No soaking needed! I’ll show you how to make Instant Pot black beans in under an hour, with a plain option you can use for adding to other recipes and a spicy option that makes a flavorful filling for tacos, burritos, and more!
I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical of the Instant Pot at first. Was this just another appliance I was going to buy and leave to gather dust in my cabinet? But I was SO wrong and one of my favorite ways to use it is for cooking beans (and Instant Pot Refried Beans!). Not only do these Instant Pot black beans take less time than stovetop beans, since the Instant Pot cooks under pressure, it also locks in all the incredible flavor!
Why the Instant Pot Is the ONLY Way I’ll Cook Black Beans
From Chicken Bone Broth to Chuck Roast and Sushi Rice, the Instant Pot is a total game-changer, but here’s why I especially love it for cooking beans.
- So much better than canned. Canned beans taste like… canned beans. When you cook dried beans, they have such a different flavor (earthy and even a little smoky!) and texture, it’s like a night and day difference.
- Faster than stovetop. I always want to cook dried beans instead of buying canned, but with the soaking and the long cooking time, it wasn’t always practical. The Instant Pot eliminates the soaking and shortens the cooking time.
- Versatile. Whether you make them unseasoned or try my spicy option, you will find endless ways to put these Instant Pot black beans to use.
What You’ll Need
If you’re just making plain ol’ black beans, you’ll only need beans, water, and broth, along with salt and pepper for seasoning. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Dried black beans – You can use classic black beans, or an heirloom variety. (I love the beans from Rancho Gordo!)
- Vegetable broth – Or chicken broth, if you prefer.
- Water
- Salt and pepper
For Spicy Black Beans:
- Jalapeños – Adjust the amount depending on your heat preference!
- Seasonings – Chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne.
- Lime juice – Fresh lime juice is optional, but I love how it brightens up the flavor of the black beans.
- Fresh cilantro – Also optional!
How to Cook Black Beans in the Instant Pot
Here’s how easy it is to make Instant Pot black beans!
- Rinse. Add the beans to a fine mesh strainer and rinse them well, then transfer them to the Instant Pot.
- Cook. Stir in the rest of the ingredients—the water and broth if you’re making your beans unseasoned, and the jalapeños and seasonings too for the spicy option. Set the pressure to High and cook for 30 minutes, then allow the pressure to naturally release for 20 minutes.
- Finish. Remove the lid and stir the beans. Drain if desired, and add the lime juice and cilantro if you’d like.
Tips for Perfect Instant Pot Black Beans
I’ve got a few additional pointers for you!
- Adjust the liquid-to-bean ratio as desired. Do you like soupy beans? Or do want beans that are a bit on the drier side? At a minimum, you want a 1:1.5 ratio. One cup of beans to one and a half cups of water. For me, I love when beans have a bit of moisture and “sauce” to them, so the perfect ratio of black beans to water was 1:2. 1 cup of black beans to 2 cups of liquid.
- Soak the beans for even shorter cooking time. For this recipe, to keep it as easy as possible, I have the instructions for cooking from dry. But if you do want to soak the beans overnight first, they’ll only take 8 minutes of cooking time.
- Change up the flavor. If you don’t want plain black beans, but you don’t want them to be spicy either, you can add some savoriness by cooking the beans with a diced onion or shallots, or some sliced or minced garlic cloves. You can add a bay leaf if you'd like too.
My Favorite Ways to Use These Beans
You can use your Instant Pot black beans as a swap for canned beans in any recipe. Just use 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans for a single 14.5-ounce can. Try them in one of these recipes:
- Chili Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
- Cilantro Lime Black Bean Quinoa Tacos
- Black Bean Quinoa Fajita Bowls
- Black Bean Quinoa Bites
- Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
They make a budget-friendly dinner when served with Cilantro Lime Rice, or use them as a side for Blackened Fish Tacos. We love using the spicy black bean variation to make black bean tacos with roasted sweet potatoes, and for adding to Meal-Prep Vegetarian Quinoa Burrito Bowls.
How to Store and Reheat
- Refrigerator: Transfer the beans and the cooking liquid to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can also freeze your Instant Pot black beans in a freezer bag or airtight container with the liquid for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm with the liquid in a pan over medium heat. While the microwave also works, sometimes the beans pop, so I prefer the stovetop!
More Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Black Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black beans
- 1 – 2 jalapeños , chopped
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt & pepper (each)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- Juice of 1 lime to garnish (optional)
- Cilantro to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add the beans to a fine mesh strainer and give them a quick rinse. Transfer the beans to the Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients into the Instant Pot and cover with the lid. Set the pressure to High and cook for 30 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and give the beans a stir. There should still be some liquid in there so they're somewhat “soupy”. Drain liquid if desired (but I love that juice!). Add lime juice and cilantro if desired.
- Enjoy with your favorite meal! Beans can be refrigerated for 4 days and frozen for up to 6 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Excellent and simple recipe, I’ve got a 6qt instant pot and it comes out perfect every time. Only thing I change is just using 4 cups only of chicken stock and 1 lb of black beans (same as 2 cups). Then I just throw in a ton of spices, and some onions also. This is the way to do beans.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! It’s divine. Highly recommend anyone to give it a go, and so much better then store bought.
I would appreciate you letting me know the recipe difference to make this in a crockpot. Also, would I still boil the beans for about 10 minutes first after I let them sit all night?!
Thank you for this slight guidanceto get my beans done.
I would appreciate you letting me know the recipe difference to make this in a crockpot. Also, would I still boil the beans for about 10 minutes first after I let them sit all night?!
Thank you for this slight guidance and getting my beans done.
This recipe is SO good and simple. As a vegetarian, I use black beans in many recipes, but the beans are so tasty by themselves as well. They add a lot of flavor to the other ways I use them! (And I’m a lightweight so omit the jalapeno and reduce the cayenne… still wonderful!) I use the jarred vegetable bouillon from costco, which I always have on hand, and that’s great. Thanks for the recipe!
Love this recipe! I reduced the spices by about 1/4th and cut the jalapenos because I have small children, but they came out so yummy. I used the juice as broth in chili. My beans were still pretty firm, like they are from a can, so I think this is the perfect recipe to make your own beans for other recipes, but they taste great alone too.
Love this recipe! I reduced the spices by about 1/4th because I have small children, but they came out so yummy. I used the juice as broth in chili. My beans were still pretty firm, like they are from a can, so I think this is the perfect recipe to make your own beans for other recipes, but they taste great alone too.
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Many thanks for a great and straightforward recipe! I added a bit of chipotle salsa and 5 minutes- definitely adding to my nosh routine. 🙂
I’m finding they’re delicious but still had some undercooked beans. And this was after I let them rest about an hour. So I added about 1 cup more water and put them back to cook 10 more minutes and did an immediate pressure release. They’re perfect now.
Delicious every time! My go to recipe for life 🙌🏻
The only black bean recipe I use now. I love it. I double the recipe and free bags that I take out to thaw in the fridge the night before I’m cooking with them. I make all kinds of meals with these. Add corn and make tacos, serve over rice, refry for burritos, too a Mexican salad. A bag of $3 beans makes a whole lot of delish recipes when you have a good starter bean recipe and this is it
We love these beans! Do you think I can double the recipe and still cook them in a 6 qt instant pot?
I think you would need an 8 qt cooker to double the recipe, I believe 2 cups of beans is the max you can cook in a 6 qt cooker without having them foam and boil over
So easy and so delicious!
The only thing I’m disappointed with is I didn’t make these earlier. I’ve been holding off making them and they are awesome. Really easy and great flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I made this recipe last night it was quick and easy and so delish. This recipe will be a staple in our house. Thanks
I made these today for a dinner tomorrow, but only made 1/2 the recipe, for the small group. I will have to make more…I ate most of them! Delicious. I added a tablespoon of adobo from chipotle chilis because I wanted more spice, but his is a solid delicious recipe!! so versitile!!
so glad you liked it!! 🙂
I’ve made this a few times and the beans are delicious! I feel like it goes well with everything. Thanks so much!
Of course!! They’re my favorite in tacos 🙂
I made these beans yesterday. I didn’t have jalapeños so I left them out. I thought I might add a spoonful of pickled jalapeños after they were done. I tasted them after cooking and they were on the spicy side and absolutely perfect. Today my daughter and I added them to quinoa and it was the perfect blend. I have tried many bean recipes and this is my favorite and will be a constant in our meal prep going forward. Thank you so much.
YAY! So happy you enjoyed them!!
Delicious! Love the sauce it creates. Not sure if my jalapeños were milder than usual; used 2 small ones and next time would use more.
Glad it worked out well! I agree that the sauce is one of my favorite parts of this recipe 🙂
Is the pressure relief time important? If I were to manually relieve the pressure early would the beans be undercooked? New to instant pots and not sure of this is a safety measure or part of the cooking time.
I would follow as written 🙂
Hi Alyssa! I love this recipe but I’m only cooking for me and my husband and 2 cups of beans makes a lot! If I want to halve the recipe do I need to adjust the amount of liquid used? Or would it work with only 2 total cups of liquid to the 1 cup of beans? Thank you!
I think you should be fine halving the recipe!
I love the recipe, the beans are delicious
I’m so glad!
I stated this recipe at 12:30 AM Saturday, I didn’t have jalapenos peppers but I had red peppers. This recipe is wonderful and will be a weekly staple ~ Thank you
So glad you enjoyed! I’d love for you to leave a star rating if you haven’t already 😉 xox
Hi! I love black beans, and I struggle so hard with cooking them on the stovetop. I just can’t get them to that buttery smooth texture that’s so dreamy. I can’t wait to try this! How was your digestion? Were you gassy since you didn’t soak them? Did you notice any difference? Thanks!
I don’t think I really noticed a difference if I’m being honest!
How would you recommend adjusting the cooking time if you soak your beans overnight?
I haven’t tested, but it cooks them much quicker 🙂 I think you can google the cooking times for soaked beans if you’d like!
I did an IP quick soak on my beans, drained out the water, and continued with the recipe, cooking for ten minutes on high pressure. They came out perfect!
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe! I’ve only had an IP for about 2 months and this one has been on the rotation A LOT!!! We like it ???? spicy, so I add 3-4 jalapeños. I also sometimes use small red beans instead of black. It’s fabulous!!!
Sounds sooo good! Love it 🙂
If I double the recipe, do I need to add more time?
I don’t think so!
Can this be done on the stove top or slow cooker as well?
I haven’t tested it, but yes I think so!
How do you recommend to thaw the beans after freezing?
I would say just let them come to room temp!
How do you recommend reheating from frozen?
I would say bring to room temp, then heat in a pan 🙂
This was beyond delicious! So flavorful, and the beans were cooked to the perfect consistency. I topped mine with cashew cream and chives. So good! I’m definitely making this again – it’s going in my weekly rotation! Thank you for the recipe!
YAYY! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂 that combo with the cashew cream and chives sounds INCREDIBLE!
I noticed no onions in the recipe. I plan on making it today and will add onions and perhaps fresh garlic