navy beans. This recipe was made specifically for canned beans.

Another great thing is that these beans are ready in about 30 minutes. No more simmering beans on the stove for hours to get a great side dish.

The beans smelled so good when they were cooking. I could smell the bourbon and the brown sugar.

More Summer Side Dish Recipes:

When the lid came off it the baked beans looked awesome. I added the bacon in and stirred it up to thicken the beans.

I had been worried about the sweetness but it turned out there was no need. Between the bourbon the hot sauce and the vinegar, these beans are sweet, spicy, and tangy.

I actually really enjoyed these beans and my husband was all about them. While I won’t be buying canned baked beans anytime soon I’m thinking these Instant Pot beans will be my new side dish for when we grill!

If you’ve tried my Instant Pot BBQ Baked Beans or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on: