Instant Pot black beans
A whole bag of dried black beans turns creamy and deeply seasoned in about an hour with no soaking, ready to eat with warm tortillas tonight and freeze for later.
- 100 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $0.99 a serving
- 450 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 lb dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lime, halved
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 6 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp salt
Each serving has about 450 calories, 20 g protein, 74 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $0.99 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Spread the beans on a plate and pick out any small stones or shriveled beans, then them in a strainer.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Dolly’s tip: It’s rare, but a tiny pebble can hide in a bag of beans. A quick look saves a tooth.Set the Instant Pot to , add the oil and onion, and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes, until soft.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Timer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder and oregano and cook 1 minute, . Press Cancel.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Add the beans, 6 cups water, the bay leaves and salt, and stir, scraping the bottom so nothing is stuck.
Dolly’s tip: Anything stuck to the bottom can set off the burn warning, so give it a good scrape.Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 40 minutes.
Timer: 40 min
Dolly’s tip: The pot takes about 15 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown starts. That’s normal.Let the pressure come down on its own for 20 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to Venting to let out the rest.
Timer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep your hand and face away from the valve. That steam is very hot.Open the lid, fish out the bay leaves and taste three beans. They should be creamy all the way through.
Stir in the juice of half the lime and more salt if they need it.
Dolly’s tip: Still firm in the middle? Lock the lid again and cook 5 more minutes on High.Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave 1 minute, until soft and bendy.
Timer: 1 min
Spoon the beans and some of their broth into bowls, top with avocado, queso fresco and cilantro, and eat with the warm tortillas and the rest of the lime.
Food safety: If you’re pregnant, buy queso fresco labeled “made with pasteurized milk,” and for extra care, warm it until it’s steaming hot.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
