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Instant Pot Black Beans

The most tender, delicious, Mexican-style black beans cooked up with all the magic of your handy-dandy Instant Pot.

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homemade black beans in a bowl topped with cilantro with a spoon, next to bowl of lime wedges and taco seasoning
Photography by Gayle McLeod

The Answer to Perfect Black Beans: Your Instant Pot

This delicious, no-soak Instant Pot black beans recipe is the best you will find. This black beans recipe turns out tender, and is easy to eat with anything: as a side, in a recipe, or even all on their own. If you’ve never made homemade black beans before, this recipe is here to save the day and possibly even change your life.

vegetable oil, diced onion, dried black beans, chicken stock, taco seasoning & salt in bowls for homemade black beans

How Long Should I Cook Black Beans in the Instant Pot?

There are so many methods to cooking black beans, but none is easier than using the Instant Pot. Typically, homemade black beans take a lot of time to soak and then cook and the flavor of canned black beans just never measures up. Because the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, the beans don’t need to soak prior to cooking them this way. You simply mix the ingredients together, secure the lid, and allow the Instant Pot to work its magic. Our method takes a simple 50 minutes total and that includes preparation time, cook time, and time to allow the Instant Pot to depressurize before serving it up.

The best part about using the Instant Pot? The process is hands-off! You can start the recipe, walk away, and come back once your beans are cooked without having to watch a pot on the stove to adjust the heat or make sure it doesn't boil over. With the Instant Pot you will wonder why you ever bothered with any other method of cooking beans before.

chopped onion being cooked with vegetable oil in an instant pot on sauté mode
chicken stock being poured into an instant pot with sautéd onions, dried black beans, water, salt, and taco seasoning
homemade instant pot black beans in an instant pot being scooped with a wooden spoon
a bowl of homemade black beans in a bowl with a spoon next to a jar of homemade taco seasoning

What is the Ratio of Black Beans to Water?

When cooking our Instant Pot black beans, we like to add a mixture of water and stock (either chicken or vegetable if you are keeping your black beans vegetarian) to really amp up the flavor of the beans. You can find many different ratios of black beans to water, but the one we recommend (and that we’ve found works the best) is a mixture of the following:

  • 2 1/2 cups (1 pound) dried black beans

  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

  • 1 cup water

It’s important that you rinse the beans before mixing them with the broth, water and other ingredients to wash away any debris that might have gotten packaged accidentally with them. With this combination of broth and water, your black beans will come out extra flavorful, especially once you add in the seasoning and ingredients.

homemade black beans in an instant pot being stirred with a wooden spoon

What Makes This the Best Black Beans Recipe? Our Homemade Taco Seasoning, Of Course!

It’s no secret that our homemade taco seasoning is a standout in so many of our recipes, and this one is no different. We love the combination of flavors on just about everything, including these black beans? The mix of spices on the beans really just help bring out all those tasty flavors and elevate this black beans recipe beyond anything you could ever get out of a can. It’s a real game changer.

instant pot black beans in a bowl with a spoon topped with cilantro and next to bowl of lime wedges and taco seasoning

Tools You’ll Need

Put Those Perfectly Tender, Homemade Black Beans to Good Use!

We suggest serving these taco seasoning spiked beans up with one of these delicious dishes!

And for those of you that don’t have an Instant Pot we have even more black bean recipes you can enjoy with or without the pressure cooker:

homemade instant pot black beans in a bowl topped with cilantro with a serving spoon

See, We Told You This Was an Easy Black Beans Recipe!

There are so many ways to enjoy black beans, and now that you have the Instant Pot method down (the best method in our opinion) we are dying to see your homemade black beans in action! Snap a photo of your Instant Pot black beans and how you chose to eat them or serve them up. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Instant Pot Black Beans

  • Serves: 8
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  45 min
  • Calories: 133

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 Small onion, chopped (1 cup)
  • 2 1/2 cups Dried black beans, rinsed (about 1lb)
  • 4 cups Chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup Water
  • 2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
  • 1 1/2 tsp Sea salt

Method

  1. With your instant pot on sauté mode, heat the oil until glistening. Add in the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes.

  2. Add in the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and tightly secure the lid in place. Turn the Instant Pot to MANUAL mode with high pressure selected for 25 minutes.

  3. When the timer is done, allow the pressure to release naturally, about 20 minutes. If there is any pressure still in the pot, you can manually release it at this time.

  4. Open the Instant Pot, stir and allow the beans to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cooked beans will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories133
  • Protein6 g
  • Carbohydrates24 g
  • Total Fat4 g
  • Dietary Fiber7 g
  • Cholesterol0 mg
  • sodium486 mg
  • Total Sugars2 g

Instant Pot Black Beans

Questions & Reviews

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  • Kay

    Wow, how simple was that?! and with so much flavor. new go-to beans recipe. Served them with ground beef tacos.

    Thanks Kay, glad you enjoyed them!