Put your instant pot on the sauté setting on medium or low and heat the olive oil.
Chop the garlic and onions and add them to the heated oil in the instant pot when it is hot and ready. The oil will become fragrant and will start to smoke slightly.
Sauté the garlic and onions until the onions become translucent. Make sure the garlic does not brown more than slightly golden.
Add the rest of the ingredients: Mexican oregano, bay leaves, pinto beans, water and salt.
Set on high pressure for 35 minutes for natural pressure release. For forced pressure release set time for 45 minutes.
When the timer is up and you have taken the top off, remove the bay leaves.
Blend a portion of the pinto beans: If you have a hand held immersion blender blend about a third of the whole beans. If you don’t have a hand held immersion blender, remove about 1/3 of the beans and place them in a high speed blender until smooth-ish. Don’t over blend. Replace the blended beans back in to the pot of beans and mix them together.
Taste and adjust to taste with salt.