This Boston Baked Beans Recipe has got to be the easiest way to make baked beans! These beans are delectably sweet and make the perfect side dish!
Why These Boston Baked Beans Are Just SO Good
Boston Baked Beans are a deliciously sweet comfort food side dish that came out of Boston in the 1800s. With their rich molasses flavor, they are the perfect compliment to a myriad of savory dishes. But their one downfall is how long they take to cook.
But what if I told you that you could get all that bean goodness in about an hour as opposed to six to eight? This Instant Pot vegetarian Boston Baked Beans Recipe is bound to be the easiest one you've ever made, and the quickest as well!
So here's the trick...you cook them in the Instant Pot. I know they aren't technically "baked" beans at this point, but if you can get the same end result in a fraction of the time, and with minimal effort, you can bet I'm going to go with the easier method.
And the beans turn out SO good! Thanks to the miracle of pressure cooking, you can start this Boston Baked Beans Recipe around dinner time instead of first thing in the morning and still enjoy them by the time your main dish is ready!
Not only does the Instant Pot dramatically cut down on the cooking time, but it does a wonderful job of infusing the beans with tons of flavor! It's one of the main reasons I turn to my Instant Pot on a regular basis for cooking dishes like this and let me tell you, this Boston Baked Beans Recipe really must be tasted to be fully appreciated.
And did I mention that this dish is vegetarian? This Boston Baked Beans recipe is meat-free, and it's the perfect Instant Pot vegetarian recipe to make as a side dish! Now let's get to cooking!
How To Make This Boston Baked Beans Recipe
- Place water, beans, onion, ketchup, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, allow the pot to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then, release all remaining pressure.
- Open the lid, and using the back of a spoon, mash a few of the beans to thicken, and serve.
Tips And Tricks For Making This Instant Pot Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans Recipe
- You do need to soak the navy beans before cooking them, so you can either soak them overnight or soak them in hot water for an hour before you cook them.
- You might be wondering, "How do you thicken Boston baked beans?" The trick is to mash some of the beans after cooking them in order to thicken it up. Just mash some up with the back of a spoon and mix it all together.
- I made my recipe meat-free, but you can feel free to add some salt pork or bacon into the mix.
- These beans actually freeze very well, so feel free to make an extra-large batch to freeze and enjoy later! Just make sure you let the beans cool before putting them in the freezer, as putting hot beans in the freezer can cause the beans to burst or the container they're in to crack.
What Do You Serve With Boston Baked Beans?
There are tons of great dishes you can pair these baked beans with! Here are a few great options to consider:
- Few things go together like ribs and baked beans, and these Pressure Cooker Ribs are the perfect match!
- Pork chops are a great pairing option for baked beans, and my Air Fryer Pork Chops makes some of the juiciest pork chops out there!
- Believe it or not, baked beans make a great breakfast dish as well! Pair them with my Broccoli Frittata with Ham and Peppers and you'll have a breakfast you won't soon forget.
- And of course, If you're going to make my Boston Baked Beans recipe, then you absolutely MUST make my Boston Brown Bread Recipe to go with it! The two were made for each other!
Don't forget to check out my Instant Pot Fast & Easy Cookbook or my Instant Pot Vegetarian Book!
This book is full of all kinds of boldly flavored and internationally-themed recipes—Mexican, Thai, Moroccan, and more—with Instant Pot Fast & Easy, fully authorized by Instant Pot. Just like you have come to expect, my recipes will work perfectly every time, and of course, taste great too.
So whenever you get that craving for some baked beans, put away that canned stuff and make yourself this Boston Baked Beans Recipe instead! make sure to share this recipe with your friend on Pinterest and Facebook so they can enjoy it as well!
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below! Just click on the stars in the recipe card to rate.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Dried Navy Beans, soaked overnight or 1 hour in hot water
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup Ketchup
- 3 tablespoons Molasses
- 1 tablespoon Prepared Mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5-2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place water, beans, onion, ketchup, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, allow the pot to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then, release all remaining pressure.
- Open the lid, and using the back of a spoon, mash a few of the beans to thicken, and serve.
- You do need to soak the navy beans before cooking them, so you can either soak them overnight or soak them in hot water for an hour before you cook them.
- You might be wondering, "How do you thicken Boston baked beans?" The trick is to mash some of the beans after cooking them in order to thicken it up. Just mash some up with the back of a spoon and mix it all together.
- I made my recipe meat-free, but you can feel free to add some salt pork or bacon into the mix.
- These beans actually freeze very well, so feel free to make an extra-large batch to freeze and enjoy later! Just make sure you let the beans cool before putting them in the freezer, as putting hot beans in the freezer can cause the beans to burst or the container they're in to crack.
scott
About soaking. Have you tried the "quick soak" used by my other favorite PC author? Basically 3X water 2-3 min at high, 10 min natural release then rinse and use. I find it works really well. BTW her site is hip pressure cooking. You two are the only PC authors that I have found reliable, though I think she tends to tone down the spiciness a bit more than I prefer so I compensate.
URVASHI PITRE
You know, I have. I tried that. I tried NPR for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, the beans were all but cooked so it was too late to use them in recipes. Even at 10 minutes, they were semi-cooked. When I write recipes, I have to write them in a way that will work for everyone. So if someone chose to NOT use that method, and then made one of my recipes, their beans would be overcooked. So I've stayed away from it.