Steal the Show at Your Next Barbecue With These Instant Pot Baked Beans

Baked beans are an absolute staple of barbecue dinners and Southern cooking. Hearty, sweet, and full of flavor, this side dish can complement any meal. But baked beans are often loaded with added sugar and calories, which we can do without. The fix: this healthier Instant Pot baked beans recipe.
We love a good Instant Pot recipe — this multipurpose pressure cooker is one of our favorite meal prep tools, because it’s so easy and convenient. Case in point: you only need four minutes of prep time to put together these healthier baked beans. Then let the cooker do its thing, and in less than two hours, you’ll have eight servings of this smoky and spicy side dish for your weekly meal prep.
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Instant Pot Baked Beans Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. ground smoked paprika
- 4 cups white beans, drained, rinsed (approx. 3 cans, 15-oz. each)
- 1 cup low-sodium organic vegetable broth
- ½ cup all-natural BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup all-natural ketchup
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. molasses
- 2 bay leaves
Our Instant Pot baked beans are made with white beans — one of the healthiest types of beans — along with plenty of flavor from spices and herbs like smoked paprika, bay leaves, and chili powder. And instead of brown sugar, this recipe gets its sweetness from from all-natural ketchup, all-natural BBQ sauce, and a touch of molasses.
While a cup of canned baked beans contains 280 calories and approximately 18 grams of added sugars, this version contains just 187 calories and 3 grams of added sugars per cup — along with 10 grams of protein and 7 grams of filling fiber. Make a batch on Meal Prep Monday and you’ll be enjoying those backyard barbecue vibes all week!

Instant Pot Baked Beans
We're taking the BBQ straight to you with this four-minute Instant Pot baked beans recipe! It's fragrant, sweet, and only has 187 calories and 3 grams of added sugar per serving!
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. ground smoked paprika
- 4 cups white beans, drained, rinsed approx. 3 cans, 15-oz. each
- 1 cup low-sodium organic vegetable broth
- ½ cup all-natural BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup all-natural ketchup
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. molasses
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
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Finely chop onion and bell pepper. Set aside.
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Set Instant Pot to “sauté”; lightly coat with spray.
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Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
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Add chili powder and smoked paprika; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
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Add beans, broth, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, molasses, and bay leaves; stir until well combined.
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Set instant pot to “high”; seal lid and vent. Cook for 75 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. Carefully open vent; remove lid. Let baked beans cool slightly; remove bay leaves. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
The Nutrition Facts box below provides estimated nutritional information for this recipe.
Photography by Anguel Dimov, AB Creative