We love our Instant Pot for its ability to quickly and easily cook dried beans with no pre-soaking! We all know dried beans are way cheaper than canned, but they take forever to cook. Not anymore!

I’ve got the secret for making the best pot of beans in your Instant Pot – and you don’t even have to soak them first.

How to Cook Dried Beans in the Instant Pot

Cooking dried beans can be tricky. Sometimes they turn out hard and undercooked. Other times they crack and get too mushy.

Cooking beans in the Instant Pot gets consistent results if you know which beans to use, how much water to add, and the perfect number of minutes. The pressure cooker function takes out the guesswork of the timing and gets you perfectly cooked beans every time.

It doesn’t matter if you cook soaked beans or un-soaked beans in the Instant Pot – learn the tricks to get them both just right!

One of the things I love the most about my Instant Pot is the ability to cook un-soaked dried beans relatively quickly. My Instant Pot pressure cooker has transformed the way I cook dried beans. I never remember to soak beans the night before and the ability to simply omit that step is so lovely!

I definitely prefer not doing an overnight soak but will give you tips for cooking both soaked and unsoaked dried beans in this post.

What Kind of Beans are Best for Pressure Cooker

We eat a lot of beans here at SimplifyLiveLove. They are frugal and I always have them in my pantry.

Keeping stocked on pantry essentials helps me cook from scratch. If I have rice and dried beans on hand that means I almost always have something to cook in a pinch.

Our favorite types of beans to stock in the pantry are black or turtle beans, red kidney beans, white beans, and pinto beans. I buy them in bulk and store them in 5 gallon buckets. All of these varieties cook up well in the Instant Pot.

Why Dried Beans are Better than Canned

Beans are quite healthy. They add necessary protein to your diet, are high in amino acids, rich in polyphenols, and are lower in calories and fat than other protein sources.

I prefer to cook my own dried beans instead of using canned beans for a number of reasons. Have you ever read the nutrition and ingredients label on a can of beans? It might surprise you what gets added. If I make my own pressure cooker beans, I have all the control over our diet.

Canned beans from the store are convenient, but they are also full of sodium. Making your own is especially helpful for people who need control over their salt intake.

Dried beans are also cheaper than canned beans. A one pound bag of dry beans usually costs under $2 and yields 12 servings. One 15-ounce can of beans costs the same, but only yields 3 1/2 servings.

Finally, I like cooking my own dried beans over canned because of the shear variety of bean types you can buy. Some types of beans are so beautiful with different speckling and colors.

How Much Water For Dried Beans in Instant Pot 

Now that you know what types of beans to cook in the Instant Pot, the second part of the secret is how much water to use.

The water to bean ratio for cooking dried beans in the instant pot is 4 cups water to 1 cup beans. One pound of dried beans is two cups, so you need 8 cups of water to cook one pound of dried beans in the pressure cooker.

Should I Add Salt to Beans in the Pressure Cooker?

In addition to the beans, I add a good quality oil (I use olive oil or grapeseed oil most often) and salt. I prefer to cook with unrefined salt as regular ole table salt has been bleached and has a lot of additives that I’d rather avoid.

My favorite type of salt is Redmond’s REAL Salt from Utah. I love its pretty colors, nice taste, and other healthy qualities. There are so many different types of salt. We only use refined table salt for crafts.

Time Chart for Dried Beans in the Instant Pot

I primarily cook three different types of beans: pinto beans, black beans, and kidney beans. I’m sharing this handy chart of cooking times for nine different types of beans because I do have several varieties in my pantry. Soak them, or don’t soak them. That’s your call. 

Once you have your beans and the ratio of beans to water, you are almost done. The last key to cooking beans in a pressure cooker is the timing.

Add 4 cups of cooking liquid to the Instant Pot for 1 cup of beans. Seal the lid on the Instant Pot and close the steam valve. Choose Pressure Cook and set the time.

There’s a range of minutes in this chart because the cooking time varies depending on my end goal for the beans. If I plan to use them in another recipe, I choose the lower number because they will continue cooking in the next dish. The lower end of the cooking time results in firmer beans, but I’m ok with that because I plan to cook them a little longer.

For instance, if I’m using instant pot black beans in my taco meat, I’ll cook them for around 22 minutes instead of 27.

If I’m not putting them in another recipe, I will cook them for longer in the Instant Pot so they come out more tender instead of al dente. I cook pinto beans for 28 minutes, for instance, instead of 25 if I’m making refried beans.

What to Make with Cooked Beans?

Like I said, beans are a staple at my house and I almost always have a container of cooked beans in my fridge ready for some purpose.

• I add them to taco meat to stretch the meat.
• They’re a staple in my kids’ favorite taco soup
• We make a lot of Instant Pot pinto beans for bean burritos, nachos, and more. We also often have rice and bean bowls with guacamole and all the fixins.
• We also use dried beans in the best homemade chili ever – also made right in your instant pot!
• And cooking garbanzo beans in your instant pot will help you make a delicious homemade hummus on the double!

Can I Use Soaked Beans to Cook in the Instant Pot?

If you have your act together and want to soak your beans before cooking in the Instant Pot, that’s fine. They will cook even faster.

Pro Tip: If you think unsoaked beans make you too gassy, add a bit of baking soda to the soaking water.

To soak your beans, put them in a bowl full of water and let them soak overnight. Add a sprinkle of baking soda if you want. You do not have to refrigerate them. Just leave them out on the counter at room temperature to soak overnight.

If you forget to soak them overnight, but still want to soak your beans, you can do what’s called a quick soak. To do a quick soak, put whichever type of beans you want to cook in a large stock pot, cover them with cold water, bring them to boil over medium-high heat, and boil them hard for 1-2 minutes.

What Can I Make with the Bean Broth?

Waste not, want not, right? As your beans cook in water, you’re also left behind with bean broth. You can actually use this starchy bean broth for several things. I save my bean broth and use it as extra liquid in my instant pot chili. I also use it in place of water when I’m making taco meat. You can use bean broth instead of any stock or as a thickener for soups!

How Long do Cooked Beans Last?

Store cooked, dried beans in the refrigerator for three to four days in an airtight container.

Can I Freeze Cooked Beans?

I love to make a big batch of beans and then freeze them in portions of 2 cups cooked beans in Souper Cubes. Frozen beans will keep about six months.

I highly recommend Souper Cubes if freezer cooking is for you! The are such an easy and convenient way to store frozen food.

Why Does My Instant Pot Foam and Boil Over?

Make sure you do not overfill your pressure cooker when cooking beans, or it will foam and boil over.

While the oil helps reduce foaming, one pound of beans (2 cups) is the maximum you can cook in a 6 quart Instant Pot. I know, that saddens me too, but it’s not worth the mess to cook more. 🙁 Use high pressure and a full natural pressure release for best results.

That said, I cook a big batch of beans (4 cups of beans) successfully in my 8 qt. Pressure cooker. I highly recommend the 8 qt Instant Pot if you have a large family or like to cook a lot at a time.

How Long do Dried Beans Last?

If your beans won’t soften no matter what you do, it might be the fault of your beans and not your cooking method. While beans are considered non-perishable, they do undergo some changes which make them harder to cook the older they are.

If you’ve had dry beans in your pantry for several years, make sure to add a couple extra minutes to the cooking time. Newer, more tender beans will cook faster.

More easy Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Want to Make

• Scrumptious Tahini Chicken Thighs Instant Pot or Air Fryer Recipe
• The Only Beef and Broccoli Instant Pot Recipe You’ll Ever Need
• Delicious and Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Instant Pot & Slow Cooker
• Instant Pot Beef Roast with Rigatoni – Hearty & Delicious!