Gone are the days of a dried black beans recipe starting with something like “soak for … ” Y’all, ain’t nobody got time for that. So today, I’m going to teach you how to use that fancy Instant Pot you got on Prime Day by showing you how to cook black beans in a pressure cooker.
Specifically, we’re going to make a Mexican Black Beans recipe, because although black beans are good for all kinds of things, I find they are the best when cooked with the warm spices from south of the border.
And after all, this is my little corner of the internet, isn’t it? So we’re going to do it my way!
The basic ingredients you’ll need for this easy black beans recipe are above. I probably left a few out ( sorry, spices! ), but you get the idea: liquid, dried beans, aromatics.
Here’s the main thing you need to sort out though ( get it, it’s a sorting beans joke! ):
how to sort beans
- First, open your bag of dried beans and carefully pour it out onto a sheet pan with a raised edge. ( This particular set is probably my all time favorite kitchen purchase ever and you won’t believe how reasonably priced it is: My Favorite Pans )
Beautiful, perfect beans! Not so perfect manicure…
2. Pick out any items from the dried beans that uh … aren’t beans. Plus, pick out any discolored beans or shells like in the photo below.
Not so pretty beans, plus … a rock? cat litter? small meteors? Not sure, but not going to eat it.
BOOM! You’ve sorted beans and they are ready to cook!
Now, onto the whole Instant Pot thing. This picture tells you pretty much everything you need to know: You’re going to cook your beans on the manual setting ( Pressure Cook ) for 30 minutes.
Once that timer ends, your pot will beep, and the display will display an L in front of a new timer, which will now count up. Once that timer hits 20 minutes, you should be all set!
Just carefully release any remaining pressure, stir in a little salt, and serve your black beans!
I’ve added some recommendations for what to serve with these Instant Pot Black Beans below. Enjoy!
What to serve with black beans?
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 lb black beans, dry
- 3½ cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 pickled jalapeno rings, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder OR 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional ( may or may not be needed based on how salty your broth is )
- Remove the lid from your Instant Pot and press the Sauté button. Once the display says "HOT", add the olive oil to the insert inside the pot and then stir in the chopped onion. Sauté the onion for 8 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the salt to the pot and stir to combine. If you are thinking about ignoring this instruction to leave out the salt, please read the note at the bottom of the recipe.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, turn it to lock, and move the pressure release valve to "Sealing" position.
- Press "Pressure Cook", and set the timer for 30 minutes. The timer will not start until the pot has come to pressure.
- Once the timer has ended and the machine has automatically switched to the Warm function, let the Instant Pot sit for 20 minutes undisturbed. This is called a Natural Pressure Release. After those 20 minutes are up, carefully move the pressure release valve to the Venting position and let any remaining pressure release.
- Once all built up pressure is out of the pot and the float valve has dropped ( which indicated the pressure is released ), open the pot , stir in the salt with the beans, and serve!
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