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.
Midnight Cookies – The Perfect Healthy Midnight Snack
How to Cook Farro – The Foolproof Way
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Kayla says
Hi! Can you partially cook them, npr, then pressure cook them again the rest of the way with salt? I ask because i want to add dry seaweed (or salted mushroom powder) for flavor, but they will be better used if they cook with the beans.
So could i cook the beans half or 3/4ths the way, add the seaweed, then Kayla restart the pressure cooker for the rest of the total bean cooking time?
Lorena Grater says
Yes, absolutely. Just make sure you wait for at least partial natural pressure release even when cooking just half way because else you risk bean water shooting out the vent.
Samantha says
Hello there:)
I just LOVE your article on beans:) Ive read a few and yours is fantastic.
I just wanted to ask – I don’t have a instant pot, but I have a stove top pressure cooker – would the timing still be the same roughly? and also does the cooking time include the pot building its pressure or only start the time after the pressure has built up ?
Looking forward to your response:)
Busy soaking beans as I type to you:)
Lorena Grater says
Hi Samantha, I don’t own a stove top cooker so unfortunately I can’t give you hands-on advice. The Instant Pot counts the timing only once it go to pressure so you have to take that into consideration. I would turn on the stove, wait for full pressure, then set the timer and once the timer goes off, remove the pot from the heat and leave it untouched until pressure released on its own.
Bob G says
Thank you so much for creating this article! I’m with you on the presoaking when using an instant pot but try to find how to cook beans in an instant pot, that HAVE BEEN pre-soaked. Thanks again.
Tomas says
Great article! I’m curious about mung beans.. is it really 0/0/1?
Lorena Grater says
Yes. Soaked mung beans cook super fast. Remember, to wait for some natural pressure release as instructed before releasing the remaining pressure naturally.
Ken says
One big reason for time differences is the hardness of the water. I live in South Florida where the water is very hard. Cooking beans the old-fashioned way takes 2 – 3 times longer than when I lived on the West Coast.
Lorena Grater says
Yes, water hardness does have an impact on cooking time but usually, the harder the water the faster beans cook because the minerals break down the beans faster. So it’s interesting to read yours take LONGER with your hard water in Florida.
Linda Hepperle says
I’m not certain but thinking that it’s possible that the variations in cooking times could be altitude. I live in Colorado and I know that baking needs modification based on high altitude, and while I’ve not yet used my instant pot at all yet, I am just thinking it may be a possible factor.
Clyde Bain says
Thank you for your lucid article. I have been searching for the basics about my instant pot cooking a variety of beans. Most of them were recipes which I don’t follow, for various reasons. I prefer my beans with a simple flavor, and to complement them with highly flavored side dishes, such as braised neck ones and jalapeño and Parmesan cornbread. I couldn’t agree with you more about using Epazote. Not only does it make no gas, it also adds a slight undertone to the beans. I lay a fresh stem with the leaves on top of the beans when I do the final cooking, along with some salt, seasonings. For some reason it takes about 45 minutes for my beans to get done. I run the pot on pressure cook for half an hour and let it come down naturally. That’s when I put in the additives, along with some oil and a meat, if I am using it. I use less liquid the first time so that I can add (warm or hot) stock and bone broth to improve the texture. I pressure cook for an additional 15 minutes. And let it land naturally. Then I salt to taste and grind some of the seasonings to refresh the taste. I haven’t had over cooked beans so far. Do you know of any way I can do the final cooking with the lid off to concentrate the broth? My hot pot boils too fast and transferring the beans to an open pot is just too cumbersome.
Lorena Grater says
You simply remove the lid, hit cancel, then press “sauté” or “soup” and you can even adjust if you want it on low, medium or high :)
Linda Teders says
Thanks for your elaborate efford!
Geri says
Thank you for this. It is an excellent guide and perfect if you stay with the 12 hour soaking. I also love your rice guide…both are perfect ! Appreciate all your hard work!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Lorena Grater says
Thank you Geri. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.
Pam says
Love your rice and bean guides! Do you have IP times for black eyed peas?
Lorena Grater says
I’m sorry but no, I haven’t tested those yet.
Xan says
Very helpful, for comparison. What about chickpeas? Also, I’d guess the mushy bean problem has to do with the age of the beans. I’ve fouund they take longer to cook if they’re old, (and who knows!) I’ve even had them not ever get done…
Lorena Grater says
Chickpeas take 15 mins + full NPR for me. The bean age, mineral composition in tap water, and elevation all play a role but since with my Instant Pot Rice post absolutely everybody has been successful regardless of any of these factors I thought it wouldn’t matter. Turns out beans are a lot more complicated *sigh*
Andy H says
Hi-
Thank you for your hard work!
I have resisted the instant pot fad – I’m in my 60’s and grew up using stovetop pressure cookers. I thumbed my nose at what I thought was skillful marketing of something that did not need reimagining. And then a friend (who doesn’t cook much and hates to, in fact) got one and wanted help figuring out how to use it. The gauntlet was thrown down!
We are a good vegan and an aspiring vegan at my house, so we eat a lot of bean dishes. Your bean guide has helped me adapt some favorite recipes. While I still like simple things like an old stovetop pressure cooker, I can see the benefits of the electric ones for busy people, and those trying to incorporate more whole grains and beans into their diets.
Thank you again. I totally agree that presoaking is the key to happy bean digestion!. Maybe someday you might add limas and favas to your list?
Excellent site! Thank you!
Lorena Grater says
Thank you so much for your kind words and I completely understand your hesitation. I grew up using a stove-top pressure cooker, too and bought the Instant Pot with a fair amount of scepticim. Now I even own two, hahaha.
Skeezix says
I have both an old-fashioned stovetop pressure cooker and a 6 quart Instant Pot. I can assure anyone reading this that the Instant Pot is definitely not a fad when used properly. It’s an easy-to-use workhorse, and is the hands-down favorite at our house for many meals that would otherwise need to cook for several hours or more. That said, I see a lot of recipes indicating use of an Instant Pot for a recipe that takes 5 minutes in a regular skillet or sauce pan on top of the stove. This is a case of not understanding one’s kitchen tools. Like any pressure cooker, the Instant Pot isn’t the best choice for everything. That’s mainly because it can take quite a bit of time to bring the pressure up and also to bring it back down enough to be able to remove the lid. Yes, you can definitely cook your fresh green beans for one minute in the Instant Pot, but why would you want to? An Instant Pot isn’t just a fast slow-cooker (although it does have a slow cook option). Better to learn how and when to use the pressure features of the Instant Pot and you’ll love it like I do.
Arlo says
Hello I don’t understand what the three cooking times mean “ 20/25/30 minutes” can you please explain further? I really appreciate the work and effort you’ve done with this post. My beans are consistently too mushy in the IP and my web search brought me to you! Thank you!
Lorena Grater says
It is explained in the blog post if you scroll the the photo of the Mung Beans it’s the easiest to understand. It’s for the consistency you’d like. For salad, for rice and beans, for soup.
Steve Bates says
Instead of water 2″ above the beans I would much prefer a number of cups of water. What if my 2″ is different than yours?
Lorena Grater says
The thing is, it depends on the size of your Instant Pot but don’t worry. 1″, 2″, or 3″ above the beans will all work. It doesn’t have to be exact.
Mary Jo O'Connell says
I love your chart. But why aren’t chickpeas/garbanzos on there?
Lorena Grater says
I soak overnight and then cook 20 mins on HP + NPR.
Vic says
A big source of inconsistency in online recipes and reports is that the amount of beans being cooked varies, and this is factor that is often not considered. The more beans that are being cooked, the less time you need to set. This has a simple explanation: the amount of time being set is just the amount of time spent at full pressure. But if you are cooking a small batch of beans, that means you’re using less water, and it’ll take less time to heat up to pressure and also less time to cool down (smaller thermal mass). Conversely, with a large batch of beans (say 2 lbs for a 6 qt), it takes more time to heat up and more time to cool down. The difference in natural pressure release time for 2 lbs and 0.5 lbs could be 20 minutes. So you need to adjust the instant pot setting so that the effective amount of time spent cooking is about the same.
This takes some trial and error for your particular combination of water, altitude, and beans. For instance, I use 25 minutes for 2 lbs of unsoaked pinto beans but 40 minutes for 0.5 lb of unsoaked black beans.
In terms of soaking, I’ll sometimes use the delay start feature for 0.5 – 1 hour. But I can’t be bothered most times to do more than that. I’ve found that drinking the (unsalted) bean broth water causes gas, so I think most of the complex gas-causing polysaccharides are drawn into the water.