Cooking in the kitchen has taken on new meaning – all because of ONE appliance. Funny how that works – right?!
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy cooking before… because I did. But this one appliance just made it incredibly FUN to be in the kitchen. Pull me out now well… that might be hard. I love to be in the kitchen.
I have personally had my Instant Pot since December, 2015 – and I can’t honestly say I have missed cooking in the Instant Pot even for a single day. Sometimes I wish I had a few of them in order to get more accomplished, but for now it’s just me and this single appliance.
Fun times 😉
Beans are one of the most rewarding things to make in the Instant Pot – because face it: before this appliance, most of us were making them in our Crock Pot, or… boiling over a hot stove. I live in Phoenix, so boiling over a hot stove is NOT an enjoyable activity in the summer when you are trying to keep your electricity bill down – the extra heat in the house makes everyone sweat buckets, and therefore doesn’t encourage anyone to really cook much of anything.
Welcome Instant Pot.
If you haven’t used it to make beans, you are in for a fun time – it’s SO incredibly easy. Dump, twist and open – that’s basically it!
Dry beans can cook in your Instant Pot in just 40 minutes (more or less). If you opt to soak your beans (and we often times do) it cuts the time down even more – between 20-25 minutes is sufficient. You will want to soak them if you have a hard time digesting them – soaking is actually preferred because it cuts down on the phytic acid content.
- 1 C. dry white beans (Cannellini, Great Northern or Navy)
- 4 C. water or other (broth)
- Salt/pepper, seasonings (to taste)
- Sort & rinse your dry beans, then add directly to the Instant Pot.
- Pour 4 C. of liquid in the Instant Pot (water or, broth).
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, close the valve, and push Manual (high) for 40 minutes.
- Since there is quite a bit of liquid in the IP, your IP will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure (more or less) - then it will count "down" on the front panel to tell you how much time is left.
- Once the time is complete, the pot will beep - allow to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
Always add the salt & seasonings after the beans are cooked. Here are some other tips:
- 1 C. Dry Beans = 3 C. Cooked Beans
- 1/2 C. Dry Beans = 1 1/2 C. Cooked Beans
- Always add 4x the liquid to dry beans when cooking
- When making beans that have been soaked, add 3x the liquid
- Salt & season beans after they are done cooking
- Never fill the instant pot over 1/2 full
- You can use the manual setting or, the beans option, both will yield the same results
If you like this bean recipe, you may also enjoy:
Instant Pot Chipotle Refried Beans
Thank you for this awesome recipe. My husband loves beans and I am going to try this for him tonight.
Hi! I don’t have the INSTANT POT, but I do have THE POWER XL PRESSURE COOKER. Would I be able to exchange most recipes for INSTANT POT w THE POWER XL? To my knowledge there is no real cookbook for my machine except the small booklet that comes with it. Thanks for any future input!
Christina
Seashll9@aol.com
Hi Christina – I’m not 100% sure.. I would treat it similar, and 43 minutes should be sufficient. I have heard that other models similar to the IP run right near the same in terms of cooking time. You really can’t go wrong with beans – provided you use the right liquid to bean ratio I think you will be fine.
Just make sure that when it’s done, you let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes, since there is so much water in there it tends to bubble up 😉 Let us know how it works out!
Christina – I have the Power XL pressure cooker also … for soaked beans I just hit the button that says beans… 20m best dang beans I’ve ever had. Pintos with couple cloves garlic and couple of bay leaves. yum!
I know I will never eat from a can again. This recipe has changed me.
Hi Ceil,
I also have the power pressure cooker xl. I just made baked beans but soaked them overnight. It took at least 45 minutes to cook fully. Could it be that the type of bean you used doesn’t take as long to cook. I’m not sure why mine took so long considering they were soaked overnight. Yes, my pressure cooker was under pressure and worked fine.
Thanks Laura
You can get Eric Theiss power pressure cooker xl cookbook online on Amazon.
Use crockpot all day or over nite. Salt beans while cooking they take a lot of salt.use real butter or bacon so ummy I’m a true southern girl we know our beans.alice
Christina, I too have the POWER XL PRESSURE COOKER. You can find many recipes if you Google them or on YouTube. 🙂
I have the five cup digital perfect cooker as I cook beans for one. How could I change the amount of ingredients and liquids I add? Thx
If I was cooking for 1, then I would do 1/2 C. dry beans, and 4x the water (so 2 C. of water, or just put 2 1/2 to be safe). There is never harm in putting a little extra water.
That will give you beans for at least 2 – 3 servings. We make beans for our family of 7 about every 3 days, my kids eat them for breakfast, and then I use them in burritos, or as chip dip, or as a side for dinner. I hope that helps! Let me know how it works for you 😉
How do you fix them for breakfast? Just plain heated up beans? Or make them into some sort of hot cereal?
When I cook beans, I cook beans in a 1:4 ratio (beans: water). So if you are making for one, perhaps 1/2 C. beans + 2 C. water .. you could even add a half cup of water just for safe measure. No harm done in adding a bit extra, you can always drain when they are done.
I just ordered instapot for my wife and was wondering if I could recommend her a good bean recipe to try.
I read the whole thing and it’s just awesome. Will bookmark this page for the next week to try out. Thanks
How would you process in instant pot with a hambone in your beans?
The same way you would the recipe states.
Can the soaking over night be omitted?
Absolutely it can.
If you use your IP to make beans, run the IP for 43 minutes on high pressure.
Or, if you soak, reduce the time.
I make beans every 3 days in my IP – I haven’t been soaking them ahead of time because I simply just find it too hard to do.
Let us know how it works for you Cynthia. 😉
I’m doing baby lima beans for the first time in my instant pot, and the no-soak method. I did the manual option for 44 minutes. I have the flavorings and other ingredients separate to add in when finished, as I need to keep it all warm overnight. I will check the temp. in the am to see if it is closer to the 145 or 172 degree range given in the instruction manual. I am thrilled with it so far, having made pot roast, chicken and rice, and potato soup. Thank you for the help on this page.
That’s super, Elizabeth!
Why add seasonings after cooking?
It is just the way I learned growing up.
They won’t soften if you add salt ahead of time. Definitely, wait
Too much salt/seasonings will prevent them from softening while cooking. So definitely wait until the end of the cooking period. Hope that helps!
I always salt my beans before cooking in my instant pot. That way they absorb the flavor and don’t really take any more time.
I’ve only tried black eyed peas in my instant pot and they were way over cooked even though i used the minimal time specified in the manual that came with it. Do you deduct time from their suggestions or do something else to prevent them from being mushy?
I haven’t ever used the manual that came with my IP — I know, that’s crazy but it got tossed with the box after I opened it. I just went with my gut instinct on the beans, though I haven’t done black-eyed peas. I have done white beans, black beans, pinto beans, etc. If yours are mushy, I would reduce the time by 10-15 minutes – perhaps do a few small “trials” so you don’t waste too much food.
That’s what I did with lentils until I determined the exact time for each variety.
Amy, I’m wanting to cook black eyed peas in my IP tomorrow. How long did you cook yours when they turned out mushy? I don’t want to over cook mine?
Thanks
Has anyone cooked beans with a ham bone in the instant pot?
Yes, I cooked pinto beans with a ham hock. There were delicious.
Hi I cooked a half bag of 15 bean mix. I put in 2 small bay leafs, water and ham bone. Cooked for 40minutes and let natural pressure release. Added some spices and size of corn bread. It was great. I did not soak beans as this was a last minute idea.
Do you put the ham bone on top or bottom?
It shouldn’t matter where you place it.
thanks so much
My sister made navy beans and they weren’t fully cooked. What can we do to correct this now as this is our dinner?
Depending on the firmness you can cook for longer. Next time add an extra 10 minutes.
How does having meat in the beans change this recipe? (We usually like thin cuts of country ham or some kind of pork, cooked with beans.)
It shouldn’t I cook with a ham hock all the time. I do like my ham hock extra soft so I do add 10 more minutes to mine personally.
Can you use maybe 2 cups beans and 8 cups of water. Haven’t used mine yet and not sure if you can do this
Yes for beans you double your water since beans soak up water.
How do you fix them for breakfast? Just plain heated up beans? Or make them into some sort of hot cereal?
We’re a hispanic family so they are a staple for us .. for all meals. What I do is after they cook, I pour the beans in the blender along with a cup or two of the cooking water (I add enough water so that the water on the blender is half of what the beans are).
I add a tsp or two of salt (to taste) and then blend thoroughly. Then I throw some butter or grass-fed tallow in a saute pan on the stove and pour the beans in there. I simmer them for 5-10 min — adding more salt (if needed), garlic powder, etc. My kids eat beans with burritos for breakfast, or with eggs (at breakfast), or simply in bean tacos (a corn tortilla that’s thrown on the griddle until it’s warm enough to fold, then filled with beans).