My Instant Pot Black Beans recipe makes a simple, tasty, healthy & budget friendly dinner. As well as being great on their own, they work equally as well as a base for other meals, so are perfect for meal prep!
Ever wondered how to make really tasty black beans in an Instant Pot?
Well, I'm here to show you how with this really easy and flavourful Instant Pot Black Beans recipe.
This recipe is basically my Slow Cooker Black Beans which have been around on A Virtual Vegan since the beginning, but I have adapted the recipe to work well in an Instant Pot <<<affiliate link.
So, if you don't have an Instant Pot or other other electric pressure cooker, hop on over there and you will find both slow cooker and stove-top instructions. There are also instructions there for using canned beans if you just can't be bothered to cook your own.
Before I had my Instant Pot, I bought all of my beans in cans because I was never organized enough to cook them from scratch. I had good intentions and kept dried beans in the pantry, but then always decided what we were eating too late in the day to soak and cook them.
With my Instant Pot I don't soak the beans at all, and they are ready from scratch in less than an hour. That means I can cook and use them in recipes at short notice. I love that!
WHAT IS AN INSTANT POT?
Instant Pots are smart, programmable electric pressure cookers which were invented and designed in Canada and they are amazing. Mine is by far my favourite appliance and this is not sponsored by Instant Pot at all. I recommend them because I truly love mine.
They speed up cooking 2 to 6 times while using up to 70% less energy than other cooking methods. They are also able to function as slow cookers, rice cookers, yogurt makers and you can sauté in them. They are incredibly versatile and useful.
I use mine literally every single day for everything from cooking my Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats, making soup, stew and curry, cooking dried beans and grains and for steaming veggies or puddings like my Vegan Christmas Pudding. I wouldn't be without it.
This is the Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart 9-in-1 model:
It's the newer version of mine and I think just perfect for a medium sized family. There are 3 of us and it easily makes enough for 2 dinners plus leftovers.
I have lots and lots of Instant Pot vegan recipes in my head that I want to test, so if you do decide to splash out on one you will have a plentiful supply of yummy things to cook in the coming months!
HOW TO COOK BLACK BEANS IN AN INSTANT POT?
It really is so simple to make perfect black beans in your Instant Pot.
Here's how!
FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
STEP 1
Add all of the ingredients except the lime to the Instant Pot and give them a stir.
STEP 2
Set the Instant Pot to 25 minutes on Manual/Pressure Cook and leave it to do it's stuff
STEP 3
Cut the lime in half and squeeze it over the beans just before serving.
They really are so quick, easy and super tasty!
WHAT CAN I MAKE WITH BLACK BEANS?
Try serving these Instant Pot Black Beans quite simply with some rice and maybe some of my Green Sauce. I like to top it all with some diced bell pepper, tomato or green onions for added texture and colour like in my picture. They are also awesome in a bowl with guacamole and tortilla chips for scooping/dipping.
Leftover cooked beans can be used in:
- Vegan Meal Prep with Black Beans & Rice
- tacos
- nachos
- burritos
- buddha bowls
- salads
- wraps
- you can even add more broth and blend them up into a soup
They are so versatile and absolutely perfect for batch cooking. They also reheat and freeze perfectly. I often make double or triple and freeze them for another day.
I just love simple recipes like this that can be recycled into loads of other things!
THIS IS WHY I AM LOVING THESE INSTANT POT BLACK BEANS:
- The recipe is quick & easy
- Just set the Instant Pot and forget - It's completely hands-off
- It's incredibly budget friendly
- Black beans are super healthy
- It's oil-free and really low in calories
- It's perfect for batch cooking
- The beans reheat really well
- It's freezer friendly
- The beans can be repurposed into lots of other meals/recipes
- You can switch up the seasonings with whatever you have in your pantry
For more Vegan Instant Pot recipes, check out these great options:
- Vegan Instant Pot Portobello Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Lentil Dal
- Teriyaki Instant Pot Rice
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Healthy Chocolate Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Vegan Instant Pot Potato Curry
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Instant Pot Black Beans
Ingredients
- 450g / 2½ cups dried black beans , no need to soak before using
- 1 medium onion , chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic , chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes , or 1 fresh chili, (you can omit the chili if you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried mint , optional but recommended if you have it
- 720 mls / 3 cups flavourful broth/stock
- 1 lime , juice only
- up to 1 teaspoon salt , plus more to taste if required
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all ingredients except the lime to the Instant Pot and stir.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and seal the vent.
- Cook on high pressure MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK in newer models, for 25 minutes for tender, soft beans, (or 30 minutes of you prefer really soft slightly mushy beans) and leave the pressure to release naturally before opening the lid. Please note that the beans continue to cook during the natural pressure release so if you skip this step and vent manually your beans will turn out much firmer.
- Add salt to taste then squeeze the juice of the lime into the beans and give them a quick stir before serving.
Colleen says
These beans exceeded my expectations in every way. They're super easy to make and really flavorful. We combined these with the Coconut Lime Rice and the two together were excellent.
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed them Colleen. They do work so well with that rice dish!
Leslie says
I have made these beans 3 times. They are very tasty but I don't think there is enough liquid in the recipe. After cooking and full NPR, my beans have always been fairly firm and there is little to no liquid left. Today I added an additional 3/4 c of broth in the first stage of cooking and cooked them for 45 minutes. That still leaves the beans quite firm and little to no broth left. So I added another 3/4 c and put them on for another 10 minutes. These beans are not that old (however, we never know how long they have sat in warehouses. etc.). 2 1/2 c of black beans is about 1 lb. My other recipes for 1 lb of blackbeans have 4-6 c of liquid or a measurement of 1" above the beans. Are your beans super fresh? Are you getting them from a place like Rancho Gordo? That may account for the difference.
A Virtual Vegan says
Sorry you're not happy with them. This recipe isn't intended to be a super liquidy one though. You can see in my photo and videos how it should look.
If they were really saucy they would be no good for tacos, salads, burritos etc. You can of course add more liquid though if you prefer them that way and that won't affect the cooking time. You might well need to up the seasonings etc if you do though because extra liquid will dilute the flavours.
My recipes are tested by me and a team of recipe testers and we all found that 25 to 30 minutes was optimum for cooking. 25 for firmer beans, 30 for slightly mushier well-cooked beans. Instant Pot themselves actually suggest 20 to 25 minutes cooking time for unsoaked black beans: https://instantpot.com/instantpot-cooking-time/#tab-id-3
If yours aren't soft after 45 minutes then it's likely to be the beans you are using. Like you say you never really know how old they are or how they have been stored. Perhaps try some from a different source next time.
In answer to your other questions, I always test my bean recipes with beans from multiple sources and my recipe testers would also have bought different beans to me. All of our beans came from regular grocery stores. I have no idea what Rancho Gordo is. We don't have that here.
Hope that helps!
Stephanie says
My go to black bean recipe, no need to look any further! These black beans are so simple to make and so flavorful.
Tara says
this is the second time I'm making these. I haven't stopped thinking about them since the first time! I mistakenly added the lime juice before cooking. Will this alter the flavor at all? Should I still add the lime juice after? Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you are enjoying them! The reason the lime is added at the end is that a lot of the flavour disappears with cooking. If you add it after it preserves the lime flavour. Yours will be fine though and yes, you could always add a squeeze after cooking too to give the flavour a boost.