Sort through your beans and remove any funny looking ones. Give them a thorough rinse in a colander.
Add dried beans, 8 cups water, and teaspoon of salt to the Instant Pot. Secure lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. When done, press Off and allow pressure to naturally release. When lid can be removed, drain and rinse beans. Clean pot and return to pressure cooker.
Cook baked beans:
Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and add your bacon pieces. Cook bacon until crispy, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When done, transfer cooked bacon pieces to a separate plate (will be added back in at the very end) and keep all bacon grease in the Instant Pot.
Add bell pepper and onion to the bacon grease and cook on saute mode for about 5-10 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to release anything that may have stuck to the bottom. Because of the large amount of grease, vegetables will not brown but they will get soft.
Whisk together remaining ingredients except for the tomato sauce in a small bowl.
Add partially cooked and rinsed beans, tomato sauce, and remaining ingredients (not cooked bacon pieces) to Instant Pot. Gently stir to combine. Close and secure lid. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. When done, turn off but let beans release pressure naturally. When pressure is gone and lid can be opened, remove lid and gently stir.
Stir in cooked bacon. Beans will thicken as they cool. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
When cooking the bacon - Keep it moving around as it cooks. As it gets closer to being done, the fat will bubble more and the bacon is at risk of burning if you're not constantly stirring.
Want a little heat? You can always add a little hot sauce, red pepper flakes, a diced jalapeno, or cayenne if you want a little kick in your Instant Pot baked beans.
Storing leftovers - Leftover baked beans can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. For longer storage, add to a plastic quart sized container and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheating - To reheat baked beans, simply heat on low in a pot on the stove or microwave at 50% power in one minute increments, stirring after each minute.
How to keep warm - Since baked beans are a staple at potlucks and summer cookouts, you can keep them warm on the low setting in a slow cooker or in a large covered pot over very low heat. Be sure to keep them covered so they don't dry out!