Forgo soaked beans! Learn how to cook black beans in the instant pot! This Instant Pot Black Beans recipe doesn’t require a soak so you can make black beans beans in the pressure cooker in only an hour. Enjoy them solo or use in other recipes, such as Refried Bean Dip or even Smoked Baked Beans.
If you enjoy making pressure cooker beans, check out all our Instant Pot Beans Recipe: Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas, Instant Pot Kidney Beans, Instant Pot Pinto Beans, Instant Pot Refried Beans, Black Eyed Peas and Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice.
Cooking in the pressure cooker has made dinner time easier than ever. You can easily make this recipe with just a little time and minimal ingredients. This is our preferred method of cooking beans because you don’t have to soak the beans. You can do every step in the pressure cooker and have delicious beans to enjoy in no time!
Instant Pot Black Beans No Soak
Making beans from scratch usually requires an overnight soak. Who has time for that? Without soaking these beans, you’ll get perfectly tender and soft beans! Once done, you can add them to soups recipes, chili, or even pasta!
Ingredients
All you really need is black beans and water! For added flavor we include garlic, onion, and salt.
You can also add any produce, herbs or spices you like. Think green bell pepper, fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, bay leaves, Chicken Taco Seasoning, creole seasoning and more. Throw in a shake of BBQ Dry Rub or Jamaican Jerk Seasoning for a hit of flavor.
A scoop of pico de gallo would turn these beans into a nice Mexican flared bean dish, perfect for serving with Milanesa de Pollo.
Variations
Vegetarian
Reach for vegetable broth vs chicken stock to keep these vegetarian/vegan.
Spicy
Add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper or chili powder before cooking to add a bit of spice. If you like it HOT, double that amount and add in a jalapeno.
Low Sodium
Utilize water or low sodium broth. Also, omit the salt altogether and add it at the end when serving.
Beans In The Instant Pot
Make sure you give yourself an hour of cooking time to cook these beans. While that may seem like a long time, it’s actually quite fast for beans. Usually beans need to soak overnight in order to have a soft texture for eating.
- For every (1) cup of black beans you add to the pressure cooker, add (1) cup of water, chicken broth or Instant Pot Bone Broth. Here are substitute for beef broth and chicken broth substitute lists, if you need some ideas.
- Cook on high pressure 25-30 minutes. 25 minutes to keep a bit of a bite and 30 minutes for super soft.
- Natural release for 20 minutes. Strain and enjoy!
How Long Do You Cook Beans In A Pressure Cooker
Cooking black beans take 25-30 minutes to cook in a pressure cooker. Add the 10 minutes it takes to come to pressure and the 20 minutes it takes to naturally release, and you’re looking at a total of 60 minutes!
Instant Pot Refried Black Beans
This dried beans recipe is the perfect base recipe for making refried black beans. Just keep the cooking liquid when straining and add a bit back while you’re mashing the beans, until your preferred consistency is reached. Once mashed mix in 1 tsp. of cumin and oregano. We also recommend a 1/4 tsp chili powder. Drizzle in some olive oil to make them a bit more like restaurant refried beans.
Boom. Creamy refried beans that serve as a nice alternative to pinto beans based refried beans.
Recipe Tips
- Meal Prep – Dried beans are highly versatile so can add them to many recipes. We use them in many soup recipes, like our Pasta e Fagioli recipe. This way we can control the sodium content as canned beans are notoriously high in sodium.
- Use these beans in your favorite chili recipe, including Smoked Chili.
- Money Saver! When you buy dry beans in a bag vs a can, you are getting a lot more beans for a lot less dough! Save money by making cooked black beans in the pressure cooker instead.
- If you’re into dehydrating food, this Instant Pot beans recipe would make a great recipe to make Dehydrated Refried Beans.
- How Long Do Beans Last in the Fridge? Beans can be kept in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Can You Freeze Cooked Beans? Yep. Just portion the beans and seal in a Ziploc bag. Cool and transfer to a freezer for up to 3 months.
View More Instant Pot Recipes
Pork Adobo
Instant Pot Mushrooms
Instant Pot Jambalaya
Zuppa Toscana Soup
Instant Pot Meatballs
Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Black Beans, Rinsed and Sorted (*Note 1)
- 1 Slice Yellow or White Onion
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Water or Instant Pot Bone Broth (*Note 2)
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and pick out any pebbles or old beans.
- Add the beans, onion, salt, garlic and broth to the pressure cooker and stir to combine. Secure the lid, making sure the valve is in the sealed position.
- Set pressure cooker to "pressure cook" or "manual" (depending on model) on high pressure for 25-30 minutes. (25 minutes for beans with a little bite to them, or 30 for soft beans). Once the timer beeps, let naturally release for 20 minutes.
- Quick release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
- Remove the onion slices with a slotted spoon and drain excess liquid. Taste and add extra salt, to taste.