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 was skeptical of these magical pressure cooking pots, but I figured that since I am looking 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 for 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 them 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 of 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 the beans have finished cooking, add in a splash of apple cider vinegar and salt. The salt flavors the beans and 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 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 of cooked beans.
- Most recipes call for 15-ounce cans of beans. This is about 2 cups of 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 under 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 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 it 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.
Tisha
I love beans! These look fantastic and I need to get an instant pot ASAP!
Kristen Chidsey
Making beans in the Instant Pot is one of the number one reasons I adore my instant pot.
Candace
I followed your recipe for doing beans. They came out soupy. Any suggestions?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Candace, the beans will come out with quite a bit of liquid (this helps the beans plump up as they cook). Just drain off the liquid and use in recipes as you like.
Tom
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.
Kristen Chidsey
That sounds delicious Tom! I love beans with sausage and chorizo is extra delicious!
Bethy
How do i do pressure canning?
Kristen Chidsey
I do not recommend canning in the instant pot-Instant Pot themselves warn against it unless you have the Instant Pot Max.
Jennifer
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??
Kristen Chidsey
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.
Beth
I have the 8 qt IP. Do you think I could double the recipe, and do 2 lbs of beans?
Kristen Chidsey
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 🙂
Toni
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... ????
Kristen Chidsey
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!
Vanessa
I'd love to see you make Korean beef in the Instantpot!
Kristen Chidsey
Oh yes---I LOVE Korean beef.
Diane
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!
Kristen Chidsey
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.
Nancy Andrews
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.
Kristen Chidsey
The browning function is AMAZING!!
Linda Mullen
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!!
Kristen Chidsey
Instant Pots are such a useful tool in healthy eating!
Kristi Wilson
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!!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you so much Kristi!
Jamie H
I want to see if lasagna can be done in the instant pot!
Kristen Chidsey
YES!!! I am working on that. I love lasagna.
Amanda m
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!
Kristen Chidsey
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!
Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story
Just subscribed. Would love to see you make of the most famous Indian dishes, the chicken biryani.
Kristen Chidsey
You know, I think that is one of my favorites too! I have to get to work on it Vidya!
Tamra Phelps
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?
Kristen Chidsey
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.
Dee Fedor
I would love to see Chicken Paprika.
Kristen Chidsey
That sounds like a great idea!