Instant Pot Boston Baked Beans—navy beans with molasses and salt pork pressure cooked in a fraction of the time it would take to cook in the oven.
Each week in 2020 Iโm sharing a recipe inspired by one of the 50 states. (See all the state recipes I’ve covered so far.) Today’s recipe is inspired by the The Bay State, Massachusetts. Massachusetts has some other nicknames like The Pilgrim State, The Puritan State, The Old Colony State and The Baked Bean State.
When I think of Massachusetts I think of Harvard, MIT, Boston College, parking your car in Harvard Yard, the Boston tea party, one of the original colonies, the pilgrims and the Mayflower, Salem witch trials, The Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, Cape Cod and Fenway Park. There really is so much history in Massachusetts!
Instant Pot Boston Baked Beans
One of Massachusetts’ nicknames is The Baked Bean State and Boston is known as Bean Town. So I felt it was appropriate to choose baked beans as a recipe to represent the state. Boston Baked Beans are sweetened with molasses and flavored with salt pork. They are easy to make but a bit time consuming. By using the Instant Pot instead of cooking in the oven, on a stove top or in a slow cooker you save a lot of time.
How to make Boston Baked Beans in the Instant Pot
- Add water and dry navy beans to Instant Pot and pressure cook until skins will burst–20 minutes.
- Drain the water and add beans back into Instant Pot with more water and a mixture of molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard and brown sugar.
- Add sliced pieces of salt pork into Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook for another 10 minutes with a full natural pressure release.
- Reduce the sauce down until thickened by using the sautรฉ setting for 10-15 minutes.
- Taste test and add more molasses, salt and pepper as needed.
What is a controlled release and when do you use it? For this recipe (and most recipes that use dried beans) I use a controlled release. This just means that the steam is released in controlled bursts. You will switch the valve back and forth between sealing and venting, a few seconds at a time. Releasing the steam like this prevents the liquid and foam from spewing out and making a mess. I like to use this method when there is a very full pot or if the food is starchy.
What is salt pork and do you eat it? Salt pork is salt-cured fat from the belly and sides of the pig. It’s mainly used in small amounts as a flavoring in dishes like Boston baked beans and fish chowder. It looks like a really thick square piece of bacon. I found it by the other pork products at the grocery store. There is very little meat on the salt pork. It’s mainly fat. You could eat the meat parts off of the chunks of salt pork if you’d like.
Recommendations
More Recipes with Dried Beans…
Instant Pot Appalachian Soup Beans
Instant Pot Homemade Pork and Beans
Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
Instant Pot Chicken and White Bean Soup
Instant Pot Boston Baked Beans
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
Description
Navy beans with molasses and salt pork pressure cooked in a fraction of the time it would take to cook in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry navy beans
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- ยผ – ยฝ cup molasses
- ยพ tsp pepper
- 1 ยฝ tsp dry mustard
- 12 oz salt pork, cut into 1 inch pieces
Instructions
- Add beans and 7 cups water into Instant Pot. Cover pot and secure lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then perform a controlled release. Drain the water and rinse off the beans.ย
- Add the beans back into the Instant Pot. Add in 1 ยฝ cups of water.ย
- Add 1 cup of boiling water, salt, brown sugar, molasses, pepper, dry mustard to a bowl and stir mixture. Add mixture to the Instant Pot. Rinse the salt pork well and then add it in.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes. When time is up let the pressure release naturally for 10-20 minutes. Release any remaining pressure.ย
- Remove the lid. Stir the beans. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Let the sauce thicken and reduce down for about 10-15 minutes until it is thick. Stir every so often.ย
- Taste test and add more molasses or salt and pepper to taste.ย
Notes
A controlled release is releasing the steam in controlled bursts. You will switch the valve back and forth between sealing and venting, a few seconds at a time. Releasing the steam like this prevents the liquid from spewing out and making a mess. I like to use this method when there is a very full pot or if the food is starchy.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Beans
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I used 1/4 cup sauteed onion.
★★★★★
Made this tonight. It is a lot quicker in the instant pot. I used kidney beans and started soaking them at about 8 am. Started cooking about 7 pm. I used half the salt and half the pepper. You can always add more of these, but you canโt remove any. Used the maximum times for cooking and releasing. They came out very good. Taste was good, consistency was good. Salt pork cooked down good. In my humble opinion adding some onions and garlic would take it over the top. Iโm from Central Maine and thatโs how we do it there. Usually I use yellow eye, or Jackobโs cattle beans but couldnโt find them in Florida. Thanks for the recipe ๐.
★★★★
Yes I bet onions and garlic would be amazing!
I always use onions, but I did the garlic this time too. I roasted the garlic to give it less of a punch and more earthy flavor. It was magnificent.
Ron Doty
★★★★★
I can not wait for dinner. I’ve already tasted the beans and they’re delicious! I’m from Maine so beans on Saturday night was tradition growing up and these taste like moms Saturday beans. I usually bake my beans if I remember to soak the night before, I don’t have to worry about that anymore, I’ll use this recipe. I just read a few comments about the salt, happy I used half the amount.
I’m anxious to dive into your page for more recipes.
Thanks so much Kim! I’m glad I could remind you of home ๐
I made this exactly as stated and my beans came out hard/uncooked tasting. Otherwise it was delicious. Could this be made with canned beans? Would I just follow from Step 5 on?
Sure you could do that. I wonder if your beans were old? Sometimes old beans don’t get soft.
Can real maple syrup be substituted for molasses? How about Truvia for brown sugar?
★★★★
I bet maple syrup would be good.
Came out very, very salty. I’m not sure if that was because I didn’t rinse the salt pork enough or because it and the extra salt in the sauce overpowered things. Next time I might just use regular belly pork.
Another MA native, always made in crock in the oven….gotta say with some onion…these were quick & delicious!
★★★★★
Glad to hear it! Thanks Coleen!
Have made these twice already. First time with the salt pork, but the second time I used a thick cut maple bacon. Both times, the beans’ sauce did not seem as thick as I remember (a native Bostonian, so we know our beans).
I popped the beans into a bean pot (you could use any oven safe covered pot) and had them in there for 3 hours at 250F. At the end, I stir in a couple of spoonfuls of maple syrup (the real thing, baby!).
★★★★
I’m glad you made it work for you. Did you reduce the sauce down in the Instant Pot? That’s what I did to thicken it.
Hi. I’m wondering approximately how long you saute them to get to a preferred thickness? If they were pressurized longer would it thicken more but be too soft? My husband prefers them all dente…at your regular time, are they all dente? ๐
They wouldn’t necessarily thicken if pressure cooked longer. I sauteed for 15 minutes.
I had the exactly the same result. Tossed out the whole batch.
★★
Interesting. Mine wasn’t salty at all. I wonder if the difference is because of the salt pork?
Since I am not the best baked bean maker using the oven, I am going to give this recipe a try as it sounds pretty close to what my mother used to make minus the brown sugar and hers were the best. She always used lean salt port as she said beans were not the same without them. I want to make 1/2 a recipe in my 6 quart pan. Should I cut everything in 1/2 including the water and when you saute ,what setting do you use, less, normal or high?
Yes that is the way I would halve the recipe. I used high to reduce.
I’m suddenly not receiving your emails Have you stopped sending them? I miss them. Kathleen
Hi Kathleen, I still send them out! I will look into it!
Can I use diced left over ham instead of the salt pork or bacon?
★★★★★
I bet that would be amazing!
Have GOT to try this.
I am from Massachusetts, live close to Plymouth MA, and you are so RIGHT! SO much more history here.
Live in Tauntin, Ma…also known as the Silver City, because of Reed & Barton Silver Co. (which closed its doors not all that long ago… Sheffield Silver Co. , The Poole Silver Co, F.B.Rogets Silver Co.
It is home to one of the signers if the Declaration of Independance!!!
…and so much more
Love Baked beans, have my grandmothers BEAN JAR, & individual crocks. Have an OLD recipe for this so, I will be comparing…lol!
What a great place to live!
And I’m sure your grandmother’s recipe will be better!! Nothing beats Grandma’s cooking. But my version will most definitely take less time!
Thanks for the Baked Beans recipe, I’ve been looking for a great Baked Bean recipe and my wait has come to an end. You have posted so many great recipes that I have filled 2 notebooks and have enjoyed many great hours of cooking and eating. Your work is greatly appreciated.
★★★★★
Hi Roger, I hope you like it! Thanks so much for your nice words!!
Hey Karen! Looks like a solid Baked Bean recipie but I have one question? Growing up here in Maine my grandmother always fried the salt pork till crisp and set it aside.. . Then chopped a whole onion and softened them before adding all of your remaining ingredients into the pot and baked. The salt pork was ALWAYS fried up first, no extra salt was ever added. Maybe just a Maine thing…no Saturday Baked Beans without onions! Brown bread and homemade biscuits with Molasses.
Mmmm that version sounds great! Try it!
Karen,
I have the 3 quart instant pot. If I cut the ingredients in half do I follow the cooking time or lessen it.
Thank you for all the great recipes. I have tried and liked many of them.
Hi Christine, you will cut the ingredients in half and keep the same cooking time! https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-halve-instant-pot-recipes/
I have been wanting to make my own Boston Baked Beans from scratch but have just never done it. Now you have given me reason to finally do it! Iโve been eating Bushโs Grillin Beans Bourbon and Brown Sugar and love them but Iโm sure yours are so much better! Thank you!
I love Bush’s too! Hope you like my recipe ๐
Hi Karen instead of salt pork can bacon be used?
Yes! I would chop it up and add it in. Lots of good flavor!
Yay! I’ve been waiting for the MA since it’s the state I live in. I’m a New Englander through and through so I’ll be keeping my eyes out for the other New England recipes. These ingredients (with onion added) are exactly what I use in my long cooking baked beans, so I can’t wait to make them in the IP. That sure will save a lot of time. Thank you Karen!
Hi Carol, thanks so much for following along! I hope you like my version!
Boston also has a great seafood bake! Can use any type fish or shell fish!
Oh, I bet it does! I wish I had better access to fresh seafood!
Hi Karen,
First, thank you for all of the great recipes! This one looks delicious and we will be making it soon. Can we freeze or can the leftover Boston Baked Beans?
I think freezing them would work great!