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When it comes to cooking beans from scratch, Instant Pot Black Beans are a game changer. The pressure cooker will cook them to perfection so you don’t have to watch a pot on the stove.
The process is almost completely hands-off!
Below you’ll learn how to cook black beans in the Instant Pot a few different ways. Whether you like to cook dry beans, pre-soaked beans, or prepare seasoned beans with some spices, you’ll be covered with this quick tutorial.
You can use the seasoned black beans as a side dish, over a salad, or in tacos, enchiladas, and more.
Or, you can prepare plain black beans and use them in place of canned beans in recipes. You can freeze these for up to 3 months, so you’ll always have black beans ready when you need them.
How to Cook Instant Pot Black Beans
To prepare seasoned black beans, press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot, and allow the bottom to heat up. Add in the olive oil and yellow onion, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, cumin, and oregano, and stir briefly. Then immediately press the Keep Warm/Cancel button, so the garlic won’t burn.
Add in 1/2 cup of water, to help deglaze the bottom of the pot. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the Instant Pot.
This ensures you won’t trigger a BURN error during the pressure cooking cycle.
Once the bottom of the pot looks clean, add in the remaining 4 1/2 cups of water, plus the black beans, bay leaf, and salt. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to the Sealing position.
Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button to cook at high pressure for 50 minutes. It will take roughly 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure, so the screen will read ON until then. (If using soaked beans, cook for 9 minutes instead.)
When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if using soaked beans).
When the screen reads L0:10, move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve in the lid drops, it’s safe to open the lid.
Remove the bay leaf and use a fork to test one of the beans for tenderness, by mashing it against the side of the pot. It should be very tender and creamy in the middle.
To eliminate the excess liquid in the pot, press the Sauté button and let the liquid simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the beans don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Keep in mind the liquid will continue to thicken as the beans cool, so I don’t recommend simmering for longer than 15 minutes.
Season with additional salt (I add 1/2 teaspoon) and a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, to brighten up the flavor. Serve warm with fresh cilantro on top, if you like.
Leftover beans can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
how to Cook plain black beans
Combine 1 pound of dry beans with 5 cups of water. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to the Sealing position. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button, and cook at high pressure for 50 minutes. (Or cook for 9 minutes if using soaked beans.)
When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if using soaked beans). When the screen reads L0:10, move the steam release valve to the Venting position to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve in the lid drops, it’s safe to open the lid.
Test a bean for tenderness by pressing one against the side of the Instant Pot with a fork. It should mash easily when it’s tender. Drain the beans, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Wondering how to use your plain cooked black beans? Use them to make black bean brownies, black bean soup, or bean dip!
Ingredients
Seasoned Black Beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt , plus more to taste
- 1 pound dry black beans (about 2 heaping cups)
- 5 cups water
- fresh lime juice , to taste
Instructions
Seasoned Black Beans
- Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot, and allow the bottom to heat up. Add in the olive oil and yellow onion, and stir until it looks softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and oregano, and stir briefly, then press the Keep Warm/Cancel button, so the garlic won't burn.
- Add in 1/2 cup of water, to help deglaze the bottom of the pot. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the Instant Pot, so you won't trigger a BURN error during the pressure cooking cycle.
- Once the bottom of the pot looks clean, add in the remaining 4 1/2 cups of water, plus the black beans, bay leaf, and salt. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button to cook at high pressure for 50 minutes. It will take roughly 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure, so the screen will read ON until then. (If using soaked beans, cook for 9 minutes instead.)
- When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if using soaked beans). When the screen reads L0:10, move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve in the lid drops, it's safe to open the lid.
- Remove the bay leaf and use a fork to test one of the beans for tenderness, by mashing it against the side of the pot. It should be very tender and creamy in the middle. To eliminate the excess liquid in the pot, press the Sauté button and let the liquid simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the beans don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Keep in mind the liquid will continue to thicken as the beans cool, so I don't recommend simmering for longer than 15 minutes. Season with additional salt (I add 1/2 teaspoon) and a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, to brighten up the flavor. Serve warm! Leftover beans can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Plain Black Beans (Substitute for Canned Beans)
- Combine 1 pound of dry beans with 5 cups of water. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button, and cook at high pressure for 50 minutes. (Or cook for 9 minutes if using soaked beans.)
- When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if using soaked beans). When the screen reads L0:10, move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve in the lid drops, it's safe to open the lid.
- Test a bean for tenderness by pressing one against the side of the Instant Pot with a fork. It should mash easily when it's tender. Drain the beans, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, so you can use it in recipes.
- To freeze cooked beans, line a baking sheet or plate that will fit on a flat shelf in your freezer with parchment paper. Arrange the cooked beans in a single layer, so they will freeze individually instead of in clumps, and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Transfer the frozen beans to an airtight container so they'll keep well in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to Store Black Beans
Cooked black beans will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze them for a longer shelf life. To freeze black beans, line a large baking sheet or plate (that will fit on a flat shelf in your freezer) with parchment paper.
Pour the cooked beans on the lined pan, and arrange them in a single layer. This way they will freeze individually, instead of in big clumps. This makes measuring them later easier! Freeze for 2 hours, or until the beans feel frozen, then transfer to an airtight container to store in the freezer for up to 6 months. The beans should remain individually frozen this way, so they’ll be easy to thaw and measure for recipes later.
How to Use Them
You can use Instant Pot Black Beans just like you would canned beans, when you use the instructions for plain beans in the printable recipe above. Below, you’ll find some of my favorite black bean recipes.
- Black Bean Brownies
- Instant Pot Burrito Bowls
- Black Bean Burgers
- Copycat Panera Black Bean Soup
- Quinoa & Black Bean Salad
- Bean Dip
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite way to use black beans?
Fantastic! I’ll never buy canned beans again. I had some small portions of beef round/chuck in the freezer some I defrosted them, sauteed (braised) with some onions and garlic, added some leftover enchilada sauce and some leftover chicken broth, added 1.5 cups of black beans and adjusted the water down to account for the other liquids. 50 minutes later, perfect! Beef was so tender, beans were spot on! Simple one pot meal that just needed some Mexican topping cheese and sour cream (oh, and a little Tapatio too…). Worked well either as a stew or taco filling. Was a total experiment that was really simple and delicious.
I added 1lb (2 cups) of soaked canneli beans to my instapot with 4 cups of water. High for 9 minutes and natural release for 15. They were so mushy and broken apart, I had to turn them into a sauce. They were also still sitting in a lot of fluid – had to drain the mush beans. Really awful. This is frustrating and why I gave away my first instapot. Recipes are always off.
Fyi cannelli beans are a softer bean and need less cooking time. This recipe is specifically for black beans. I’ve been using this recipe for a few years and it’s worked perfect every time, even at different altitudes (from 300ft all the way to 7,000ft)
Beans came out perfectly using your recipe. Didn’t have to soak them and they were tasty and tender. Thanks!
Came out great but I feel beans need so much salt to have any flavor. Kind of like potatoes need alot of salt, I feel beans do too. I did sautee onion and garlic and added a bay leaf and a teaspoon or two of salt. Once done, I probably added an additional 2 teaspoons. Not a big deal, I just wanted more flavor.