How to Cook Black Beans in a Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)

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You can have perfectly tender black beans in a matter of minutes when using your pressure cooker or Instant Pot! In less than an hour, your perfectly seasoned black beans are ready! And the best part - you hardly have to do anything!

Canned beans are not nearly as tasty as freshly cooked beans and their broth.

Fortunately, you can now cook up these flavorful beans easily by using an Instant Pot (or another electric pressure cooker).

Spice up your beans with green bell pepper, adding cumin, oregano, red wine vinegar, garlic cloves, and onion to taste like perfection!

These are a great Trim Healthy Mama E fuel!

IN THIS ARTICLE:
About black beans
How long does it take to cook black beans in a pressure cooker?
How to Cook Soaked Black Beans in the Instant Pot
Is it necessary to soak black beans in the Instant Pot?
How to Soak Beans?
Benefits of soaking black beans before pressure cooking
What is the ratio of black beans to water in Instant Pot?
Seasoning Black Beans
How to Use Instant Pot Black Beans to replace canned beans in a recipe?
How many cups is 1 pound of black beans?
How to store cooked black beans
Uses for Pressure Cooker Black Beans

About Black Beans

Black beans have their origin in Central & South America. They are most widely consumed in several Latin-American dishes, however, Indian, Cajun, and Creole cooking often use them.

Black beans are particularly delicious in vegetarian food due to their similar textures to meat. They provide great protein and offer approximately 8 grams of protein per ½ cup.

They also contain calcium, iron, folate, and potassium.

Cooking Black Beans

There are a variety of methods used for cooking dried beans. You can use a slow cooker, a pot on the stove, a stovetop pressure cooker, or an electric pressure cooker, as used in this recipe.

How long does it take to cook black beans in a pressure cooker?

For this recipe, you will process the beans in your Instant Pot for 25 minutes on manual pressure, then do a 10-minute natural release to release the remaining pressure..

This is a total of 35 minutes, but you'll also need to figure in the amount of time it takes for your pressure cooker to come to pressure (roughly 15-20 minutes).

How to Cook Soaked Black Beans in the Instant Pot

When cooking soaked black beans in an Instant Pot, drain the water, rinse the beans, and add the beans back into the Instant Pot at the appropriate step of the recipe.

The cooking time will be greatly reduced since soaking the dry beans also softens them. If you're using soaked beans, you only need to cook them in the Instant Pot for about 10 minutes with a 15-minute natural pressure release.

Is it necessary to soak black beans in the Instant Pot?

No, it is not necessary to soak your black beans before cooking them with your instant pot pressure cooker! You can cook dry beans, and they will still turn out great.

If you do not have time to soak your beans ahead of time, don't worry! You can still make delicious black beans in your Instant Pot.

How to Soak Beans?

Soaking dry beans reduces the presence of Phytic Acid. There's only one downside: it can require planning ahead a bit.

For black beans soak, cover the dried beans with about 4 inches of water. The beans will 2-3 times their size as they soak, so it's important to take that into account when you select the size of the bowl.

Ensure the soak times are at least 6-8 hours or overnight. You could soak these in the morning before cooking and they will be ready for your instant pot by dinner.

Benefits of soaking black beans before pressure cooking

Beans also contain a compound called raffinose. When this hard-to-digest-carbohydrate is broken down in the intestines, it can produce gas. Soaking the beans helps to break down some of the raffinose so that the black beans are more easily digested.

Soaking also makes the beans cook faster and more evenly. You don't have to soak black beans before cooking them in a pressure cooker, but I find that it helps.

Another benefit of beans soaked before cooking is the increased bioavailability of the nutrients. The soaking helped break down the beans slightly to get more nutrients. Because it helps digestion, I strongly advise all to soak the beans for 6 to 8 hours.

What is the ratio of black beans to water in Instant Pot?

You need 3 cups of cooking liquid for every 1 cup of dried beans.

Cooked Beans

Wondering how to make your instant pot beans take delicious or how to use them in recipes? Just keep reading!

Seasoning Black Beans

Black beans are seasoned to make them taste delicious and are great to serve in a variety of delicious recipes.

This recipe calls for the following to season and flavor the dry beans:

• Green Bell Pepper 
• Onion 
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Cloves
• Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• Salt To Taste (I Used 2 Teaspoons)
• Black Pepper
• Oregano
• Cumin
• Bay Leaf
• Red Wine Vinegar

Feel free to add more spices or omit spices to adjust the recipe to your family's preferences.

How to Use Instant Pot Black Beans to replace canned beans in a recipe?

For those who prefer to use canned beans in black beans recipes, one regular 15-ounce can has approximately 1.5 cups of black beans.

If you want to use your instant pot black beans in place of cans, just follow the instructions below!

Place beans in a plastic freezer bag or another freezer-safe container.

In each storage container, put 1.5 cups of beans into each container and then top it with cooking liquids. This will equal one can of beans.

You can use one bag of beans to replace one can of canned black beans.

The instant pot black beans recipe below yields approximately 6 cups of cooked black beans. This is a total of four cans.

Benefits of using dried beans instead of canned beans

Canned beans have added sodium. When you cook your own beans, you are in control of how much salt you add.

This can be useful if you are watching your sodium intake.

Plus, you can add your own spices and seasonings to add more flavor!

How many cups is 1 pound of black beans?

One pound of dry beans equals roughly 2 ½ cups of dried beans.

After cooking the one pound of dry beans, you will have 6 cups of cooked black beans.

How to store cooked black beans

Cooked black beans can be stored in the fridge for up to one week.

They can also be frozen and will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

To freeze, let the beans cool completely and then portion them into freezer bags, including some of the cooking liquid. Remove as much air as possible and then seal.

Label and date the bags before placing them in the freezer.

Uses for Pressure Cooker Black Beans

Not sure how to use your perfectly cooked beans? Try some of the suggestions below:

• Toss them into a salad
• Serve them over brown rice with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a dab of sour cream
• Use them to make Instant Pot Rice & Beans
• Use them as a side dish
• Add them to your favorite soup or chili recipe
• Make black bean brownies
• Whip up some black bean hummus
• Add them to quesadillas or tacos
• Enjoy them as is, with a little bit of salt and pepper or chili powder

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