These no soak instant pot black beans are easy to make and have so much more flavor than the canned version! Perfect for meal prep or as a side dish to your favorite tacos, salads, or protein bowls, these black beans can be ready in under an hour with no soaking required.
Table of Contents
Instant Pot black beans vs. canned black beans
I always have a few cans of black beans in the pantry, just in case. They’re a great addition to so many of my favorite recipes, like this Southwest Chicken Salad or my Quinoa Taco Bowls.
And while canned beans are easy to reach for, they simply just don’t taste as good as cooking your own, raw ingredients in the Instant Pot. Plus, purchasing bags of dry black beans will be easier on your wallet than always buying several cans.
Ingredient notes
- Dried Black Beans – You’ll want to rinse and sort the beans before using.
- Shallot & Garlic
- Bone Broth – Or, chicken stock or vegetable broth.
- Salt
No pre-soaking required
That’s right, you don’t need to soak your black beans before cooking them in the Instant Pot! As a matter of fact, you can cook several types of beans, like these Instant Pot refried beans, Instant Pot pinto beans and even chickpeas in the Instant Pot, without soaking beforehand.
How to make them
One of the best things about the Instant Pot, besides being an easy way to cook healthy food quickly, is that it is so simple — just 3 steps and you’re done! Season, cook, and serve.
Add everything to the Instant Pot
First, you want to gather all of your ingredients, including the dried beans, a shallot, garlic, salt, broth, and water, then add them all to the Instant Pot.
Cook
Next, place the lid on the pot and set the valve to seal. Then, cook on manual HIGH pressure for 30 minutes (it will take about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure, then a countdown timer will begin). Next, let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
Add final seasonings
When the pressure has been fully released, remove the shallot, crush the garlic cloves with a fork and stir them into the beans. Finally, strain off any remaining liquid, then season with additional salt, to taste. Enjoy!
Recipe tips
- If you need more, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled! And if you make too much, no worries — you can freeze it for quite some time (see my next tip).
- If you want to meal prep, you can cook these beans and then store in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to add them to your favorite dish, you can just take out what you need and continue freezing the rest.
- If you have leftovers, you can store your Instant Pot black beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
FAQs
Add 4 1/4 cups of water for each pound of black beans that you’re cooking in the instant pot.
The cook time is only 30 minutes for beans in the instant pot. However, you also need to take into account the time it takes for the pressure to build and release. It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure. After the cook time, you’ll want to let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, then release any remaining pressure. So, the total time is about 1 hour.
Use your instant pot’s HIGH pressure button.
You’ll want to add 4 1/4 cups of water for each pound of black beans that you’re cooking in the instant pot. Or, like I do in my recipe, you can use a mixture of chicken broth and water for even more flavor!
How to use black beans
Use your cooked black beans in one of these recipes:
- Mexican Black Beans
- Black Bean Curry
- Sweet Potato Chili with Black Beans
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Migas
More Instant Pot legume + bean recipes
Did you try this instant pot black beans recipe?
If you loved making dried black beans in the instant pot, I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
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PS – You may also love these Slow Cooker Black Beans.
Full Recipe
Instant Pot Black Beans (No Soak!)
Ingredients
- 1 pound bag dry black beans (rinsed and sorted)
- 1 shallot (peeled and left whole (optional))
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and left whole (optional))
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2¼ cups bone broth (or chicken or vegetable stock)
- 2 cups water
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Add beans, shallot, garlic, salt, broth, and water to the Instant Pot.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to seal.
- Cook on manual HIGH pressure for 30 minutes (it will take about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure, then a countdown timer will begin).
- Let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the shallot, crush the garlic cloves with a fork and stir them into the beans, and strain off any remaining liquid. Season with additional salt, to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you need more, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled! And if you make too much, no worries — you can freeze it for quite some time (see my next tip).
- If you want to meal prep, you can cook these beans and then store in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to add them to your favorite dish, you can just take out what you need and continue freezing the rest.
- If you have leftovers, you can store your Instant Pot black beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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