Instant Pot Black Beans

These no-soak Instant Pot black beans are so flavorful and easy to make! Serve them as a side dish, or add them to your favorite black bean recipes.

Instant Pot Black Beans

These Instant Pot black beans did something that I didn’t think was possible – they changed my mind about the Instant Pot. After I made them…and then rice…and then soup (recipes coming soon!), I went from being an Instant Pot skeptic to a total convert. It is so handy to be able to start cooking your beans/rice/whatever you’re making and then walk away, not having to worry about adjusting the heat on the stove or having a pot boil over. Plus, it does speed things along, at least in the case of these Instant Pot black beans. They cook up in about 45 minutes, as opposed to almost 90 on the stove. I’ll take it!

These Instant Pot black beans are well-seasoned, so you could serve them as a side dish on their own. However, they’re also perfect for using in recipes that call for black beans, such as tacos, enchiladas, soups, etc. You’ll find more specific suggestions in the post below!

Bowl of beans surrounded by onion, garlic, spices, and limes

Instant Pot Black Beans Recipe Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll just need a few basic ingredients:

  • Dry black beans – The fresher, the better. If you can, buy them from a local grower or a grocery store with high turnover. (Older beans can be tough and not soften fully when they cook.)
  • Onion and garlic – For sharp, savory depth of flavor.
  • Chili powder, cumin, and oregano – They add aromatic flavor and a little heat to the beans and cooking liquid.
  • And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

If I’m planning to eat the beans on their own, I also like to dress them up with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Bowl of dry black beans with wooden spoon

How to Make Instant Pot Black Beans

This Instant Pot black beans recipe is super simple to make! Here’s how it goes:

First, rinse and sort the beans. Any time you’re cooking dry beans, it’s important to rinse them well and pick through them to discard any stones or debris.

Black beans, onion, garlic, spices, and water in the Instant Pot

Then, add the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Pour in the rinsed beans, followed by the onion, garlic, spices, salt, and water.

Hand holding spoonful of cooked black beans over Instant Pot

Next, cook. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and select the Pressure Cook function. Cook on high for 25 minutes, or 20 minutes if you prefer firmer beans. (The entire cooking process will actually take longer, as the Instant Pot will need to preheat before cooking and depressurize afterwards.)

Finally, allow the pressure to release naturally. This will take 20 minutes or so. When the float valve drops, remove the lid and season the beans to taste. That’s it!

Bowl of black beans with wooden spoon

How to Use Instant Pot Black Beans

The simplest way to serve these Instant Pot black beans is as a side dish. Drain them and season them to taste with salt, pepper, and fresh lime juice. They pair well with any Mexican-inspired recipe, but I especially like them with cilantro lime rice and veggie tacos like these cauliflower ones or these jackfruit ones.

Instead of serving these beans on their own, you could also add them to larger recipes. Drain and rinse them and use them as you would canned beans or regular cooked dried beans. They’d be perfect in any of these recipes:

How do you like to use Instant Pot black beans? Let me know in the comments!

Instant pot black beans recipe

More Favorite Cooking Basics

If you love this recipe, try making one of these cooking basics next:

Get This Recipe In Your Inbox
Share your email, and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy daily doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!

Instant Pot Black Beans

rate this recipe:
4.80 from 24 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Serves 8
Learn how to make perfectly cooked black beans in the Instant Pot! This easy, hands-off recipe is the quickest method I know for cooking black beans from scratch.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dried black beans
  • 6 cups water
  • Heaping 1/2 cup diced white onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Lime juice, optional

Instructions

  • Place the beans in a large colander and sort through them to remove and discard any stones or debris.
  • Rinse the beans and transfer them to the Instant Pot. Add the water, onion, garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and several grinds of black pepper. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and Pressure Cook on High for 25 minutes, or 20 minutes if you prefer firmer beans.
  • Allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally. This will take 20-30 minutes. When the float valve drops, remove the lid.
  • Use the beans in your favorite black bean recipe or season to taste with more salt, pepper, and squeezes of lime juice, if desired, and serve as a side dish.

43 comments

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. JenniferW
    11.24.2023

    Just found your recipe today. Black beans are cooking right now. Thank you for sharing.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      11.28.2023

      Hi Jennifer, I hope you loved the beans!

  2. Kat
    09.17.2023

    5 stars
    Finally, a black bean recipe I can use. This was so good it will be in my weekly rotation, thank you!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.20.2023

      I’m so glad you loved them!

  3. Lauren
    09.13.2023

    5 stars
    Love this recipe! We have been eating these all week! We live in a small town in Asia where we can get no canned beans. We loved these!

  4. Theresa
    07.03.2023

    5 stars
    A lot of juice/liquid from the beans, once cooked. Should we drain the juice?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.03.2023

      Hi Theresa, you can drain the liquid or store the beans in it in the fridge – they’ll last longer that way. Drain them when you’re ready to eat.

      The bean liquid gets much thicker (so I serve it all together) when cooked on the stovetop vs. the instant pot. Here’s that recipe: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-beans-recipe/

    • Veronik
      08.04.2023

      5 stars
      Drink the broth!! It’s SO good!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.