Instant Pot Beans: How to Cook Dried Beans in a Pressure Cooker with No Pre-Soaking Required: The EASIEST, FASTEST way to cook dried beans with success.
Do you guys have an Instant Pot?
No?!!!
Well, you need to get on it and get one ASAP!! I mean, like yesterday! I myself was skeptical of these magical pressure cooking pots, but I figured that since I am looked to for answers on all things food-related, I owed it to you all to get one and see if all the buzz was true.
It was.
The number one reason to fall in love with your pressure cooker is when you make Instant Pot Dried Beans!
If beans aren't your thing, check out my collection of Easy Healthy Instant Pot Recipes.
These pressure cookers are the BEST thing ever in a person who is busy but wants to cook home-cooked meals. I was hooked the first time I used my Instant Pot--which by the way was when I tried to make my 5 Ingredient Pot Roast with a frozen chuck roast and it was ready in less than an hour!! Crazy--right?!!
My latest obsession is making my dried beans in the Instant Pot.
I use beans in so many dishes like Black Bean Tacos, Minestrone, and Tuscan White Bean Pasta, that to be able to make beans quickly without pre-soaking, is a dream come true for me.
And in seriously a matter of 5 minutes prep and less than an hour, I have cooked dried beans that are ready to use. Not to mention, pressure cooking the beans results in the most tender beans I have EVER had! They have a better texture than canned beans.
Instant Pot Beans
Okay, let's break cooking dried beans without soaking down for you.
YES, you can cook dried beans WITHOUT soaking first. I know, mind-blowing!
How To Make Instant Pot Beans
- Rinse and sort your dried beans--just look over your dried beans to be sure there are no rocks that have snuck in!
- Place 1 pound dried beans with 8 cups water in your Instant Pot.
- Cook on high pressure for the directed time.
- Once cook time has released, let the pressure release naturally for at least 20 minutes before trying to do a quick release of pressure.
- Once beans have finished cooking, add in a splash of apple cider vinegar and salt. The salt flavors the beans, the vinegar helps make the beans easier to digest.
- I do like to store cooked beans in a bit of the cooking liquid to keep them moist and tender while they sit in the fridge, this is not necessary, but suggested.
Instant Pot Bean Cook Time
- Black Beans--30 Minutes on High Pressure
- Chickpeas--40 Minutes on High Pressure
- Kidney Beans--35 Minutes on High Pressure
- Pinto Beans--25 Minutes on High Pressure
- Navy Beans--25 Minutes on High Pressure
- Great Northern Beans-- on 35 Minutes High Pressure
How to Flavor Beans
Instead of just cooking dried beans in water alone, I like to add a little flavor to my beans. This step of course is optional but highly encouraged.
- Along with beans and water, add a half an onion and bay leaf.
- You will want to add salt or homemade taco seasoning AFTER your beans have been cooked. Adding salt BEFORE cooking dried beans can make it harder for your beans to break down and soften properly.
How do I know how much dried beans to cook for a recipe?
- First of all, let me start by saying that one pound of dried beans is equivalent to about 2 cups of measured dried beans. Therefore, if you don't have a one-pound bag of dried beans, just measure out 2 cups of beans for this recipe.
- Dried beans will triple in quantity when cooked. So for 1 pound, or 2 cups, of dried beans, you will have 6 cups cooked beans.
- Most recipes call for 15 ounce cans of beans. This is about 2 cups COOKED beans.
- Therefore this recipe for dried beans makes 6 cups cooked beans or the equivalent to 3 cans of beans.
How do I store leftover cooked beans?
You can cook extra beans in your pressure cooker to have on hand for recipes.
- Store leftover cooked beans in the refrigerator for 5 days. I keep the beans with a bit of the cooking liquid (much like you see in canned beans to keep them moist.) Just drain before serving.
- Or freeze prepared beans in 1 to 2 cup portions in freezer safe bags/containers in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can add a bit of cooking liquid to the beans you plan to freeze as well.
A Few Hints For Cooking Instant Pot Dried Beans
- If you like your beans SUPER soft, without a bite left to them, cook for an additional 10 minutes on high pressure.
- If you have pre-soaked your beans, reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.
- Never fill the inner pot of your pressure cooker more than ½ full when cooking beans.
- It is best to let the pressure release naturally for beans to retain shape. However, you may do a rapid release after 10 minutes, by putting on oven mitts and pushing the steam valve to release. Just be careful not to stand too close--that steam can burn your face!
- If you find beans to be hard on your stomach or make you gassy, either pre-soak beans overnight first and/or add in ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar after cooking.
- You will most likely have liquid left after cooking the beans in the instant pot, just drain off the liquid before using in recipes.
Recipes to Use Cooked Beans
- Healthy Black Bean Baked Tacos
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
- Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
- Vegetarian Lentil Chili
- Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili
Let's Make Instant Pot Beans
Instant Pot Dried Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans rinsed and sorted (this is equal to 2 measuring cups full of dried beans)
- 8 cups water
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1 onion, sliced optional
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar optional
Instructions
- Place beans, water, onion, and bay leaf if using in the inner pot of a pressure cooker.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and close valve to "seal."
- Cook on High Pressure for Following Times:Black Beans--30 Minutes on High Pressure Chickpeas--40 Minutes on High Pressure Kidney Beans--35 Minutes on High Pressure Pinto Beans--25 Minutes on High Pressure Navy Beans**--25 Minutes on High Pressure Butter Beans--40 Minutes on High Pressure Great Northern Beans-- on 35 Minutes High Pressure
- Allow to naturally release until pressure subsides, or at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Once beans have finished cooking, stir in salt and vinegar if using. Store cooked beans in a bit of the cooking liquid to keep them moist and tender while they sit in fridge, this is not necessary, but suggested.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- For incredibly soft beans without much structure left, add 10 minutes to cook time.
- For pre-soaked beans, decrease cook time by 10 minutes and decrease the water to 5 cups.
- For every additional pound of dried beans, add 2 cups of water for pressure cooking.
- Note on Navy Beans: Navy beans can get mushy if not pre-soaked. So if preparing them for baked beans or something you want to hold its shape, it is best to soak them for 8-12 hours in cold water and then drain and cook for 15 minutes on high pressure with natural pressure release.
- For cooking in your pressure cooker at a higher altitude, keep in mind these Instant Pot Altitude Conversions.
C Boulton
This technique is so useful! Question for you - after the beans are cooked I've noticed there is quite a bit of liquid. I have been keeping a bit of the cooking liquid as recommended but I do discard quite a bit as well. Is it best to add the salt and cider vinegar to the beans *before* partially draining them, or after? Thank you!!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi there! I love hearing you find this recipe helpful. I personally store the beans with a bit of the liquid. I would drain off about half, add salt, and vinegar to store.
Kevin
This is a really helpful chart for the timing of different types of beans. I used your recipe and timing to successfully cook butter beans a while back. Do you have a recommendation for how long to cook broad/fava beans? Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kevin! I am glad you found this to be helpful. Dried fava beans would need to be cooked for 10 minutes.
Kevin
Thanks so much! So 10 minutes on high pressure and then how long would you recommend for the natural release? 10 or 20 mins?
Kristen Chidsey
I would allow a natural pressure release for AT LEAST 15 minutes, full natural release is best for beans.
Dave
My instapot doesn’t have high, just different items like sou or meat. What is High?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Dave! Using high pressure is using the manual or pressure cook button, and being sure the pressure is set to high (which is the default) to cook things. This allows me to give accurate timing to all my readers. You can see how to control the temperature on my post on Instant Pot Settings. I hope that helps!
Emily
I used this recipe exactly, only using Navy Beans and water. The first attempt resulted in mushy beans, I needed some with more structure because I was using them for your baked bean recipe. Second attempt I cut the time down to 20 minutes and then let the pressure release for 20 minutes and they were a good consistency. Will be using this again for beans.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Emily! I have found soaking Navy Beans to help the beans be less mushy. Other varieties of dried beans turn out just perfectly. I will make sure that note is more apparent in the recipe card. Sorry about that! Thanks for sharing what worked for you!
Kristin
Hi! You didn’t mention Cannelini beans…I’m opting to use the Great Northern cooking time but fear they may require Navy Bean pre soak, please advise, thank you!!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kristin 🙂 I have found that Cannelini beans need a similar cooking time as Great Northern 🙂
Christy
What is the cooking time for field peas?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Christy! Field peas have a similar cooking time as black-eyed peas. I recommend cooking for 40 minutes on high pressure, as I do for my recipe for Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas and Greens. Enjoy
Sydney Selecky
Amazing, easy bean recipe!! If you half the recipe, how long do you cook for? Using black beans.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sydney! You would keep the cooking time the same regardless of the amount of beans used.
Cathy
Your video says to include garlic. The printed recipe does not include garlic. Which is best? Garlic or no garlic. Thx.
Kristen Chidsey
Either way is completely fine! If you like garlic, add it. If not, omit it.
Sandra Grimmett
My Southern recipe calls for garlic and Ham hock. 😉 Easy recipe.
Lady Di
I always use vegetable or chicken broth to cook my beans. It makes them so much more flavorful.
Kristen Chidsey
While this is true, if your broth is high in sodium, it can mess with the cooking time and the softening of the beans.
Bethany
Gonna make these with cranberry beans but I'm gonna use ham pieces for cooking stuff like this and salt with the water of this recipe. Was just looking for a guide, so I'm using the times for pinto cause that's the bean they are most similar to.
Kristen Chidsey
That is correct. Cranberry beans are very similar to pinto beans.