How To Cook Beans In The Instant Pot

You Can Skip The Overnight Soak

Your perfect day doesnt have to end like that. If you have an Instant Pot, it doesnt matter if you forgot to soak the beans. You can achieve the same results in under an hour. All youll need to do is clean the beans, add some water and a few special ingredients and set your cook time. Thats it! Your beans will be ready in no time.

More Ways To Use Instant Pot Black Beans

• Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice: CLASSIC! Mix with brown rice for a simple meal. You can also top with chicken, a fried or poached egg, and avocado or salsa.
• Add to a tofu or egg scramble.
• Mash with avocado and spread on toasted bread for next-level avocado toast .
• Fill burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tacosand all other good things involving tortillas and cheese.
• Make the Cuban Beans and Rice that Im sharing later this week!

Quick Vs Natural Pressure Release For Pressure Cooked Beans

I always use a natural pressure release when cooking with beans. Beans create a lot of foam when they cook and that can come through the pressure release knob with a quick release. A natural release is also more gentle on the beans where a quick release may result in many broken, less pretty beans.

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How To Pressure Cook Soaked Pinto Beans

Not everyone has time to soak their beans in advance, but if you like to, heres what you need to know.

Benefits of Soaking Beans:

• They might be easier to digest. Soaking beans in water for 8 hours or more, may help to remove some of the anti-nutrients, like phytates, and indigestible sugars that naturally occur in beans. This may help them to digest better, and reduce gas and bloating later.
• The beans will cook faster. A brief moment of prep work the night before can shave off 2/3 of the cooking time.
• Pre-soaked beans tend to hold their shape better. Soaked beans dont burst as much during the cooking process.

To soak beans, youll simply cover the dry beans in 2 to 3 inches of water and place the bowl in the fridge to soak for 8-12 hours. You can do this in the morning before you go to work, and then they will be ready to cook in time for dinner.

Drain the soaking water and rinse the beans well. Pour the drained beans into the Instant Pot, and cover them with fresh water and the seasonings in the recipe below.

Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.

Move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure, then when the floating valve drops, its safe to open the lid. The beans will still be sitting in a significant amount of liquid, so I like to use a slotted spoon for serving them.

Soaking Beans Can Be A Real Bummer

Have you ever had this problem?

You get up bright and early ready to tackle the day. Everything starts off so smooth.

Breakfast went off without a hitch. The kiddos were fed well and you were able to get a bite to eat as well. That almost never happens. You were able to actually get the kids ready and out the door on time today. Without any arguing or complaining.

Youre thinking to yourself, what gives? This is almost too good to be true.

This day is humming along like a well-oiled engine. Youre really starting to settle into the absolutely perfect day that this is turning out to be. The housework is such a breeze that youre able to run a few errands before heading out to pick up kids and shuffle them around.

Just like the morning, the afternoon goes without a hitch. You get home and are actually looking forward to starting dinner. You have a great meal planned. You head to the kitchen when its time to start prepping and then it happens.

You forgot to soak the beans!

So much for the perfect day. Your dinner plans are foiled. Cereal for dinner everyone?

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Instant Pot Pinto Beans

See my guide on how to use an Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans are easy to make, and they are a versatile ingredient for quick, healthy meals. Learn how to cook pinto beans from dry in your Instant Pot, with cook times for both soaked and unsoaked beans.

Ever since I first made Instant Pot black beans, Ive been hooked on cooking beans in my Instant Pot pressure cooker. Beans are a good source of vegetarian protein, and cooking dry beans in your Instant Pot is so easy!

This Instant Pot pinto beans recipe makes the best Mexican pinto beans. The taste and texture of Instant Pot beans are so much better than canned beans. Really, theres no comparison.

Cooked beans are a versatile ingredient for healthy meals, and they also freeze well. I often make a batch of these Instant Pot pinto beans at the beginning of the week and then we get a few meals out of them during the week. You can freeze extra beans for quick meals later on.

Enjoy Instant Pot Pinto Beans as a side dish, or use them as a filling for burritos. Serve pinto beans with Mexican rice to make an easy meal of beans and rice. These pressure cooker pinto beans are also perfect for using in your favorite recipes, such as turkey chili, taco soup and vegetarian chili mac.

Do You Have To Soak Beans

Another good question! And my answer isit depends.

A lot of people say that soaking your beans beforehand will help make them easier to digest. There are studies that show it does, others that say it doesn’t make a difference at all. So I guess my point here is that it depends on your body.

If you find that beans are hard to digest, or that they give you gas/cause bloat, then you should probably soak them. If not, then you might be fine not soaking!

HOWEVER when it comes to cooking, that’s where the real benefit of soaking your beans lies. When you soak your beans, your cooking time is cut by at least 75% . So if you’re in a rush, then for sure soak your beans!

note: If you do soak your beans, soak them overnight!

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How To Prepare The Best Beans In The Instant Pot

There are two ways to go about preparing beans, I tend to favour the first, simple because the active cooking time is much lesser than the latter.

Method 1: Pre-soaked beans

The best part of this method is the active cooking time is much lesser, close to 15-20 minutes after taking into account the time for the pressure to naturally release. In the case of beans that have not been soaked, the cooking time significantly increases and it can take up to 3 times more time to finish cooking the beans.

Method 2: Un-soaked beans

How To Clean And Prepair Dried Baby Lima Beans

To prepare the lima beans for cooking, you will need to do the following: pick them over to remove any small stones or debris that may be hiding in your beans. pre soak the beans for at least 8 hours or overnight. This will help the beans cook faster, and remove some of the gassiness from the beans.

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How Do I Store Leftover Cooked Beans

You can cook extra beans in your pressure cooker to have on hand for recipes.

• Store leftover cooked beans in the refrigerator for 5 days. I keep the beans with a bit of the cooking liquid Just drain before serving.
• Or freeze prepared beans in 1 to 2 cup portions in freezer safe bags/containers in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can add a bit of cooking liquid to the beans you plan to freeze as well.

How To Cook Beans In The Instant Pot

Once you’ve got your timetable picked out and you know how long your bean is going to take, it’s time to get cooking.

All you need to do to cook beans in the instant pot is add them into your pot, followed by 2 3x that amount of water. So if you’re using 1 cup of dried beans , you’d follow that with about 2 3 cups of water.

Basically, you want the beans to be fully submerged or else they won’t cook evenly.

From there, just pop on your lid, make sure your vent is sealed, choose your time and TURN OFF the keep warm setting! I’ve found this to be a really helpful trick to avoid mushy beans as the keep warm setting continues to cook them.

Once your Instant Pot has come to pressure, let it do its thing until the timer runs out. Then let the pressure naturally release we’ve also included those times in the free guide and you’re done.

See how simple? It’s seriously a game-changer!

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A Baking Sheet Is Your Freezer’s Friend

This is just a precaution in case any bags do end up popping or leaking. The baking sheet will keep the mess contained and is much easier to clean up than the floor of a freezer. I usually use a jelly roll pan, which is smaller than a full baking sheet and easier to fit in the freezer.

Additionally, a baking sheet makes it easy to freeze foods flat anywhere in the freezer, not just the floor. I often rest the baking sheet on top of other foods, close to the top of the freezer.

Instant Pot Ham And Beans

“This ham and bean soup is one of my favorite pressure cooker recipes! This Instant Pot soup tastes like it cooked all day, but its ready in less than two hours!”

Prep Time

1 package

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

7 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 cups cooked diced ham

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

“This ham and bean soup is one of my favorite pressure cooker recipes! This Instant Pot soup tastes like it cooked all day, but its ready in less than two hours!”

• 1 package HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced

• 2 stalks celery, diced

• 7 1/2 cups chicken stock

• 2 cups cooked diced ham

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cooking Directions

Tips

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How To Use And Store Beans

One 15-ounce can of beans holds about 1 3/4 cups cooked beans, so substitute accordingly in your recipes. For reference, one pound of dried beans makes about five cups of cooked beans.

Let beans cool completely, then store in their liquid in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Beans also freeze beautifully. I usually freeze them in their liquid in ziplock bags , which take up less space in the freezer and thaw more quickly. Freeze for up to three months.

How To Prepare Lima Bean

Cooking dried lima beans is simple. For a fast cooking time, just soak them in water overnight, drain and cover with fresh water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for an hour and then use the beans however youd like! You can also cook these tasty beans in the Slow Cooker or Multi-Cooker.

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Quick Soak Beans In The Instant Pot

Planning to use dried beans in your Instant Pot? You can presoak them in water overnight, pressure cook your recipe a lot longer, which sometimes has uncertain results, or quick soak the beans using your Instant Pot before adding them to your recipe. I like to do Instant Pot quick soak beans when using them in recipes because it tends to make the recipes uniform in terms of trusting that my beans will come out fully cooked, and it is a lot quicker than soaking the beans overnight. It also make the beans less likely to cause gas.

Want a great recipe for using your Instant Pot quick soaked beans? Try our Instant Pot Cajun Red Beans and Rice or our Instant Pot Refried Beans!

Quick soaking beans in the Instant Pot is really quite easy. So here is how to do it.

How To Flavor Beans

Instead of just cooking dried beans in water alone, I like to add a little flavor to my beans. This step of course is optional but highly encouraged.

• Along with beans and water, add a half an onion and bay leaf.
• You will want to add salt or homemade taco seasoning AFTER your beans have been cooked. Adding salt BEFORE cooking dried beans can make it harder for your beans to break down and soften properly.

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Are Butter Beans And Large Lima Beans The Same

Are butter beans and lima beans the same thing? From thekitchn.com: Lima beans are more than just related to butter beans, they are the same thing. According to Food52: In the Southern U.S. and in the U.K., these cream-colored beans are named after the dairy product with a similarly rich consistency: butter.

How To Make Instantpot Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans Step By Step

Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients.

Step 2: Rinse dry pinto beans. Add the pound of beans to a 6-8 quart instant pot.

Uncooked pinto beans

Pour in water to cover the beans by 1-2 inches . Add bay leaves if using.

Step 3: Cook on high pressure for 30-35 minutes.

Setting pressure cooker to HIGH pressure for 30 minutes

Step 4: Let the pressure release naturally. If the beans arent done to you liking, just reseal the pot and cook for another 5-10 minutes. The hot pan should come to pressure quickly.

Cooked pinto beans

Step 5: Salt cooked beans to taste. Remove bay leaves, if used, before serving.

Cooked pinto beans

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Do Beans Make You Toot

Yes: If beans make you toot , you might want to consider soaking them. Soaking beans helps remove the oligosaccharides, which are a type of fiber found in beans that some people have trouble digesting.

No: If you have no problem digesting beans, you can skip soaking.

To soak beans, you have a few options.

Traditional Soak Method

• Cover the beans with enough cold water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Leave the beans on your counter. If it is very warm in your kitchen, you can refrigerate them. Strain, rinse, and drain the beans.

Quick Soak Instant Pot Method

• Place the beans in the Instant Pot and cover with plenty of cold water . Select the Pressure Cook setting for 2 minutes. When the timer is done, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before switching the valve from Sealing to Venting to release any remaining steam. Strain, rinse, and drain the beans.

What If My Beans Are Too Hard

If, after completing the power soak and adding an additional 15 to 30 minutes of cook time, you find that your beans are still hard then your water could be the culprit. Hard water can make for hard beans. The minerals in hard water can cause the skins of the beans to harden which makes it more difficult for water to penetrate and be absorbed by the bean. Heres what youll need to do to complete the cooking:

Kitchen Prep Tools, Utensils & Appliances

Here is a list of the kitchen prep tools, utensils, and appliances I used to make this recipe.

Prep Tools & Utensils

These are the items youll need to prep and make this recipe:

Appliances & Cookware

I used my 3-quart Instant Pot for this recipe, but I have also tested it in my 8-quart with the same results. There is no reason that it shouldnt turn out the same in the 6-quart.

Instant Pot Accessories

Now its your turn to try power soaking beans in the Instant Pot!

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