Beans in the Instant Pot
I couldn’t help myself. Everyone I knew had one of these new Instant Pots, and everyone was going on about how wonderful they were. Even my therapist had one! So, I looked up to see exactly what it was, and when I realized it was in fact an enhanced pressure cooker, I got kind of scared.
What’s for Dinner, Mom?
My mother was getting the cheese out of the refrigerator while the pressure cooker was happily bubbling on the stove. I walked in to ask my mother if I could have a glass of whatever (probably milk), when suddenly, there was a loud explosion, a red flash, and as we looked up, there was red spaghetti all over the kitchen walls. If my mother had been by the pot, she probably would have been seriously injured if not killed. I swear we picked spaghetti off that kitchen wall for days. It was kind of fun… but, that’s how you get a phobia about pressure cookers.
Times, They Are a Changin’
Despite being deathly afraid of the contraptions, I realized that technology must have made them safer. After all, if we could send a man to the moon in nothing more than a glorified tin can, then why couldn’t we have beans in an instant pot, and not perish. I got a little mini pot just so I could play around and get used to it. The 6 quart, I was thinking about getting is large, but it’s only two of us, and this little guy, just over a quart, makes more than enough for us.
Because I don’t have to heat up a lot of other pots or dirty a lot of dishes, I really appreciate this little pot. Just put this one on sauté, add the vegetables, sauté them, then add the beans, liquid, cover, and I’m good to go. Everything everyone said about how great these pressure cookers are was right. They are wonderful. But, we’re here to talk about Beans in the Instant Pot, so let’s do that.
Let’s Make Some Beans in the Instant Pot
Really, you can do anything you want with your bean recipe. I have made both barbecued beans for 4th of July and fabulous refried beans to go put in Pork Burrito Salad.
I prefer to soak my beans using the Quick Soak method and then process them in the Instant Pot. There is a possibility that the Quick Soak rather than overnight or Instant Pot, reduces the tendency for the beans to cause flatulence.
Quick Soak Method
Okay, this so dead simple, you can do it in your sleep, but because it’s quick, you won’t have time to sleep! Sort through your beans to make sure there are no rocks, or other debris, then put them in a large pot and cover them with at least twice the amount of water as beans. Bring the pot to a boil, boil two minutes, cover and take off the heat. Let the pot sit for two hours, and you are ready to go. Drain the beans, and you will notice that they have absorbed almost all the water and gotten larger.
Email Me the Recipe
Beans in the Instant Pot
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Ingredients
- 4 cups soaked and drained beans
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon *vegetable base
- 1 teaspoon bacon fat, butter or olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 pepper, chopped
Instructions
- Put the cooker on Saute and when it is hot enough, add the fat and vegetables. Saute until the onion is translucent. Turn off the pot.
- Mix the vegetable base with the water.
- Add the beans to the pot and mix them with the sauteed vegetables.
- Cover with the vegetable broth.
- Put the pot on Pressure Cook for 25 minutes. Walk away, sit down and have a beverage. Read a book or something for the 25 minutes.
- After the cooker has beeped, turn it off and let it pressure release naturally, another 20 or so minutes.
- At the point you can do whatever you would normally do with your beans, cook them down further for BBQ, add them to soup, or refry them. The choice is yours!
