When my husband and I recently gorged ourselves on Tex-Mex throughout Austin and San Antonio, my husband remarked that he wasn't sure if black beans could ever be that good if they were truly vegetarian.
Taking that as a challenge, and with lots of delicious vegetarian Tex-Mex meals on my mind, when we returned home, I decided to perfect cooking dried black beans as I figured that it's easier to infuse flavor into cooking black beans from dry than cooking them from a can.
Surprisingly enough, by looking at some cookbooks and online Instant Pot websites, I quickly perfected a fantastic recipe. The beans are well-seasoned, flavorful, and soft – even if not soaked beforehand.
The only thing that I've had to play with over the past four attempts at this recipe is the Instant Pot high pressure cooking time. I initially cooked these beans at 22 minutes, but then had to cook the beans for another 3 – 5 minutes to get them to be evenly soft.
I think moving forward 28 minutes is the right amount of time – but I'll report back if that changes in practice!
Instant Pot Weeknight Black Beans
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 small onion, halved (red, white, or yellow – it doesn't matter)
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup water
- salt to taste, perhaps start with 1/2 tsp.
Directions
- Put all ingredients in Instant Pot. No need to stir.
- Set to manual, high pressure for 28 minutes. Keep on sealed option.
- Allow for natural release (approx. 22 minutes of keeping Instant Pot on warm after cooking), release to "vent" and taste beans for consistently. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes further if beans are not to your desired consistency.
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