After pounds and pounds of bean pressure cooking I got it right. Here is your fail-proof guide for Instant Pot Beans. Instant Pot black beans, Instant Pot pinto beans, instant pot kidney beans, and many more, basically an encyclopedia about cooking beans in the instant pot.
After seeing the same question popping up over and over again in several Facebook groups: “how to cook beans in the instant pot”, and after reading answers that couldn’t differ any more, I felt the urge to find out timings for myself. Just like back when I saw the same happening for Instant Pot Rice.
I’ve read people recommending cook times anywhere from 10 minutes all the way up to 60 minutes. How can that be? Why do the recommended times differ SO MUCH?!? I had to get to the bottom of it.
Well, first of all, many times it isn’t even specified what kind of beans. There are soooooo many kinds and they all cook in different times. Asking “how to cook beans in the instant pot” is basically an incomplete question and often results in incomplete answers.
Second of all, it is never specified what the beans are meant for. Depending on if you want them for a salad or a soup makes a huge difference. For a salad you want them barely cooked so they hold their shape, stay dry and don’t become mushy. For a soup you want them super cooked and falling apart by themselves so you can blend them and create a creamy soup.
And lastly,it is rarely specified if the cooking time is requested or suggested for soaked or dry beans. This also plays a huge role in timing.
Which brings us to the first question and answer in our Instant Pot Beans Encyclopedia.
Soaking or No Soaking for Instant Pot Beans
Let me answer one important thing first: yes, you CAN cook both, soaked and unsoaked beans in the pressure cooker. So if you desperately want to skip the soaking process you absolutely CAN.
The question, however, should not be if you CAN cook no soak beans. The question is: do you really want to skip the step?
I never (literally never!) skip soaking. Why? Because it eases digestion A LOT. I, for one, don’t love feeling bloated and passing wind. If you enjoy that, by all means, go ahead and skip the step ;)
If you’re more like me and like eating healthy and yummy food without bloating and farting (high five my friend) then soak your beans for 8-12 hours before pressure cooking.
Generations and generations before us already knew about this trick and I rely a lot on their experience. A pressure cooker doesn’t break down the beans to a point where soaking isn’t necessary anymore to ease digestion. Maybe one day someone will invent a magical machine that can but for now, there isn’t one on the market that I know.
What the instant pot does it cook beans faster to reach the same consistency a regular pot with water does. That’s the advantage of pressure cooking. The soaking is still necessary.
There are other tricks to ease digestion such as adding “epazote” during the cooking process and/or removing the foam that forms on top. The most important and most effective is soaking though. Don’t skip the soaking even if you add epazote and remove the foam.
Sooooo, all experiments run for this post are for beans soaked for 12 hours at room temperature using filtered water. Then drained and rinsed and cooked in just plain, fresh, unsalted water.
Ok, now that we’ve had have that discussion let’s get to the next point.
Instant Pot Black Beans
My fist tests were run with Black Beans and that’s how I found out that the discrepancies of timing are often times likely due to what the beans are meant for.
After cooking for 30 minutes + complete natural pressure release the beans were nice and soft and perfect to use for a soup. They were cooked to the necessary consistency to blend into a smooth black bean soup.
However, they were way too soft to drain and use for a salad. They were much much softer than the black beans you’d find in a can for example.
The canned black beans are pretty firm and after draining ideal for a salad for example.
So the next goal was to find the best pressure cook timing to achieve firm beans for salad AND a consistency somewhere in between for Instant Pot Beans and Rice. Not too firm and not too soft.
After 20 minutes of high pressure cooking and full natural pressure release the Instant Pot Black Beans were thoroghly cooked through but still firm. I was able to drain them and use them in a salad.
After 25 minutes they had that perfect consistency for Instant Pot Beans and Rice.
Instant Pot Pinto Beans
I thought all beans the same size would cook in the same time but no. It seems different beans have a different composition and cook differently.
Pinto Beans cooked faster in my experiment compared to black beans. I was very surprised actually. So much so, that I will have to rerun this experiment. Pinto Beans were the last beans I experimented with and I’m wondering if my Instant Pots (<– yes, plural, I have several because I’m obsessed, haha) were maybe overheating and cooking stuff faster?
Anyway, the Adzuki Beans definitely confirmed the fact that different beans cook at different times regardless of size.
The Instant Pot Pinto Beans were perfect for draining and using in salads after just 15 minutes high pressure and full natural pressure release.
Perfect for rice and beans after 20 minutes high pressure cooking + NPR. And suitable for soups after 25 minutes HP + NPR.
Flavoring Instant Pot Beans (salt while or after cooking)
Depending on what you want your Instant Pot Beans for you may or may not want to flavor them.
If you want your beans for a salad which will have a salad dressing it’s probably best to simply cook them in filtered water and nothing else. Drain the water and use the unflavored beans for your salad.
For Instant Pot Beans and Rice or for soup you’ll probably want to flavor while cooking. There is a couple simple rules to follow. Add onion, garlic, spices (except salt) before or during cooking but salt after cooking. Salt can keep beans from softening up so you want to avoid adding while they are cooking but rather once they’re already soft.
What I love to do is to prepare a “sofrita” first. You hit the sautée button first and while the pot heats you peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Once hot, add a splash of oil, the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until nice and brown. Then add beans and water and cook as instructed in the recipe card below.
And here the printable fool-proof timing guide for Instant Pot Beans:
Instant Pot Beans
Ingredients
- 1-3 cups beans (black beans, pinto beans, adzuki beans, kidney beans, navy beans, or mung beans)
- water
Instructions
- Add beans to a large bowl and cover with abundant filtered water. At least 4 times as much water as beans. Cover with a clean dish towel. Soak for 8-12 hours on the kitchen counter. (If you soak them longer timings will differ!)
- Drain beans and rinse really really well.
- Add beans to instant pot and cover with fresh water to about 2 inches above the beans (two thumbs thick).
- Put on the lid and turn the knob to the sealing position.
- Press manual (or pressure cook on newer models) set to high pressure and adjust timing follows depending on if you need the beans for salad/rice and beans/soup:Black Beans: 20/25/30 minutes + 20 mins NPRPinto Beans: 15/20/25 + 20 mins NPRNavy Beans: 25/30/35 + 20 mins NPRKidney Beans: 25/30/35 + 20 mins NPRAdzuki Beans: 5/10/15 + 20 mins NPRMung Beans: 0 + 10 min NPR / 0 + 15 min NPR / 1 + 20 mins NPR
- Let pressure release naturally for specified time above, then, if safety pin hasn't dropped on its own yet, release remaining pressure manually.
Notes
Nutrition
PRINTABLE MEAL PLAN
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Rachel says
Thanks so much for your comprehensive guides- I love your attention to detail and thoroughness! Might you ever consider doing a guide for unsoaked beans? I find one of the joys of pressure cooking beans is that you can skip that step and still end up with delightful legumes in under an hour and would love to see your take on that type of preparation.
Lorena Graeter says
Hi Rachel, you are very welcome. The reason I don’t cook unsoaked beans is that I have an incredibly hard time digesting unsoaked beans. I also can’t digest conventional canned legumes. With some organic brands, I’ve noticed I can tolerate them. I don’t know if it’s just me and my family or the fact that our guts aren’t used to unsoaked legumes but we really can’t eat them.
Lydia says
Have used your instructions for Italian butter beans in the past (I think I followed kidney bean instructions) and worked well. But (overnight soaked) pinto beans at 15 min/20 min NPR resulted in mush. So I think pinto beans must be a special category of their own!
Lorena Graeter says
Lydia, no, the problem wasn’t the kind. The problem was your pinto beans’ age. The older the beans the longer they take, the fresher the beans the faster they cook. I didn’t know that at the time of testing my times. It looks like in Montreal I get organic beans that are always the same age but a lot of people have the same problem as you. Beans that are mush because they get fresher beans than me.
Cathy says
Was trying to cook navy beans with these guidelines. Soaked overnight, cooked 25 min, natural release for 20 min. Total mush :(
Lorena Graeter says
I’m so sorry Cathy, after many comments I ended up finding out that bean age plays a major role in cooking times. I have contacted several legumes brands to find out if there is a way to tell how old beans are with the codes on packages and unfortunately no. Some packages will state when the beans were packaged but that says nothing about harvesting and storage before packaging. So, unfortunately, my guide doesn’t work for everybody :( The beans I get here in Montreal from all organic brands always work with these times. I’ve tried several and at several times of year to see if it made an impact. I’m really sorry it didn’t work for the beans you had.
Caryn says
Hi I haven’t tried it yet, so I’m not rating. What is the limit to the quantity of beans you can cook in an 8 quart pot?
Lorena Graeter says
Hi Caryn, I’m sorry, I don’t know but I wouldn’t fill the pot more than half-way as the beans will still expand and all pressure cookers should never be filled more than 2/3 up.
HeidiHO says
I got here after a fail with Instant Pot guidelines. My Max pot sprays massively if I try to release pressure on black beans even after only 9 minutes cooking and 15 NPR. One caveat is I sprouted the black beans first. They are mushy. Suggestions?
Lorena says
Hi Heidi, if you sprouted your beans they need suuuuper little time to cook. I couldn’t even pressure cook them then, just add them to boiling water so you can keep checking on them. Or else you could pressure cook for 1 minute + full NPR and then see if they’re already cooked. If not, get the pressure cooker to pressure again for only 1 minute + full NPR. That should be enough. I have never cooked sprouted beans but sprouted lentils and they were done in less than 10 minutes on the stove (not pressure cooked).
Margo says
I just cooked pintos soaked overnight for 15 min with NPR and they are total mush. IP instructions say 8-9 min for soaked pintos. I’m going to try that for red bean and rice style of doneness.
Lorena says
I’m sorry that happened to you Margo :( After many many comments, I learned that bean age plays a MAJOR role in cooking time. Your beans must be much fresher than the ones I get my hands on here.
Kent Utsurogi says
A Quick Thank You for doing all this research and presentation on bean cooking. Saved me a lot of time and fails.
Laura Humphreys says
Thank you for all of these useful tips for cooking beans! Should I adjust the cooking time if I were to add a small ham shank to your recipe for pinto beans?
Lorena says
I haven’t tried that but I would assume the pinto bean cooking time is long enough for a ham shank. You can always bring everything back to pressure and cook a little longer if it’s not :)
Dani says
I made mayocoba beans. Soaked for 10 hours. Cooked in Instant Pot for 22 min (for soup) and 20 min slow release. They were cooked perfectly; however, they were too watery. I think next time I will only put enough water to just above the beans. Thank you for your recipe.
Mark says
Just got Instant pot today. wanted to make bean soup. Did I miss something? What is NPR?
Lorena says
I have a lentil soup that also has cannellini beans. You could try that one :) NPR = natural pressure release. It means that once your instant pot beeps because the pressure cooking time is over, you don’t do anything. You do NOT flip the valve to the venting position, you simply don’t touch it and wait for pressure to release naturally. Within 20-40 minutes the safety pin drops on its own and that means all pressure is out and it’s safe to open the pot.
KAY LAMANCE says
Pressure Release Naturally
Kirsten says
Tried pre-soaked mung beans and ended up with complete mush. 0 minutes pressure cook and 15 min NPR. This didn’t work for me at all. 😔
Lorena says
I’m really sorry to read that. After hundreds of comments I found out that bean age plays a major role in cooking time. The beans I get here in Montreal of all brands (incl. bulk store beans) all cook in the suggested timings. Most people have been successful with my timings but unfortunately not everybody. Some places must have access to much fresher beans than we do. I’m sorry my timings didn’t work for you :(
Mia says
Thanks for doing all this work for us, You must have a tonne of frozen beans! I’m sharing this with anyone who has an insta pot, which I got to make cooking ‘easier’ but dang it’s quite the learning curve. I’m thinking altitudes must have an input on cooking times as well… but age really does matter, old beans can petrify and will simply never soften. I bought some great northern beans from a local health food store and half of the beans after cooking were crunchy and half were mushy! Now there’s an example of an employee shaking up the old with the new! Annoying as they’re expensive (hence low turnover) &Made it a bit tricky to use, but no one really noticed it in a minestrone soup.
Bulk beans are a mystery but bagged beans actually have a bbf date so I think I’ll stick with bagged!
Lorena says
Thank you so much for your informative comment! Yes, bulk beans are a whole other story with employees stirring new with old *sigh*
Mia says
I meant bulk bin beans at the health food store ;)
I just made pinto beans with your timing 15 min as I was feeling timid and they turned out perfect salad beans, I could even put another min or two on without over doing them. I’m at 3557 feet (1084 m) above sea level, not sure if that makes a difference or not on pressure cooking.
Sharon says
I really appreciate this site.
Unfortunately, I Just cooked great Northern beans that had been pre-soaked overnight reducing the cooking time to 22 minutes rather than the suggested 25 and they fell apart using the natural release. I will try these again but probably cook them for about 15 minutes or do an instant release. Hope this helps!
Lorena says
Thank you for the feedback Sharon. After hundreds of comments, I learned that bean age plays the biggest role in cooking time. I guess your beans are a lot fresher than the ones I can get my hands on here. I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you.
Dorothy says
Can you give me guidelines about how long to cook Cannellini, Great Northern, and Lentils? I know very little about cooking, but just received an Instant Pot for cooking beans. I had no idea how complicated it could be. Haha!
Lorena says
I cook my soaked green lentils for 5 mins high pressure + full natural pressure release. My cannellini beans I’ve only cooked in a lentil soup where I want them to be nice and mushy. For that you need 25 mins on high pressure + full natural pressure release. Great Nothern I’ve never cooked, sorry.