If you avoid cooking dried beans because it’s time-consuming, you must try making Instant Pot Black beans! Cooking dried beans in a pressure cooker means you can skip soaking them overnight and then simmering them for hours on the stove. These beans are ready to eat in under an hour.
To make this vegetarian Instant Pot black beans recipe, all you need are dried beans, onions, garlic, and a few seasonings. You essentially toss everything into the Instant Pot and let it do its thing! For more easy Instant Pot recipes, try my Instant Pot chicken alfredo, Instant Pot mashed potatoes, and Instant Pot sweet potatoes.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Black beans — you need 1 pound of dried black beans. You don’t need to soak them after you rinse them.
Aromatics — diced onion and minced garlic add so much flavor to the beans. Even if you’re wanting a fairly plain pot of beans to add other seasonings to or use in other recipes, I recommend still including these basics. Without them, the beans will never taste quite as delicious or savory.
Seasoning — chili powder, ground cumin, salt, and dried oregano ensures these beans are anything but bland.
Lime juice — fresh lime juice brightens up all the flavors.
How To Make Instant Pot Black Beans
1. Place the dried beans in a large colander and rinse under cool water. Pick out any stones or shriveled beans.
2. Add the rinsed black beans and 6 cups of water to the Instant Pot insert.
3. Then add diced onion, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and oregano.
4. Place the lid on and twist and seal to lock. Turn the steam release valve to “sealing.” Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 25 minutes. Then, allow a natural release of steam for 25 minutes. Release any remaining pressure manually. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Add the fresh lime juice and season with more salt to taste.
No Soaking Required
Unlike stovetop beans, Instant Pot black beans don’t need to be soaked! Soaking the beans helps to soften them and reduce cooking time when cooking beans on the stove, but the Instant Pot softens the beans in a fraction of the time with no soaking. A pressure cooker really makes cooking dried beans so convenient!
Ratio Of Water To Dried Beans
You need 6 cups of water per pound of dried, unsoaked beans. For a volume measurement, that’s roughly 1⅓ cups of water to ½ cup of dried beans. You can scale the recipe up or down by using the bean to water ratio.
How To Prep Dried Beans For Cooking
Cleaning dry beans before cooking them is so important as debris can sometimes find it’s way into the ways during processing. Rinse the beans in a colander to remove any dust from the beans. After rinsing them, pick through the beans and discard any damaged or broken beans or small rocks. Your beans are now ready for the pressure cooker!
How To Use Instant Pot Black Beans
These perfect black beans are a delicious, simple, and nutritious side dish. You can also use them in recipes calling for canned black beans. Here are some ideas:
- Black bean soup
- Black bean burgers
- Huevos rancheros
- Taco soup
- Veggie burgers
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Use them as a topping for taco salad or nachos
- Serve them with Mexican rice, slow cooker carnitas, and your favorite toppings for a delicious burrito bowl
Storage Tips
Store completely cooled Instant Pot black beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
To freeze these beans for later, portion and store them in freezer bags or airtight containers for up to 6 months. Leave room in the containers for expansion when they freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- For thicker black beans, you can drain off the liquid after cooking or mash ½ to 1 cup of the beans and stir them back into the pot.
- To soften the flavors of the onion and garlic, use the saute function to cook them until starting to brown in 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil before pressure cooking the black beans.
- Use a 6-quart Instant Pot. This is the ideal size for this recipe. If using a smaller Instant Pot, remember that the contents should not pass the max fill line. You may need to scale the recipe down to fit into a smaller pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the Instant Pot, black beans are pressure-cooked for 25 minutes and the steam is naturally released for 25 minutes. So they will take just under an hour to cook, depending on how long it takes for the Instant Pot to pressurize.
Using old beans is the main reason your beans may be hard after pressure-cooking them. Additionally, if you don’t add enough water, the beans will not cook properly. Lastly, be sure to save the lime juice for after the beans are soft. Acids like lime juice and vinegar, and even tomatoes, can prevent beans from getting soft. If your beans are still too hard after cooking them, simmer the beans with ½ teaspoon of baking soda until soft.
Yes, you can overcook beans. I have found that even 5 extra minutes in the Instant Pot can yield mushy black beans. Stick to the cooking times in this recipe.
No, I don’t recommend using canned beans. They will turn to mush and disintegrate in the pressure cooker. If you want a similar flavor but want to use canned beans, use your stovetop. In a saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until softened. Then, add the canned beans (undrained) and spices and cook for just a few minutes until heated through.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot black beans recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Instant Pot Black Beans Recipe
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans (450g)
- ½ yellow onion diced (130g)
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- In a large colander, rinse the black beans under cool water. Remove any broken beans or small stones.
- Add the black beans, 6 cups of water, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and oregano to the Instant Pot insert.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and twist and seal to lock. Turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 25 minutes. Let steam release naturally, for 25 minutes, then release manually.
- Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Add the lime juice and season with more salt to taste.
Notes
- For thicker black beans, you can drain off the liquid after cooking or mash ½ to 1 cup of the beans and stir them back into the pot.
- To soften the flavors of the onion and garlic, use the saute function to cook them until starting to brown in 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil before pressure cooking the black beans.
- Use a 6-quart Instant Pot. This is the ideal size for this recipe. If using a smaller Instant Pot, remember that the contents should not pass the max fill line. You may need to scale the recipe down to fit into a smaller pot.
