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Instant Pot Beans

Budget Cooking· DIY· Healthy Eating Strategies· Instant Pot· Real Food· Real Life

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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. Cooked bean in glass jars with text that reads 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 my 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 the all the buzz was true.

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It was.

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. 

Instant pot with text overlay saying let's rock your instant pot with step by step recipes, troubleshooting advice, and pressure cooker tips with button to subsribe to get cooking

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 Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers, 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 better texture than canned beans.

Instant Pot Beans

2 ball jars filled with cooked pinto beans that have dried beans off the side.

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

  • Place 1 pound dried beans with 6- 8 cups water in your Instant Pot.
  • Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes for just cooked beans that hold their shape and have a bit of chew.
  • For softer beans, cook for 40-45 minutes for super tender beans.
  • Once beans have finished cooking, drain off the cooking liquid and use as directed in recipes.
  • I do like to 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.

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 an halved onion, bay leaf and 2-3 teaspoons salt.
  • For Southwestern dishes, I add in 1-2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning. 

the inner pot of the instant pot filled with dried pinto beans, onions, bay leaves and garlic cloves with water and salt to the side.

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 wooden spoon holding up tenderly cooked pinto beans from the Instant Pot

A Few Hints For Cooking Instant Pot Dried Beans

  • Almost all dried beans take 30 minutes to cook. I have found that black beans are ready in 25 minutes and chickpeas, are softer at 40 minutes.
  • If you like your beans SUPER soft, without a bite left to them, cook for 40-45 minutes on high pressure.
  • Never fill your inner pot of your pressure cooker more than 1/2 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 mits and pushing steam valve to release. Just be careful not to burn 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 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar while 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

Let’s Make Instant Pot Beans

The Easiest Way to Cook Dried Beans
4.67 from 3 votes
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Instant Pot Dried Beans

How to Cook Dried Beans in a Pressure Cooker with No Pre-Soaking Required 

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Instant Pot Beans
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Pressure Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 12 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 63 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried beans rinsed and sorted (this is equal to 2 measuring cups full of dried beans)
  • 8 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar optional
  • 1 bay leaf optional
  • 1 onion, sliced optional

Instructions

  1. Place beans, salt and water in pressure cooker. Add in apple cider vinegar, bay leaf and onion if using. 

  2. Place lid on Instant Pot and close valve to "seal."

  3. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.  *See notes

  4. Allow to naturally release until pressure subsides, or at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release.

  5. Once beans have finished cooking, drain off the cooking liquid and use as directed in recipes. I do like to 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. 

Recipe Notes

  • Almost all dried beans take 30 minutes to cook.
  • I have found that black beans are ready in 25 minutes and chickpeas are softer at 40 minutes.
  • For incredibly soft beans without much structure left, cook for 40-45 minutes on high pressure. 
  • Add in the apple cider vinegar to help aid in digestion of beans.
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Dried Beans
Amount Per Serving
Calories 63
% Daily Value*
Sodium 200mg 8%
Potassium 256mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Protein 4g 8%
Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 1.8%
Iron 7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

My Must Have Instant Pot Accessories for Making Dried Beans

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Comments

  2. I sure don’t have an Instant Pot – but I wish I did as these beans are the bombdiggity! With a vegetarian daughter in the house, I’ve been making all sorts of pulses / legumes and this would be a wonderful rotation – loving how you flavored them as I too love some flavor in all things!

    Reply

  4. How had I not subscribed to your newsletter yet already??? Sorry about that! I’d love to see you make RIBS in the insta-pot!

    Reply

  5. I subscribed! I would love a recipe for a pasta dish in the Instant Pot! Is that even possible lol.

    Reply

    • YAY! So happy to have you Alexandra! And pasta in the instant pot–I will work on it–stay tuned!

      Reply

  9. I already subscribed recently 🙂 Chicken tortilla soup sounds yummy! Anything to save time in the kitchen is great for me 😉

    Reply

    • YAY!! Love having you here Brie! Any time saving recipe is great for us too. Here is a similar recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup https://amindfullmom.com/chicken-chili/ To make it more like soup than chili, add in additional 2 cups chicken stock. And you can hit stew on Instant Pot and set for 25 minutes–and done!

      Reply

  12. I was blessed with an IP for Christmas. I would love to see some Asian inspired recipes. Thanks for the education on pulses. My DH wants more in the meal plan, so now I feel confident adding them quickly at supper time. Thank you!

    Reply

  13. I just subscribed! My family loves beans, especially mixing 1lb pinto beans with 1 lb ground beef for tacos. Stretches our taco meat further and is cheaper than adding more beef! I would love to see a recipe in the instant pot for a teriyaki pork roast, or any pork roast. Thanks!

    Reply

    • YAY!! Welcome to A Mind “Full” Mom family! And I always stretch taco meat with some type of pulse. Pork Roast is a great idea!!

      Reply

  14. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I never seem to have enough time in the morning for breakfast. The instant pot looks like it would solve that problem. So I’d love it if you try more breakfast recipes. Baked eggs, perhaps?

    Reply

  18. I subscribe. I’m wondering what desserts could be made in the Instant Pot. I’ve seen slow-cooker recipes for things like chocolate covered peanut clusters or cakes. I’m wondering if you could make something like that in the Instant pot?

    Reply

    • Hmm, I know cakes I could pull off, but the chocolate clusters may be more of a challenge due to high heat. I am going to play around with it.

      Reply

  19. Just subscribed. Would love to see you make of the most famous Indian dishes, the chicken biryani.

    Reply

  20. Just subscribed! The beans look way less intimidating this way 😉 the chicken you just posted on Facebook looked so tasty, it’s what drew me here!

    Reply

    • So happy to have you Amanda 🙂 And beans are SO SO easy this way. And you have to try that Buffalo Chicken Dish–so yum!

      Reply

  22. I am seeing so many new recipes using an instant pot, and would love to try it! These beans look delish, just like everything else you make-YUM!!

    Reply

  23. Soups would be great!! We got our son and daughter in law one for Christmas and she absolutely loves it’ she loves doing the dried.beans in it!! They are doing the 100 days of Real Food so the Instant Pot helps out greatly!!

    Reply

  24. I would love win a Instant Pot I have been thinking about this for a while. I like you can brown in them. Thanks for the chance. The beans looks good.

    Reply

  25. I enjoy your blog and your helpful recipes and hints. I recently started making my own kefir- both milk kefir and water kefir. I would love to try an instant pot sometime. I often forget my beans and let them boil dry!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Diane!! That is a great idea to try kefir in instant pot. And your beans will never be over dried in Instant Pot.

      Reply

  27. Not sure how/why I haven’t subscribed before! What about something straight from the freezer… as in oh crap, I didn’t pull chicken out and I need dinner in an hour! Not that I ever do that… ????

    Reply

    • LOL!! You are NOT alone. And yes, I have pulled things straight from the freezer and the Instant Pot has it ready in 1 hour or less!

      Reply

    • Hi Beth! So I would only cook 2 pounds of beans in 10 cups of water and therefore, I think it will fit into your IP nicely. Just be sure to not fill past 2/3 of the way full 🙂

      Reply

  29. I have a question! We have a large family (10 kids!) and I want to cook two pounds of pinto beans at once. Suggestions on altering time and/or amount of water??

    Reply

    • Wow! You are my hero! So I actually just cooked 2 pounds of pinto beans. The timing is the same (it will take a bit longer to come to pressure), but you will put in the 2 pounds pinto beans and cooked them in 12 cups of water and they came out perfectly–just make sure you have a large enough Instant Pot that it is not more than 2/3rd of the way full. You don’t need a full 8 cups of water per pound of beans to cook–I just like the liquid it gives off.

      Reply

  30. Thanks for the recipe. I got my IP just a short time ago and love it. Beans are a staple in our house so I’ve been making double batches at a time, then pressure canning them in Mason jars.

    Fry up an Onion, chopped chorizo, then add a jar of homemade beans, a dollop of your favourite bbq sauce, and dinner’s ready in 10 minutes.

    Reply

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