Quick and Easy Seasoned Black Beans | Instant Pot

Of all the magical beans the black bean is my favorite. It is likely because I loooveee Mexican food and black beans are mostly found in Mexican food. (Why not Italian food? I don’t know.) For many years I used canned black beans. And to be honest, I always have a can or three in my pantry just in case I need them last minute. But due to my Instant Pot and my desire to have less waste, I make my black beans from dry beans. These Instant Pot black beans are super easy and can be made ahead of time to be canned or frozen.

Why use dry beans?

Dry beans are much more cost-efficient. Not that canned beans cost a ton, but dry beans cost even less! They are easy to buy in bulk and store in a glass jar, taking up less space than lots of cans.

Dry beans produce less waste and help minimize your environmental footprint. You do not have that can to toss (or ideally recycle), and the beans are only dried, packaged, and shipped. More energy goes into producing canned beans and more materials are used which means more waste.

Dried beans are a healthier option for you considering you know exactly what goes into them. In canned beans, there are preservatives, chemicals, and likely BPA in the can liner. None of those things are ideal.

But for the Instant Pot

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Were it not for the Instant Pot I would likely be using canned beans all the time. However, with the Instant Pot I can get really tasty and healthy black beans in just over an hour (prepping and cooking included).

Soaking is not required when pressure-cooking beans. Until recently I didn’t pre-soak the beans. They come out just great without it, so why add the extra time? My baby loves black beans and they come out just a little more tender and easy to squash if they are pre-soaked, so I’ve planned ahead just a little more and soaked them.

Clearly, the Instant Pot is a must-have tool for this recipe. You can make black beans the old-fashioned way on the stove, but I’m not the one to talk about that.

Instant Pot Black Beans Ingredients

There is the must-have ingredient list and then the optimal ingredient list. I’ll indicate next to the ingredient if it is optimal and what you could substitute it with.

• 1 lb dry black beans (you can soak them ahead of time for a slightly quicker and softer end product)
• 1 small onion (can use powdered onion instead, about 2 Tbsp)
• 3 cloves garlic (or 1-2 tsp garlic powder)
• 2 cups vegetable broth (I use Better than Bouillon base; if you don’t have any type of broth you can omit it and at 2 more cups of water instead)
• 3 cups water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (can use white vinegar or omit it, but vinegar helps ease digestion and reduce gas when eating beans)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (not always common to have on hand, but delicious, can add plain paprika or chili powder instead)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 seeded jalapeno or chipotle pepper (omit if you don’t like spice or don’t have)
• dash of cayenne pepper (can leave out if you don’t want spice)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp salt
• 1 lime (really helps brighten the flavor but can leave out if you don’t have it)
• cilantro for garnish (can leave off if you either don’t have it or don’t like it – I LOVE it)

So there you have it. Really, the only truly necessary ingredients are water and beans, but all the spices give the beans such a wonderful flavor! I love spice, but as always I tried to round down how much I add because not everyone loves lots of flavors and it is always easier to add more at the end!

Instant Pot Black Beans Instructions

1. Hit the “saute” function on the Instant Pot and drizzle olive oil. (If you are short on time or using powdered onion and garlic, you can jump right to step 3).
2. While heating, dice the onion and mince the garlic, then saute in the pot together for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add in all remaining ingredients except for lime juice and cilantro.
4. Set the Instant Pot to sealing and then set manual (high) pressure for 45-50 minutes (35-40 minutes if beans are pre-soaked).
5. Once the timer goes off let release naturally for 15-20 minutes then move the seal to “venting” to release any additional pressure.
6. Remove the lid and stir in the juice of one lime.
7. Taste test and add more salt or seasoning if desired.
8. Add cilantro as a garnish and serve

Can I freeze the Instant Pot Black Beans?

This recipe makes about 4 pints of beans (16 oz mason jars pictured above). This is an easy way to store the beans. If you’re going to use them soon, you can just put a lit on the jar and put them in the fridge. The beans freeze well, but I have learned not to use the type of mason jar pictured above for freezing. It is something about the mouth being more narrow than the rest of the jar but I’ve had two jars break on me and then it is a pain to thaw them and sort through for glass shards! Not recommended.

I’ve read that they freeze better in wide-mouth mason jars. When I made my recent batch I froze two jars but dumped them into a rectangular glass storage dish with a lid to freeze them.

How should I use the Instant Pot Black Beans?

These are so tasty they can stand alone as a side dish. Just sprinkle some cilantro on top and maybe some goat cheese and mmmm will they be delicious.

However, there are so many other ways to use black beans too! We do Mexican food every Tuesday dinner (Taco Tuesday!), so I love having these on hand to use for simple black bean tacos or a baked Mexican dish like:

• Black Bean Sweet Potato Mexican Bake
• Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas.

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