Select the Sauté or Browning function on Pressure Cooker and allow to heat.
Add bacon and onions to the Pressure Cooker cooking pot and cook until bacon begins to render, scraping brown bits from bottom of cooking pot.
Add 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking until water has evaporated, bacon fat is rendered and onions are semi-soft.
Add beans, water, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Ketchup, Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard, apple cider vinegar and Pepper to the cooking pot. Stir to combine.
Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure (most machines default to high pressure) for 60-70 minutes. If you are sure your beans are super fresh, 60 minutes will suffice.
When beep sounds, wait 10 minutes and then carefully release the rest of the pressure.
Add the salt. Taste a couple of beans for tenderness and sweetness and add more Molasses, if a sweeter taste is desired. If you prefer a more tender bean, lock the lid back into place and cook for another 10- 15 minutes.
To thicken up the sauce, select the Sauté or Browning function and simmer until desired consistency. Beans will continue to absorb liquid as they cool.
Notes
If you prefer to use another type of bean, like Northern Beans, those will work well too. Soak them for about an hour and if they start to expand, they should be good to go.Old Beans will remain hard and not absorb water. Make sure to check expiration date.For a dump and push start recipe, add all ingredients to cooking pot and cook for 70 minutes.
Vegetarian Option
Leave out the bacon and make one of the following adjustment(s):
Add two tablespoons of finely crushed smoked almonds. Grind them up to a paste and add into the pot of beans. This will give a nice and smoky flavor!
Pour 2 teaspoons of hickory liquid smoke into the pot, along with the rest of the ingredients.
Excess Liquid in Instant Pot Baked Beans
Don't concern yourself with the amount of liquid in the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker cooking pot. A certain amount is needed for the pot to come to pressure and then cook.
Also, assuming the beans are fresh, they will continue to absorb more liquid after they are cooked. If the beans are old, they won't soften and won't absorb the liquid.
You can always simmer, if you feel the beans are too watery.
Personally, I like my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Baked Beans a bit liquidy (not thin or watery, but with more juice/liquid), as I dip my Homemade Hot Dog Bun into the sauce, before taking a bite!These Instant Pot Baked Beans will taste like they have been cooking and baking all day in a clay oven.