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.
Merbs says
The discrepancy *is* confusing. My black beans (quick-soaked) are breaking out of their skins at 12 minutes. I’m at an altitude of 400 ft. Perhaps you’re higher?
You nailed it when you said you don’t eat many legumes. It’s something you build a tolerance for – at least most people do – presumably as you develop the microbiota to handle it.
I’ve read that whether one soaks or not, one should always soak kidney beans and discard the water due to an elevated amount of a so-called anti-nutrient.
Lorena says
I’m at sea level but I seem to only get my hands on old beans. No matter where or what brand I buy, I’m not able to cook beans in the times some people suggest.
Sandra Campbell says
I wonder if altitude has anything to do with it? (Don’t understand how)🤷♀️ We know it does in baking. 😂😂
Lorena says
Altitude plays a role from 2,000 feet onward. 5% increased cooking time needed for every 1,000 feet after 2,000 feet. It’s very very little time difference though. Not the crazy differences people are reporting. Bean age is most likely the main reason for such crazy time differences.
Melissa says
I read a lot of the reviews and still decided to give it a try. Kidney beans (bought from Farmer’s Market) soaked for 12 hours. Cooked high pressure for 30 mins + 20 mins NPR (with timer set). Red water was shooting out of top when released the seal (never happened before) and they were complete mush. I’ll add them to my dog’s food for the next week and will make some pinto beans for my chili in the crock pot tomorrow. Bummer.
Lorena says
Hi Melissa, I’m sorry the times didn’t work out for you. If you bought them at the Farmer’s Market they were probably local and very very fresh.
Jil says
Melissa,
Beans shooting out means that there was still a lot of pressure in the pot when you did the release. I like to recommend that people do a full natural release with beans. Also, my soaked kidney beans are cooked in less than 10 minutes at pressure with 1/2 to 3/4 cup liquid for each dry cup soaked.
Your dog must have been happy but I suspect that was not the result you were seeking.
Deezer says
There is growing evidence that soaking beans really doesn’t do much: https:// www. latimes. com/ food/dailydish /la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html
What do you think?
Lorena says
Hi Deezer, you can, of course, if you don’t believe me, not soak your beans. My timings won’t work for you then, however. Unsoaked beans need much longer cook times. I soak because I feel the difference.
Saskia says
That article focuses on flavour and flatulence, but doesn’t mention the other, arguably even more important reason for soaking beans: reducing the levels of antinutrients they contain. Beans contain phytates & lectins, which can both have a negative effect on the body in many people.
Phytates bind to other nutrients like iron and calcium, inhibiting our absorption of these minerals; this is a particularly big problem for vegetarians and even more so for vegans, who are likely to eat a lot more legumes than the general population and have often have less iron & calcium in their diet. Phytates are less of an issue for meat eaters, though, and there is even some evidence they may have a protective effect on people who eat a large amount of meat.
There are many different types of lectins, some are good for us, but the type found in beans can cause damage to the digestive tract, especially in people predisposed to digestive disorders & autoimmune issues. Kidney beans contain the highest levels of lectins and have been known to make people extremely ill, which is why it is so important to cook them correctly, but all beans contain some lectins.
Pressure cooking does help to reduce the levels of these substances in the beans too, but soaking them prior to cooking reduces the amounts even further.
Michelle Gurr-Lauridsen says
Saskai-This is exactly why I soak my beans. There were reasons for the ways our ancestors prepared food. We lose many nutritional benefits in the name of convenience.
Rosa says
This is the most annoying website I’ve ever visited.
Lorena says
🤨
Hope says
Then don’t visit it again and kindly keep your thoughts to yourself. Lorena has spent many hours of work to present this information to us and the majority of us appreciate it very much. Even if I thought it was annoying, I would keep such an unkind remark to myself.
Lorena says
Thank you for your kinds words Hope! I really appreciate it :)
Susan says
hi Lorena
Thanks so much for your website. There is lots of great information and recipes.
I have not used IP yet for dried beans but will definitely try using your guidelines.
I usually cook my dried chickpeas, black beans or kidney beans in my slow cooker without pre soaking. Yup it takes time, usually overnight but I have not had any problems with gas or bloating using this method.
Lorena says
Great! Digestion depends a lot on each individual person as well. The more legumes you eat the more your body gets used to digesting it, too. I don’t eat that many legumes so I have a hard time digesting if I don’t soak them first.
Jo says
Thanks so much for this guide!!! I have cooked black beans several times with great results. Just wanted to add my results from today. I cooked organic Adzuki Beans I bought in a bulk bin yesterday and soaked for about 14 hours. I wanted them to have good “beans and rice” consistency, so I guessed and did 20 mins pressure cook high and 20 minutes natural release. They turned out great! More on the mushy side but with shape still intact. They will be great for what I am using them for. I live by the ocean so probably not more than 100′ elevation.
Lorena says
Super interesting. I had someone comment that bulk beans are always fresher but your experience clearly shows that that’s not always true. Your time is very close to my times so our beans are probably close in age. Thank you for sharing your results :)
Kylie says
You’re comment “If you’re more like me and like eating healthy and yummy food without bloating and farting (high five my friend)” had me laughing on the middle of the train! 😂
Thanks so much for sharing such an incredible guide!
Lorena says
Hahahaha, I’m glad I could bring a smile to your face :D
Audrick says
Hi Lorena…I’m hoping you still review replies to your older posts. I see you originally posted this in May 2018. However, I found this last week and I attempted to prepare beans in the IP for the first time last night. I went with Pinto beans, soaked them in water for over 10 hours, I put them in the IP with the suggested about of water (two fingers about the beans). I had them on high pressure for 15 minutes and then attempted the NPR for 20 minutes. I say attempted b/c the “Keep Warm” function was activated and they remained in the Keep Warm function for 25 minutes before I got back to the IP. I still needed to release pressure before opening my IP and I noticed there was still a large amount of water in the IP. Is this normal? Also, my beans were softer than I anticipated. I was going for the salad-bean level of firmness. But these came out as if they could have been easily mashed. I will attempt another batch of beans after I get through eating these. But, I would appreciate any tips to have a better outcome next time. Thanks!
Lorena says
Hi Audrick, yes, I review all my comments, if you ever don’t get an answer I missed it and you can always e-mail me with your questions. For there to be water in the pot is completely normal. You can either drain it and use the beans for salad or use the same water to make a soup. I’ve learned over the last year that bean age plays a major role in how quickly beans cook. Most people are successful with my timings because they seem to get their hands on similar-aged beans as I do but several have not had success, unfortunately. They seem to only have access to very fresh beans. I’ve never been able to cook any brand dried beans in as short amounts as they report. Maybe your beans are super fresh? If you always get results of overcooked beans I highly recommend reducing the times by 3 minutes and if that’s not enough maybe even 5 minutes.
Estelle says
I’m going all over the internet because I have trouble cooking beans in the Instant Pot. They’re always overcooked, even when using the recommended cooking time. The only ones I can get right are chickpeas (8 minutes) and green lentils (6 minutes).
My black beans were super mushy when I cooked them for only 5 minutes the other day. I can’t even imagine what they would have looked like at 20 minutes.
My white beans today were cooked for 5 minutes and I released the pressure manually at 12 minutes to avoid the black bean disaster of the other day and they were puréed.
I’m almost ready to give up.
Lorena says
This is my biggest dilemma. I just cannot recreate these short cooking times with any brand of beans I buy. You DO use dried beans, right? Not canned? I’m sorry if it’s a dumb question but I am starting to believe some people are using canned. Canned legumes are already cooked and don’t need to be pressure cooked at all. Where do you buy your beans? How long do you soak them, if at all, and what kind of Instant Pot are you using?
Jim says
How long would you suggest to cook cranberry beans? My sofrito will include tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, Peppers, and cilantro, as well as the onions and garlic. Will that influence cooking time?
Lorena says
Hi Jim, I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of those beans before. I don’t know :(
Jean says
From my experience and what I’ve read ‘ on the internet ‘ beans wont cook soft with tomatoes or any acid in them. They stay a bit crunchy…crispy, and I cooked mine a long time. Not true for lentils, but all the others. I suggest you add tomatoes after beans are cooked.
CCM says
My instant pot has a “beans/chili” setting. I overlooked it the first time and used “pressure cook” per the directions, and my beans were way overcooked. They came out perfectly when I used the actual setting for beans. Maybe the “pressure cook” setting is different on some models?
Liz says
A factor that seems to always get overlooked is that altitude and barometric pressure may effect cooking times with a pressure cooker. It might help to seek recipes from people who are coming in the same climate. We live at a fairly high elevation and it definitely makes a difference.
Lorena says
Altitude plays a role but we’re talking few minutes in the pressure cooker so it’s definitely not that. The Instant Pot needs 5% more time per 1,000 feet altitude but only above 2,000 feet so it’s really minimal. The bean cooking times some people are reporting are 100% off my charts.
Samantha says
I came to check the comments exactly for this. I couldn’t imagine trying out your cooking times. I always soak my dry beans, but after that they only need about 5 – 6 minutes in the IP Duo or Duo Plus. I have both-one for my home in NYC and another one with the correct voltage for when I work in Europe. No difference between model / electricity / location.
Scott says
I realize this is an old thread but I just found it so I am commenting in case it is still relevant.
I find that beans bought from the bulk bins are much fresher than those bought packaged. If you are buying dry beans already packaged in bags or boxes or some other packaging, I think it is safe to assume that they are much older than the ones you would get in the bulk bins. It may very by store, but this is what I have found everywhere I have shopped. Bulk-bin beans cook much more quickly in my experience.
Lorena says
Brilliant! Thank you so much for this comment. I will go to Bulk Barn to test that out!! Was trying to figure out how to get my hands on “fresher” legumes.
Connie Crawford says
I was quite excited when I got my instant pot to see I could fix dry beans without soaking. (I have health issues and don’t always have meals planned out well ahead of time.) Everything is great except for pinto beans, which apparently don’t agree with me. I am going to try the pre-soaking to see if that solves the problem, but I was wondering if you have experimented with the instant pot quick pre-soak method. (Pressure cook for 5 minutes, natural release and drain the excess water.) Everything I’ve read suggests it is the same as an overnight soak.
Lorena says
Hi Connie, I’ve tried quick presoaking and no soaking both with stove-top cooking and pressure cooker cooking and I simply cannot digest properly unsoaked legumes. I know there are people that have less trouble with this. I blow up like a balloon and get heartburn when I eat canned or unsoaked legumes.
Char says
Lorene, try one heaping tablespoon of baking soda in the soak water… that works amazingly well for me… the next morning, I rinse and cook as normal. No bloating or gas at all.
Lorena says
Great!! I will give it a try :)
Mary C Prater says
I agree, everyone in my family had bad gas after I cooked the beans without soaking them. Usually when I soak them I add 2 T ACV and that usually does the trick.
EP says
My first time ever energy making beans and in a first use InstantPot…couldn’t have picked a better instructional source…soaked 12 hrs, made for soup and came out perfectly!!! Aced thanks to your logical and complete instruction!
Lorena says
I’m so so happy to read you were successful with my timings :D
Chris says
I put dry beans on to boil, bring them to a boil and then boil them (rolling boil) for ten minutes. When that’s done I take them out and rinse them thoroughly in a coliander. If you do that and then follow these directions you shouldn’t have any problems with gas. The gas is caused by a waxy coating. You have to boil them ten minutes and then rinse to get it off. Soaking them overnight does mostly the same thing but you still need to rinse them well before cooking.
Harold says
With reference to Kolleen’s question on acid added. Cruising the web I found numerous articles that advise not adding acid because… “The acid binds to the beans’ seed coat and makes it more impervious to water, as well as making the coat harder. So, if you’re adding anything with acid to beans wait until the end of cooking time.” …from https:// www. thespruceeats. com/how-to-cook-with-dried-beans-913411
Harold says
I’ve read many of the replies here concerning over cooked and mushy outcomes. Additionally, I’ve tested many variations of the base recipe. I normally use beans that have been soaked for at least 8 hours.
1. I believe the primary difference in outcomes is the amount of water used in the Instant Pot. I found that “two fingers” for my large hands was different from my wife’s “two fingers” measurement by 1/2 a cup. I reduced the water to barely above the soaked beans for most purposes.
2. Depending on where you live, your water may be more or less alkaline. Food scientist advise that if your water is naturally at a pH above 7, or if you add a small amount of baking soda, the beans will cook much faster than neutral or acidic pH water. Some food scientists advise that this can actually cook dry or soaked beans in half the time. I have tried creating and using water with a pH of 8.5 to cook my soaked beans. They do in fact cook significantly. I use baking soda to create a higher pH solution.
You don’t need to be a scientist to test the pH of your water. Every drug outlet, pet store (for fish tanks), hardware/garden store have pH testing strips for determining the approximate pH of your water. As with everything in food, and life, the more you know the closer you will come to easily solving issues. When changing a process, do one change at a time. pH, or water, or time for this recipe, not all at once.
Good luck, and thanks for the base recipe. Using and adjusting it for my beans and water pH has allowed my to consistently produce beans for a given purpose using the Instant Pot.
Lorena says
This is wonderful information Harold!! Thank you SO much for sharing. I will gp to the pharmacy and buy some ph strips. The ph test sounds super interesting. I will even ask friends in other areas of the city to borrow me some of their tap water, hehe. I’ll report back as soon as I have results of my own. Never thought that the amount of water plays a role. I will most definitely test that as well. Your comment is incredibly helpful!
John says
Wow great science… I am doing Adzuki tomorrow and will check ph and follow water advice. (I always soak beans)
Thanks Lorena and Harold!
Suzanne says
I haven’t tried this yet, beans have been daunting to me in the pressure cooker!
But I have tried your rice times and it always comes out perfect! Thank you so much for your bean research! :-)