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.
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Kolleen says
Thank you for this wonderful resource. I must have read it on another blog. I like to research 2-3 to make sure I’m not missing anything. One site mentioned adding Apple Cider Vinegar during the soaking process. Do you know anything about this? Also does it matter what vessel you soak them in? Should it be glass?
Lorena says
I’ve never heard about adding acv to the water. I basically do what I learned while living in Mexico with my husband’s grandma. She soaks in filtered water nothing else. Also, I use glass or stainless steel. Never plastic.
lisa says
I made red beans and rice in my instant pot tonight. I cooked for 30 minutes and the beans did not seem quite done, so I added another 15 minutes. Still not completely done. I read online that if the beans are old they will never cook soft. Is that correct?
Lorena says
Hi Lisa, I’m not sure if they will “never” cook soft but they most definitely need a lot longer than fresh beans. I’m super confused still with the timings some people come up with because the discrepancies are so steep.
Alexandra says
I made organic black beans via your instructions (and tweaked to less time because my beans soaked significantly longer than 12 hours… More like 24+). It worked wonderfully and I thank you for taking the time to do all that testing and asking for feedback so you can continue to improve it for yourself and others!
Joanna Lee says
For how long? I just left them soaking for 24 hours and I’m unsure how long to cook its also my first time doing it in the Instapot
KSD says
Thank you! For your thorough, helpful instructions. Home cooked beans are so much better than canned which have salt and often baking soda added. Most grateful.
AnneH says
Arrrg. I should have read the comments first. There are too many, although useful, and I’m still not through them. I used Rancho Gordo ‘Yellow Eye’ beans, an heirloom bean similar to a medium sized white bean. I should have engaged brain to realize these are going to be very fresh in the dried bean world. 30 minutes with natural release and they are mush. I think I am going to do a bean dip with garlic, olive oil, sun dried tomato and some herbs. That’s still a lot of bean dip and I’m afraid of sharing because I soaked them for 2 days, but after I didn’t cook them the first day I put them in the fridge. Still, I didn’t change the water. Arrrrg!
Lorena says
Oh noooo. I’m so sorry to hear this Anne. Actually, if you ever are being unable to cook your soaked beans after 12 hours, drain, rinse and continue soaking for another 12 hours. If then you still can’t cook them, drain and rinse and then let in a colander on a plate, not a bowl, so air can circulate and leave uncovered on the kitchen counter. That way they start sprouting. Once they sprouted (anywhere from 2-6 days depending on how warm your kitchen is) you can cook them in a few minutes in a regular pot in boiling water. Like 10-15 minutes, that’s it. The fastest way to contact me if ever you’re faced with last minute questions is via Instagram personal message. :)
diane louise anderson says
you can freeze cooked beans 2-3 months in sandwich baggies to recipe amounts. just thaw in frig the night before using.
Catherine Grice says
Hi Lorena,
My Instant Pot clicks over to ‘Warm’ after the designated cook time. When you say Natural Pressure Release, I wonder if thats with me cancelling the Warm or not? It takes longer to NPR with Warm on, maybe that’s how folks are getting mushy beans?
Lorena says
I always leave it on warm. It takes only a couple minutes longer to NPR, not much really. I really think bean age is the main culprit for big discrepancies in cooking time. The weird thing, however, is that I consistently have good results with my beans and my timings and I doubt my health food store ALWAYS has same aged beans. Right? I hate, that this is such a mystery.
HeidiHO says
So would I be wise to rinse after cooking as well or doesn’t that matter?
Lorena says
I never do.
John says
Hi, I’ve made 5 pots of insta pot adzuki beans and every time they have just been a pot of mush when done. What am I doing wrong? The recipe is very hard for me to follow. I would like to cook two or three cups of soaked beans each time. Please help.
Thank you
Lorena says
Hi John, from what I gather after hundreds of comments is that bean age plays a major role in cooking times. How many minutes on high pressure did you cook your Adzuki Beans and do you always get them from the same store/brand? That way we can figure things out for your specific beans. The amount of beans you cook don’t really play much of a role. 1 cup or 4 cups should in theory cook at with the same amount of time. The pot will just need longer to get to pressure, that’s it. If you tell me how minutes high pressure you cooked them and how many minutes you let the pressure release naturally we can figure something out.
John says
Hi, I’ve tried every time fro 18min. Down to 8 minutes. It must be the pots cool down time. I’m going to try taking them out after a few minutes or no minutes cool down and see if that works. I jus threw out my 4th whole pot of beans.
Lorena says
This makes me so sad John :( I have no explanation for this. It just doesn’t make any sense to me :(
John says
Just tried another pot cooked for 6 min. Let steam out for 4 min.
Still mushy. I’m going to reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes. And let the steam out immediately after.
Lorena says
Your timings blog my mind. After 3 minutes, my beans are as hard as stones.
John says
Today after throwing out another full pot. 3 min. Cook time with 2 minute steam release worked!
Lorena says
I’m so happy you finally found the timing that works for you!!! I’m still completely astounded there are actually Adzuki beans that can cook that fast. It’s incredible!
John says
Hi, still having a hard time with cooking times. Just finished a 12 minute pot of black beans that are complete mush. I suggest no more than 5 minutes for cooking time on black beans. This was for 2 cups.
Hopefully if I adjust the cooking time of all beans to below 5 minutes and the warm time to no more than 12 it will be successful.
Sherry says
Hi Lorena, a friend gave me a bucket of kidney beans about a year and a half ago and I’ve had stored all that time as I don’t usually eat beans and don’t know how to cook them. Are they still ok to use are they to old now?
Lorena says
Hi Sherry, they are most definitely fine to eat. Beans don’t expire. 1.5 years isn’t old at all for beans ;) I’m pretty confident my timings will work perfectly for your beans. Maybe try with only a cup at first so you don’t waste them but I think you’ll like them. If they turn out good, you can make my Instant Pot Chili.
AnneH says
A year and a half are fine for dried beans. They last years. But the older they are, the more cooking time they may need because they are more dried out.
John says
New to Instant Pot cooking here. I haven’t tried your cooking times yet, but had undercooked beans following another blogger’s Instant Pot Black Bean Dip receipe. I love the experimental approach you took for solving questions that many of us have. I had an idea when reading the end of your post addressing those who had varying times: Altitude. I live at 6300ft and am always having to adjust baking as a result. Some brief Googling led me to finding a quote dated 1980 from a pressure cooking cookbook: “Cooking time under pressure should be increased by 5 percent for every 1,000 feet after 2,000 feet above sea level.” – Anderson, B. M. New High Altitude Cookbook. Maybe altitude plays a role in the difference your readers are experiencing. That being said, my issue with the aformentioned dip reciepe included a BURN warning on my Instant Pot which might indicate additional water and longer cooking times.
Lorena says
Hi John, thanks for stopping by and commenting. Yes, I’m well aware of the altitude situation but unfortunately, people are having massively different timing requirements for their beans, which rules altitude out and rather points to bean age as being the culprit. They use up to 4 minutes HP cooking time only to cook their beans which I have never been able to do with any brand ever.
steph says
John is right — I live at 8000 ft and I always have to pressure cook longer than a recipe states. Also, to avoid a burn warning you can do a pot-in-pot method.
Evan says
I soaked my kidney beans (12 hours) and used the timings suggested in your recipe (cooked on high for 25 min and NPR for 20 min) and it came out completely mushy. The beans don’t even have any shape to them. Fail-proof these directions are not. Did you test these timings?
Lorena says
Evan, I tested all the timings numerous times and with different brands until I had beans coming out of my ears. I’ve learned over the course of time now that bean age plays the biggest role in cooking time. Since I tested it so often and with different brands and always had the same results it never occurred to me but there have been others like you that seem to have access to very fresh beans and I don’t know how to account for that in my guide. I’ve talked to a couple of bean brands to figure out a way to know how old beans are and they explained that every brand manages it differently but that usually in the lot number there is the date hidden. You’d have to check your packaging to see how old your beans are and if they are only weeks old my timings won’t be accurate. I can’t seem to get my hands on fresh beans here in Montreal. All grocery stores around me sell older beans.
Emily says
How to cook canned pinto beans in an instant pot
Lorena says
Canned beans are already cooked so you don’t need to cook them, you just have to reheat them if you want them warm. In a pan is probably easier than in the Instant Pot.
Sabrina! says
I use your fail-proof bean & rice guides all the time, so helpful. Thank you for doing the legwork so I don’t have to!
Lorena says
I’m so so happy you find them useful :D
Bigdatty says
I’ve been using a 25 lb. bag of Costco pintos that’s YEARS old. I soak a cup for 12 hours, rinse, cover (just barely!) with water, add onion, bay leaf, seasonings (any old), and pressure on high for 100 minutes. Perfection.
It has taken me a few months to get here. Cooking with non-homogenous ingredients is an art as much as a science. To those who complain of a soupy mess, I say YUM! Set the pot on sauté and boil some of that extra water off, or….make soup. “Awww, you wiped out? Look, another wave — Try again!” —Cousin Blackie
As for me, it’ll be a few more years before I use up the remaining 20 pounds and have to experiment my way beck with new beans.
Lorena says
Wow! I’ve never tried cooking beans thaaat long. I will definitely give it a try.
Alan says
Hi Lorena,
Good posting. I don’t see a listing for red beans. I’m into red beans and rice and would like to do them in my IP.
Thanks,
Alan
Lorena says
Sorry I haven’t tried cooking them so far. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked red beans so unfortunately, I don’t even know what their texture is to give you an estimate.
Jim says
Red beans are kidney beans…