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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.
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
Video
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 medium 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 --35 Minutes on High PressureCannellini Beans --35 Minutes on High PressureLarge Lima Beans -- 22 Minutes on High PressureBaby Lima Beans -- 18 Minutes High PressureRed Beans: -- 30 Minutes on High Pressure
- Allow pressure to naturally release until pressure subsides, or at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release of the remaining pressure.
- 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
- Electric Pressure Cooker (6 or 8 quart) (this is the least expensive, most reliable model)
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This worked well. I am old school with old school tools: an 8-qt. old time Presto Pressure cooker of my mothers from ~1950's. Two piece thick aluminum pot/lid, gasket inside the lid, button emergency release valve in the lid, and a weight-style stopper with a 3-ring button that raises as the pressure builds. Also a perforated aluminum plate for keeping the food from resting directly on the bottom.
One pound pintos, 8 cups water, sealed it tight, waited for the boil, let steam out until the sputter stopped and then popped the stopper on. I allowed it to build so all three rings showed on the weight-stopper, lowered the gas flame, and cooked them for 40 minutes. Allowed the pot to cool on its own, and gently opened the lid. I was very surprised to see nicely the beans retained their shape, albeit split in the middle, and they were cooked just right. I can't tell you how many beans I've soaked/slow cooked for HOURS, until they were all but a mush. YEARS of them...so this is a very exciting discovery.
If any of you are dehydrators, you can spread these beans on trays and dehydrate ~125 degrees for about 6 hours (but check times given for your machine). What HUGE savings!! Cook time, better cook, not having to use canned (pressure cooked) beans to dehydrate. There's just too many pros to this than not. Excellent post...thanks!
I am so happy you were finally able to perfect cooking dried beans using this method as a guide! Thanks for sharing your tips as well!
Cooking time for black eyed peas?
For black-eyed peas, I would cook for 17 minutes.
My wife and I just bought our first InstaPot and found your site as we looked for info on converting a 'traditional' recipe to InstaPot.
Excellent video! We are choosing to soak the beans overnight and will use your recipe tomorrow to make some awesome refried beans.
Looking forward to trying some other recipes, too ~~ like a kid in a candy store . . . but we don't eat candy anymore!
I would have left out the apple cider vinegar at the end as it immediately made my beans bitter. I was able to wash it off the beans but it made the soaking liquid unusable.
Hi Christine. I often discard the soaking liquid myself, as it really lacks flavor (I just use it to store the beans). The vinegar helps make beans a bit easier to digest, but of course you can omit it.
I am cooking 1 lb of beans i added 6 cups of water and hamhock, it is now almost at 3/5ths full, is that ok, am worried.
Hi Shelia! It will be okay, just be sure to allow pressure to release fully naturally.
Can I cook 2 lbs of pinto beans in my 8 quart instapot. When you say don't fill the pot more than half full, is that meaning with liquid or with beans. Thanks!
Hi Hannah! Yes, you can fit 2 pounds of beans in your Instant Pot. I would add 12 cups of water. That will be plenty!
I'm making red beans and rice. I'm assuming you should cook the beans for 30 minutes?
Yes! 30 minutes for red beans works. Enjoy!