Wondering how to cook black beans in the Instant Pot? This easy no soak method will save you time and money. An easy Mexican Black Beans Instant Pot Recipe that’s super flavorful and made in the pressure cooker in just 45 minutes!
Mexican Instant Pot Black Beans
Man. Today I just feel like I’m on a struggle bus when it comes to writing.
There are definitely some days when I wish I had a copywriter to just write all of my posts and optimize them for SEO. Life would be a breeze if that were the case. But then, I think back to why I started this blog in the first place. I don’t want to just write about food and then be done. I want to meet you where you’re at. Share my stories and my heart, hear yours and then give you some tips and tricks for the kitchen in the process.
Ahh… I digress.
So, for today’s post we are starting to take a mild turn from Mother’s Day and Easter Recipes towards Cinco de Mayo recipes.
After all, it IS one of my favorite “holidays” or reasons to throw a party. Any excuse to have tacos, margaritas and chips and guacamole. Am I right?
Well, for last years party I made Cilantro Lime Rice and Charro Beans. Those two items were such a big hit that I actually ran out because people were choosing to make Rice Bowls instead of eating the tacos. This year I’m taking notes and changing up my menu a bit, I’ll still be making rice but going the Black Bean route instead. Honestly, I just like the taste of them better.
Easy Instant Pot Black Beans
Hands down one of my new favorite gadgets in the kitchen is my Instant Pot. Truth be told, I was an Instant Pot hater for a while. I wasn’t willing to get on the bandwagon, I’m a little stubborn and don’t like being told what to do. But when I finally gave in I realized what all the fuss was about, it’s been a game changer. Did you know that you can make beans from DRY in the instant in just 45 minutes!?
Do Black Beans need to be soaked?
Here’s the best thing about using the Instant Pot to make your beans. You don’t have to soak the beans before hand! (game changer) Just place the dry beans in your instant pot or pressure cooker along with spices and liquid and voila!
How Many Cups is in 1 Pound of Dry Beans?
- 1 pound dried beans = 2 cups dried beans = 5 cups cooked beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can = 1 1/2 cups cooked beans <—this little tip is super handy if you want to use your own Instant Pot Black Beans in recipes that call for canned beans
How to Make Instant Pot Black Beans
- Set instant pot to Saute mode.
- Add in grape seed oil and onions to the pot. Saute for 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Next add in garlic. Saute and stir for 30 seconds, until garlic is fragrant.
- Immediately add fresh cilantro and red pepper, saute for 2 minutes.
- Add in dried black beans and spices. Saute for 1 minute, stirring the entire time to incorporate all the spices with the other ingredients.
- Pour in the water and salsa verde.
- Cancel the Saute mode and set to Pressure Cooker mode.
- Cover and cook on HIGH pressure for 45 minutes.
- Do a natural release. Add lime juice to the beans and stir. (Add more salt if needed.)
I mean honestly you can’t get any easier than that and they come out perfect every time!
How to Store Cooked Black Beans
Cooked black beans will last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days if stored properly. To store your black beans correctly, place them in an air tight container and store in the refrigerator. If you’d like to freeze your black beans for later use. Allow cooked black beans to cool completely, pour them into an air tight container or a freezer safe bag and place in the freezer. Black beans will last in the freezer for up to 8 months.
This Instant Pot Black Bean recipe is super flavorful, healthy and easy to make. It’s a great side dish for any Taco Tuesday night or Cinco de Mayo party! You could even store half of the beans and use them for recipes that call for canned black beans!
Bon Appetit friends!
What to Serve with Black Beans:
- Salsa Verde Carne Asada
- Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
- Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa
- Bacon Guacamole
- Steak Fajita Burrito Bowl
** There are affiliate links in this post. Thank you for supporting Joyful Healthy Eats.**
Print
The Ultimate Mexican Instant Pot Black Beans
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Wondering how to cook black beans in the Instant Pot? This easy no soak method will save you time and money. An easy Mexican Black Beans Instant Pot Recipe that’s super flavorful and made in the pressure cooker in just 45 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 lb. dry black beans
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Set instant pot to Saute mode.
- Add in grape seed oil and onions to the pot. Saute for 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Next add in garlic. Saute and stir for 30 seconds, until garlic is fragrant.
- Immediately add fresh cilantro and red pepper, saute for 2 minutes.
- Add in dried black beans, cumin, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika and salt. Saute for 1 minute, stirring the entire time to incorporate all the spices with the other ingredients.
- Pour in the water and salsa verde.
- Cancel the Saute mode and set to Pressure Cooker mode.
- Cover and cook on HIGH pressure for 40 minutes.
- Do a natural release. Add lime juice to the beans and stir. (Add more salt if needed.)
- Serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/3 cup
- Calories: 81
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 105 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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44 comments on “Easy Mexican Instant Pot Black Beans (No Soak)”
Never thought to add lime to the beans but it really made them zesty!I didn’t have everything on the list but it came out great anyway. Thanks for the recipe. Definitely a keeper
Right! The lime totally takes it up a notch.
It kicked my wife and I in the teeth. We doubled the lime; our food makes it’s presence known.
This has been a regular at my house for years and everyone loves them still! The only change I make is I use chicken broth instead of water! Goes great with fajita night!
Yes that will definitely add more flavor! Love the substitution.
These come out perfectly cooked every time and impress my teenage daughters! A big bonus is these are WW approved. I like to add canned diced green chilies or a poblano pepper to the pot.
I am so happy this recipe is a household favorite!
I used to use instant pot for to make rice only. Now one day, I made Gajrela(Carrot pudding) and it became so devious and also I saved a lot of time.
Then I tried to make dal, it was also so tasty.
One day I will try Mexican black beans in instant pot. Thanks for showing such a wonderful recipe.
I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I’m super confused cause I’m about to make these, but I noticed every other recipe is 8 cups water to 1 lb beans, but this is only 4.5 cups liquid (including salsa)??? scared it won’t work?
Trust me. It works. Tried and true.
This was great!
– I prefer to pre-soak my beans (24 hours in a couple changes of warm water with baking soda added) for improved digestibility, and so my pressure cook time (with natural release) was 10 minutes.
– I didn’t have Smoked Paprika so used plain Paprika but use Applewood Smoked Salt in place of the plain.
– I also didn’t have Ancho Chili Powder so used 3/4 tsp Chili powder and 1/4 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder.
– I like Bay Leaves in everything so added two
– I also added 1 TBSP of Oregano since I believe Oregano belongs in all things Mexican.
So while it sounds like a lot of edits, I promise it really wasn’t! lol We had this with some brisket for deluxe nachos and breakfast chilaquiles!
My mouth is watering- deluxe Brisket Nachos sound divine!!! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Any recipe on Brazilian style black beans???
Oh no I’m sorry. I’ve actually never had them before.
Hi, how come all of a sudden we see bunch of black beans recipes? And in Puerto Rico no one add lime juice to beans.
Hey Mauricio, at the time covid had just started and a lot of people were asking for bean recipes! I love the flavor lime juice adds to beans, give it a pop of flavor and some zestiness. 🙂
I want to try this for a taco dinner for my family. Can I make these ahead of time and reheat? Or would you recommend me trying to time it?
Yes you can definitely make this ahead. In fact it would let the flavors settle more.
No soaking overnight like with other dried beans? No wonder my (lame) attempts in past always looked washed-out, color-wise.
Well this explains a lot! The only time I eat black beans is at Chipotle and couldn’t figure out what was up with the canned variety when I tried to include them in things at home. Looking forward to the rest of the recipes because I gave up trying to make Spanish rice at home a long time ago. If she has a good enchilada sauce up her sleeve, can you please get her to part with that as well?
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Regarding my prior comments, the red pepper is in the recipe. I was confusing this with another recipe I found online. Also, I forgot to mention, if I don’t soak the beans it causes digestive discomfort. After soaking I leave the cooking time the same and the beans come out soft – not mushy. Thanks.
Thank you so much for the update and feedback Laurie!
I made this twice so far and will definitely make it again. The first time I forgot the red pepper as it’s not in recipe card section as others have noted.. We don’t care for cilantro so I used dried oregano and I didn’t have salsa verde so I subbed a can of Rotel. The amount of liquid and spices is just right. I served it over rice with sliced jalapenos. Excellent 🙂 Thank you for posting!
I made this and loved the flavor, but the beans were a little more firm than I would like. Would you recommend increasing the cook time, or soaking the beans beforehand? I was afraid that if I soaked, this recipe would produce beans that were too mushy.
Hey Sophia, I would increase the cook time by maybe 15 minutes on this one and see if you like the texture better.
Love the ingredients. Can’t wait to try. Question, instructions at the top say 40 minutes, but the second set at the bottom says 45 minutes. Which is it? Also, how long do I let them do the natural release? Thank you so much!!
Hey Lucy, the overall cook time takes into account the cook time on sauteeing the onions, garlic and peppers. Which is why it says 45 minutes. After all the sauteeing is done, you’ll add the beans and then it is 40 minutes from there. As far as natural release, you will let it naturally release until the little venting valve drops. This signifies that all the steam and pressure is gone. Usually it’s about 5-10 minutes depending on how much steam is in there.
Can’t wait to make this tonight. It looks 5 stars so it shall receive that!
I hope you gave this recipe a try!
40 minutes on high sounds excessively long, unless this recipe is supposed to have a very mushy texture? I typically cook black beans in the pressure cooker for about 30 minutes. Is there something in this recipe that causes a slower cook time?
Hmm… not sure. I don’t soak them so that would cause more cook time. But I can tell you that these are not at all mushy.
Different types of beans = different cooking times. Some black beans are turtle black beans some black beans are almost brownish in colour. Personally, I love the turtle beans, they leave a purpley-browny-black water after soaking. I prefer to soak first; seems to make a nicer end product and I get to drain off the foamy stuff and wash them after soaking which changes the beans a bit.
So good, and super easy 🖤
Tried this recipe for the TACO party night that I hosted and it was a hit! Everyone loved it and my husband enjoyed it through the left overs. Thank you so much for the easy and quick recipe!
Awesome! So glad to hear that! We make it for our Cinco de Mayo party every year!
I love this method! Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Love using my instant pot! I can’t wait to try these in a big batch and freeze some for when I need them! Thank you!
These black beans look fantastic! Love that you can make them in the InstantPot…perfect with a side of rice!!
Everything is easier with Instant Pot! Need to make these immediately!
I just happen to have these ingredients so am going to make it tonight for dinner – – if I can wait that long!
woohoo! enjoy they are amazing!
WOW! This is great for a family dinner at our house.
I could dig right into this with that big ‘ol wooden spoon! It looks so tasty, and how great that they’re so easy to make with the IP!