I SEARCHED FOR AN EASY MEXICAN BLACK BEAN INSTANT POT RECIPE.
I couldn't find one, so I decided to start testing myself. Now, there are plenty of recipes out there. They all start with 'perfect', 'easy', 'fast', 'no soak', 'simple', magic' or something to that effect. Most are not. And, they all come down to one simple mantra. If you are going to make black beans in your electric pressure cooker - whether you soak them or not - the entire process will take you at best a little less than an hour. By entire, I mean from point of soaking or cooking till the end you'll be shy of an hour. For beans, that's pretty amazing. There is no need to soak for hours on end. Nor is there a need to cook for minutes on end (some call to pressure cook for as much as 35 minutes). I found the most effective way to get perfect beans was to start with 30 minutes of soaking in boiling water. I do recommend soaking a minimum of 10 minutes to get rid of anti-nutrients. I don't mean actively boiling those beans. I mean boiling water in a kettle on the side and then pouring it over your dried beans in a bowl and letting them sit for 30 minutes. If you want to use room temperature water? No problem. Just increase the pressure cook time by 5 minutes (So, 15 instead of 10). But, with boiling water, I was able to pressure cook my beans perfectly al dente in 10 minutes! Meaning, they are the perfect texture for bean salads, to be added into leafy greens, and other fun recipes. I gave you a recipe for 1 cup of beans. I would actually recommend making 2 cups as it makes enough for leftovers and you really make the most of your pressure cooker this way.
RECIPE
Perfect Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans
3-quart electric pressure cooker or larger
Yield: 2 1/2 cups cooked beans
Warm-Up: 9 minutes, Cook: 10 minutes, Cool Down: 10 minutes, manual
Total: 29 minutes
1 cup dried Mexican black beans, sorted and washed
Soak beans in boiling water for 30 minutes and then drain. Discard water. This yields 2 cups of soaked beans.
Put in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Pressure cook on MORE for 10 minutes. I wanted just enough water so they would cook through.
Allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes, and then manually release the remaining steam.
Either use the remaining cooking water in your recipe with the beans or remove them with a slotted spoon and save the magical cooking water for later. I use that remaining cooking liquid as a veggie soup broth or to make Mexican rice.
Note: To make 2 cups of dried beans, increase water to 2 cups, and follow the above directions. Two cups will work perfectly in a 3-quart pressure cooker or larger. The cook and cool time stay the same, though I found it takes an extra 4 minutes to warm up. This will yield 5 cups of cooked beans.
Recipe Ideas
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Jill
January 27, 2021
There is no more pressure setting on the Instant Pot. It is either high or low pressure. I am certain that you mean high pressure.
I teach people how to make black beans often. The recipe is in my cookbook The New Fast Food.