Instant Pot How-To: Dried Beans

I've already shared a few complete recipes with you using the Instant Pot, but some of my favorite uses for it are less complete recipes/meals, and more accurately described as components for other things. For instance, hard boiled eggs, spaghetti squash, shredded chicken, dried beans... you get it. So although these "How-To" posts will be short and sweet, I've decided to start a new page at the top of the blog just for these types of things. This is what you're looking for, and I'll link all future Instant Pot How-To posts to this spot for easy reference.

So without further ado, how to cook dried beans in the Instant Pot. If you look in your Instant Pot recipe book, you'll find pages 31-37 are tables of basic cooking times for different categories of foods. When it comes to beans, you'll notice there are lots of different types of beans listed, and the cooking times might vary slightly, but not much. Do note that the cooking times ARE significantly different depending on whether you pre-soaked your beans or not. And since the main appeal to the Instant Pot is quick results for when we procrastinate (ha! just me?) we will be talking about cooking from non-soaked beans.

For my Beer Chili recipe, I was using three different bean varieties. Black Beans, Pinto Beans and Chili Beans. I used a 1/2 cup of each, and rinsed them before tossing in the pot. I then added enough water to cover them by about 1/4 inch, as recommended by the recipe book. I set the manual timer for 45 minutes and allowed the pressure to naturally release. Yes, if you are referencing the time tables, this is a bit longer than they indicate, however I had done dried beans once before and learned that to get them to the softer texture we are accustomed to, they needed more time. There is a Beans/Stews function which is pre-programmed for 30 minutes of cook time, but the 45 minutes on manual was just about perfect. And that.is.it. Seriously. That simple and easy, and when you open the pot after allowing the pressure to naturally dissipate, you are all set with fresh cooked beans that are ready to be added to your soups, stews or straight to your plate!