Instant Pot Dried Beans Recipe

Learn how to cook dry beans, which are better for you and cheaper, quickly and easily with this Instant Pot Dried Beans Recipe.

Do you have a stash of dried beans on hand but don’t want to spend hours cooking dried beans on your stovetop?

Let me walk you through how to cook dried beans in your Instant Pot quickly without soaking your beans first in this Instant Pot dried beans recipe.

Making dried beans in your Instant Pot requires only 4 ingredients.

I love having cooked beans on hand when I am cooking. You can quickly add them to chili, soup, and to nachos. Or make bean dip or toss them into the rice. They are so versatile.

Are Dried Beans Cheaper Than Canned?

With the cost of groceries on the rise, many of us are trying to find ways to save money.

Dried beans tend to be cheaper to purchase and have a higher yield than canned beans.

The actual cost will depend on where you live and the beans you are buying.

However, one thing to keep in mind is how long it takes to cook dried beans.

When you are working and homeschooling, your time is valuable. It really comes down to asking yourself if you have time to cook dried beans or not.

I use both depending on what I am doing and what is going on in my life.

Cook Dry Beans Faster

While using dry beans is a great alternative to using canned beans, making the time to cook them is not always easier.

That’s why I went hunting to figure out if I could cook dry beans faster in my Instant Pot than on my stovetop.

At the end of a long day, I really don’t feel like spending hours in a hot kitchen.

So, I was pretty excited to see that I could cook dried beans quickly in my Instant Pot without soaking them.

Before we dig in, I am SO EXCITED to let you know about this awesome FREE Instant Pot Guidebook .

It is full of AMAZING easy-to-use tips to save you time and money.

Do You Have To Soak Dry Beans Before Cooking?

In this recipe, we are not soaking our dry beans before cooking, but you might be wondering if that is wise. After all, almost every recipe you find on the internet for how to cook dry beans will tell you to soak them before cooking.

The idea of soaking your dried beans before cooking is that they are faster to cook unless you use an Instant Pot. Soaking your beans first changes the texture of the beans with fewer split-open and burst ones.

In the end, it really all comes down to where you want to spend your time. 

How To Cook Dried Beans In Your Instant Pot

First of all, you don’t need to soak your beans ahead of time with this method. However, if you want your beans to be “pretty,” you can soak them.

The skins will be cracked, as shown in the photo below.  This doesn’t bother me but if it bothers you, then make sure you soak them the night before. Again, not required since that is the whole point of this recipe, but you do what you feel is best.

⇒To soak: Add four times the amount of water to beans to a bowl and cover with a towel to keep cats, bugs, and stuff out of them. Let them soak overnight or for 4-6 hours. Rinse well before cooking.

When it comes to getting ready, you only need a few minutes to gather your ingredients.

However, when planning on cooking time, remember it takes time for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.

What You Need:

• Dried beans. I used Navy Beans. The cooking times reflect this. I’ll share general cooking times for other beans in the dried beans cooking chart below.
• Water
• Oil (I used Grapeseed oil)
• Seasonings
• Instant Pot
• Kitchen scale

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer, Includes App With Over 800 Recipes, Stainless Steel, 6 QuartEtekcity Food Kitchen Scale, Digital Grams and Ounces for Weight Loss, Baking, Cooking, Keto and Meal Prep, LCD Display, Medium, 304 Stainless SteelAnchor Hocking Measuring Cup Set (3-piece, mixed sizes, clear)

 

What You Need To Know:

I’ll be using a 6 Quart Instant Pot in case your buttons are different than mine. You’ll be only using a few buttons. Look for the images below.

When you cook dry beans in your Instant Pot, you need to know that dried beans double in volume and weight.

To avoid overflow, please do not fill the inner pot more than to the ½ mark to allow for expansion.

If you choose to presoak your dried beans, the cooking time will be shorter, about 7-8 minutes for Navy Beans.

What You Need To Do:

When it comes to cooking your dried beans in the Instant Pot, the first thing you need to do is gather all the ingredients together in one spot.

I used Grapeseed Oil, the brand shown is found at our local SuperStore, but Kirkland Grapeseed oil is good as well. For seasonings, I used Himalayan Salt (Pink Himalayan Salt by Kirkland) and Litehouse Italian seasoning.

Most beans go well with herbs like parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. You usually can’t go wrong with dried garlic, onion salt, or powder.

Measure your beans out. I used a kitchen scale and measured out 1 pound-ish.

Next, add dried beans, oil, seasonings, and water to the Instant Pot. 

The oil is to keep the foam down.

Add the cover, and set the steam release to “seal.”

Plug it in if you haven’t yet. This is the hardest part of the whole thing!

1. Press the “beans” button, circled in blue
2. Using the “-” and “+” buttons, circled in orange, adjust until you get 30 on the screen, shown in green
3. Walk away.

⇒Note: This will take longer than 30 minutes. It will take time to come up to pressure, about 10 minutes or so.

Let naturally release so as to avoid pockets of heat. I forgot about mine for about 20 minutes, but I am sure it is faster than that.

Drain well and let cool before putting in bags or containers to freeze and use later.

As you can see, the bean skins are cracked because I did not soak them. I never do but was told that soaking them first will prevent this.

Dried Beans Cooking Times Chart:

Different beans require different cooking times. You can use the same steps above but adjust the cooking time as needed.

The time is for UNSOAKED beans. Remember, we want to cook dry beans fast!

I love having beans on hand for cooking, but what I really like is knowing there is no added preservatives, salt or other unwanted junk in my beans!

Cooking them in the Instant Pot is just so easy, and it saves money too! Win, win!

Use Your Dried Beans In These Recipes

Now that you’ve used your Instant Pot to cook your dried beans, here are a few recipes to try out!

• Homemade Chili
• Hummus
• Red Beans n Rice
• Kale Minestrone With Pistou

Your “Cook Dry Beans” Recipe

Cook Dry Beans Fast In Your Instant Pot

Now you know how to cook dry beans fast using your Instant Pot without soaking!

I use my Instant Pot all the time as a busy working mom because it allows me to do other things while dinner is cooking.

How do you use your beans?

Do you have an Instant Pot, but it is STILL in the box? Check out my Getting Started Guide here! 

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