To Soak Or Not To Soak That Is The Question
There are definitely two separate sides to this question. Some people swear by soaking your beans beforehand, while others say that it simply makes no difference. Either way, the Instant Pot has you covered and gives cooking time for both soaked and unsoaked beans.
If youre interested in trying the soaking process, here are a few tips that might help:
- Soak Overnight Soaking for at least 8-12 hours seems to be the minimum amount of time to get the beans to release any unnecessary chemicals in the skin of the beans that make them harder to digest. If you are sensitive to beans, this might be the way to go.
- Additions to Aid With Gas Its been suggested that adding 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to the water when soaking the beans can help you to digest the beans better.
- Rinse Thoroughly Once the beans have been soaked, make sure to rinse the beans with fresh water before adding the beans to the pressure cooker. If you add the water you soaked the beans in overnight, youll be ingesting the very chemicals you wished to avoid from the exterior of the bean.
Instant Pot Black Beans: Turning Up The Flavor
While you can use this method to make regular ol Instant Pot Black Beans , I wanted to make them extra special and flavorful.
I took inspiration from the islands and made these Instant Pot Black Beans Cuban by incorporating a few star ingredients in Cuban cuisine: bell pepper, onion, cumin, bay leaves, and oregano. I loved the extra depth of flavor and caught myself eating these right out of the pot.
While these black beans are Cuban inspired, you certainly dont need a Cuban recipe to use them.
The flavors and ingredients are fairly ubiquitous in Mexican cuisine too, so any Southwest style of recipe would be excellent with these seasoned black beans swapped in place of plain.
Want to make Instant Pot Black Beans Mexican? Try adding chili powder and, if you are feeling dangerous, a pinch of cayenne.
Do You Need To Soak Black Beans For The Instant Pot
Good news! You dont have to soak beans before cooking them. They cook faster in the pressure cooker, so you dont have to worry about a slow cooking process, and most people have reported little to no improvement when it comes to digesting beans after theyve been soaked. Plus, beans taste better when you skip the soaking process.
In the printable recipe below, Ill show you how to make super-flavorful black beans that you can serve a side dish, or in a burrito bowl.
When the beans are done cooking, youll simply use the Sauté function on the Instant pot to simmer away the excess liquid and concentrate the flavoring at the same time. The sauce will thicken up in about 10 to 15 minutes, leaving you with restaurant-quality beans!
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What Is The Ratio Of Instant Pot Beans To Water
When I cook beans in my Instant Pot, the ratio of water to beans is 4:1, meaning 4 cups water for every 1 cup dried beans. This works out to be is 8 cups water for 1 pound dried white beans.
Some recipes call for slightly less water, which is fine, but I tend to error on the side of too much water because you can always just drain extra water off after cooking the beans.
Basically, just make sure the beans are submerged and covered by at least 2 inches of water.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Learning to cook with the Instant Pot has been so fun. I know youll enjoy learning too. It makes things so easy when you dont have to babysit the stove.
Browse all our Instant Pot Recipes or choose one of these.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
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How To Serve This Instant Pot White Bean Soup
- If you like, you can sprinkle the soup with black allspice and pour a thin stream of fresh olive oil over each serving. It is not necessary, but it will taste better
- This Instant Pot White Bean Soup can be enjoyed with a fresh green salad and some crusty bread and on the side.
- Baguette sprinkled with a dash of black pepper and brushed with olive oil or soft French bread makes a great accompaniment. Its simple but full of flavors!
How Much Time Is Needed To Make This Ham And Bean Soup
The cook time for an Instant Pot recipe can be a bit deceiving because of the time needed to take the pot to come to pressure. This recipe takes a total of approximately 90 minutes from start to finish. This includes:
- 10 minutes prep time
- 20 minutes for the pot to come to pressure
- 35 minutes manual pressure
- 25 minutes natural pressure release
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How Do I Make Instant Pot Beans
The process sounds more complicated than it really is. Once you make the beans, youll wonder why you hadnt tried making them like this in the first place. Here are simple, step-by-step directions for making your beans:
See? Wasnt that much easier than you thought it would be?
Variations Of This Recipe
- Different beans navy beans are the traditional type of beans used in this kind of recipe, but pinto or Great northern would be a great substitute.
- Canned beans if you are pressed for time, or only have canned beans, you can use those in this recipe if you prefer. Please see the Chef Tips section for all the details.
- Add-ins some of my favorite things to add in , are a bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, extra bacon for the topping, and sliced up summer or andouille sausage.
- Vegetarian even though we love adding the smoky bacon in these beans, if youre a vegetarian, or cooking for someone who is, feel free to leave out the bacon.
- Other cooking methods if you dont have an Instant Pot, this recipe can be made using a slow cooker instead. Please see the Chef Tips section for all the details.
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Amount Of Water Needed For Cooking Dried Beans In The Instant Pot
Water or broth can be used as the cooking liquid for dried beans. I use a range of liquid amounts depending on my purpose for the beans:
- 4 cups liquid to 1 pound of beans: Best for beans that you dont plan on straining, like the pinto bean side dishes you get at Mexican restaurants. Less water means a flavorful, thicker, and more starchy sauce
- 5 cups liquid to 1 pound of beans: Best for beans that you want to be less starchy and infused with flavor even after straining some of the extra liquid. This is perfect for Mexican food fillings, salads, salsas, and refried beans
- 6 cups liquid to 1 pound of beans: Best for beans that are hardly starchy and only mildly seasoned. These are perfect for bagging and freezing
Dried Beans For Soups:
Usage white supply with dried out beans for the very best taste.
- Black/turtle: huge black beans with light luscious inside wonderful taste.
- Cannellini/Italian kidney: medium-size white, kidney-shaped beans nutty taste.
- Cranberry: tiny, rounded beans with maroon markings nutty taste.
- Fava/broad bean: huge, level, oblong tan bean.
- Garbanzo/chickpeas: tool, acorn-shaped bean nutty taste.
- Great Northern: huge, a little rounded white bean fragile taste.
- Kidney: medium-sized, kidney-shaped, pink to maroon beans robust taste.
- Lima/butter: tool, a little kidney-shaped, white to fade eco-friendly bean buttery taste.
- Navy/Yankee: tiny, rounded, white bean.
- Pinto/red Mexican: tool, kidney-shaped, off-white to brownish spotted bean.
- Antique selections : a wide array in dimension and also shade, some with red stripes, some with speckles.
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Which Pressure Cooker To Use
You’ll need a 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker to make a batch of beans. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot, but you can follow this basic method for other electric pressure cookers and stovetop pressure cookers as well.
- Cannellini beans
- Chickpeas
- Red kidney beans, though I recommend boiling the beans for about 10 minutes first to break down the lectins.
Cooking time will vary based on the bean variety and the age of your beans. Check out the cooking time table in the recipe for specific times!
Healthy Substitute For Canned Beans
Did you know a one pound bag of dried beans equals 4 cans of cooked beans?!?
In cooking these beans, I only used water too.
No broth. No salt or other seasonings. Just good ‘ol plain water.
Why no broth? I wanted cooked beans with no additional flavors, so they are ready to use in any recipe.
Cooking them with just water makes them ideal to use in vegan or vegetarian instant pot recipes too!
However, feel free to substitute broth for the water or add your favorite seasoning to the dried beans before cooking, if you wish.
I make these white beans all the time to use them in my healthy chili recipe, White Chicken Chili.
It’s a favorite with family and friends throughout the year, but especially during the New England winter months.
Plus, it’s an easy dinner that can be made in an hour from the bag of dried beans to a big bowl of deliciousness on the table!
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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.
Storing Leftover Instant Pot Beans
Cooked beans can last around 5 days in the refrigerator in a covered container. If you have any leftover cooking liquid from the pressure cooker, feel free to pour it in along with the beans before sealing. Its not necessary, but it may help to keep your beans from drying out so quickly.
If you have way too many beans and just cant bear to eat another bite, consider freezing them. Just place them in a freezer safe bag or container and they will keep for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply place in the fridge overnight or on the countertop for a several hours. Reheating is easy you can either throw them in the microwave for a minute or two, heat them in the oven for around 10 minutes or give them a quick pan fry over medium heat until desired temperature.
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How To Freeze And Reheat Cooked Beans
Related: Browse our entire collection of Bean Recipes.
Exactly How To Enlarge Bean Soup:
When the beans have actually softened throughout, the soup prepares to work as it, yet you can likewise enlarge the soup by moving a mug or more or even more of the beans and also brew to a mixer and also purée completely. After that return the purée to the food preparation pot.
The soup likewise can be enlarged by eliminating fifty percent of the beans to a dish where they can be mashed by hand with a fork or potato masher after that went back to the brew, or several of the beans can be mashed right in the soup pot.
The luscious fluid of a hand or blender or food processor purée will well put on hold a combination of entire and also busted beans in the soup. For a smooth soup puree or whir all the beans in a mixer after food preparation for a soup with appearance, puree just fifty percent of the beans.
Acid, sugar, and also calcium will certainly slow down the conditioning of beans and also maintain them company throughout food preparation. Tomatoes, white wine, fruit juices, and also vinegar are acidic. Molasses as utilized in Boston baked beans-contains sugar and also calcium. These can be included in the food preparation beans near completion of food preparation.
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The Best Ham And Bean Soup
This ham and bean soup is one of my favorite recipes on the website, and one that my father has been making for the family for decades. He makes a big batch and because it just gets better as the days go by, we’ll enjoy it for dinner one night and then for lunch for several days afterward.
Why is it that some stews and soups improve the next day? I think it’s because the flavors from the beans, ham, and vegetables have time to blend. The starch from the beans settles more into the broth making the soup thicker and more stew-like too.
Elise Bauer
Instant Pot White Beans
The Instant Pot is our preferred method for cooking Great Northern beans because its quick & easy and yields perfectly tender beans!
Heres what you need to know:
- Ratio = 1 part Great Northern beans : 3 ½ parts water
- Cook Time = 30-32 minutes
- Release = 15 minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure
They go well in stews, soups, white chili, and salads, or as a sub for some of the cashews in vegan alfredo sauce.
Did you find this helpful? If so, be sure to check out our Instant Pot Cooking Times Guide for perfectly cooked grains and beans every time!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and dont forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
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Natural Pressure Release Or Quick Release
One last point to discuss: the pressure release. I think it’s worth it to let your pressure cooker release naturally, or at least for as long as possible before you open the pot. This helps offset some of the appearance problems, resulting in fewer blow-out beans — though you’ll still get some. The bean cooking liquid also tends to foam up into the steam valve when you if you do a quick release letting the pot depressurize as long as possible helps avoid this.
I usually let the pot release pressure naturally until the point when I need the beans, then I hit the pressure valve to release it the rest of the way.
Recipe Notes And Tips
- I do not presoak the beansand never have a problem with them cooking all the way. Use the manual pressure cook setting, set at high pressure. Do not use the bean or soup setting. I can not stress this enough.
- Make sure to use a natural release of at least 20 minutes before you open the pot.
- If the beans are not tender, remove the ham shanks and cook the beans under high pressure an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- The soup will thicken upon standing as well as after refrigeration. I like it on the broth-y side but also like it after it sits for awhile and thickens.
- Use a ham bone, either leftover or shanks, to cook with the beans to make the best flavored broth. Add any leftover ham not on the bone at the end.
- Total time to make this soup is about an hour and a half. It takes some time to come to pressure and then the natural release time, but its all hands off and easy.
Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup is a favorite around here. We love a hot bowl of soup for dinner, with crusty bread and a salad. Its even better the next day for lunch, and I usually manage to stash a quart in the freezer for later. I think youll like this, homemade soup is so tasty and comforting. Enjoy, Kelly
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