Remember the days when you had to plan way ahead if you wanted to cook dried black beans? You’d have to soak the beans in a huge pot of water over night, find room in the fridge for the pot, drain the beans the next day, refill the pot with more water, and finally, bring the pot of beans to a boil, then lower it to a simmer for about an hour. You could add some seasonings like garlic and bay leaves while the beans simmered away, but NOT salt because that could actually cause the beans to take much longer to become tender.

Well, I’m here to tell you there’s a much easier, much faster way to cook dried beans using an instant pot. It’s easier because you literally toss everything into the instant pot (including salt), and it’s faster because the whole process takes less than an hour from start to finish. And honestly, I think the beans cooked in the instant pot end up having a better texture and flavor. I will never go back to making them the old way.

Instant Pot Black Beans

makes about 5 cups of cooked beans

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

• 8 cups water (or low-sodium chicken stock)

• 1 tablespoon oil (to keep the cooking liquid from bubbling too much)

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 bay leaf

• (optional) 4-inch sprig of fresh rosemary (see note below)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the inner pot of a 6 or 8-quart pressure cooker, lock the lid in the closed position and and make sure the vent is set to “sealing” (not “venting”).

2. Cook on “manual” or “pressure cook” for 20 minutes (disable the “keep warm” function), then allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 30 minutes.

3. Discard bay leaf and store beans in their liquid for up to a week in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage.

Note

• I only add the sprig of rosemary when cooking beans that will be used in Italian dishes.