How to Cook Dry Beans in an Instant Pot

No more pre-soaking the beans before you start cooking! Take the guesswork out completely with this guide to How to Cook Dry Beans in an Instant Pot! Any dry bean will work the exact same way!!

Before I owned an instant pot, any cooking with dried beans had to be well thought out. I can’t tell you how many times I went to bed completely forgetting about putting the beans to soak. Well, now I don’t have to fret over that anymore.

The instant pot takes out all of the guesswork too. I have made several types of dried beans using the same method. Each and every time, they are fork tender and perfect! This post will show you how easy it can be!

LET’S COMPARE BEANS TO BEANS

Cooking beans in an instant pot is a great way to keep your money in your wallet. In comparison, buying a large bag of dried beans is much more cost effective than buying the same amount in cans.

According to The Bean Institute, dry beans cost less per serving than canned beans. A one pound bag of dry beans costs, on average, $1.79 and will make 12 1/2 cup servings of cooked beans. In contrast, 15 ounce can of brand name beans costs $2 on average and provides 1 1/2 cups.

This means that a serving of beans made from dry beans costs just $0.15 while a serving of brand canned beans costs much more – roughly three times more! That’s a phenomenal cost savings!

SAVING TIME IS NO LONGER A VIABLE ARGUMENT

While the savings might seem appealing to most, it won’t stop everyone from purchasing canned beans. The most popular argument is that canned beans are quicker. Yes, that’s correct, but if you use an instant pot to prepared dry beans, it speeds up the process immensely.

It can take up to 18 hours (washing, picking through, rinsing, and soaking) to prepare dry beans. So, I completely get the appeal to using canned beans. However, with the instant pot, you can cut that time down to 40 minutes! Also, you can also prepare large batches and freeze them. They are perfect for use in things like soups, stews, and chili.

NO PRESERVATIVES; NO ADDED SODIUM!

Another great thing about preparing dry beans in an instant pot is that you get to decide what goes into them. In canned beans there are lots of preservatives. For example, a national brand of canned kidney beans has the following listed on its ingredient label: red kidney beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, disodium edta.

In contrast, that exact same national brand of dry kidney beans has the following ingredients listed on its label: red kidney beans. See the difference?

Unless you add copious amounts of salt in your dry beans, they are virtually sodium free. Canned beans have approximately 200 milligrams of sodium for just a 1/2 cup serving!

CANNING DRY BEANS

If you are not too keen on storing cooked beans in the freezer, you can also can them at home. It sounds daunting, but it’s really not that hard to do. You will need a pressure canner, jars with seals and rings, and that’s pretty much it!

Once the beans are cooked in your instant pot, ladle the beans into hot jars. (You can read my Canned Diced Tomatoes post for instructions on how to prepare your jars.) Fill the jars with the cooking liquid. Place on the seal and screw on the lids.

Place the jars into your canner and process for 15 minutes using a 10 pound weighted gauge. Once cooled, label and store in a dark, cool cabinet for up to one year.

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