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Pressure Cooker Beans = Fast and Easy
Pressure cooker beans cook up in a fraction of the time of regular stovetop beans.
Be sure to soak your beans first. While making beans in a pressure cooker cuts the time down drastically versus cooking in a good old regular pot on the stovetop, you should still soak your beans. Not only does soaking your beans first cut the time down EVEN MORE, it also aids in the digestion of beans, which can be a bit hard for some people.
First, measure out your beans (let’s use 1 cup as an example) then lay them out on a plate or in a rectangular container of some sort so you can clearly see the beans. Pick over your beans to be sure there are no small stones or tiny chunks of dirt.
Pour the dry beans into a jar or other container, then cover with about 3-4 times the water, so in this example that would be approximately 3-4 cups water. You don’t really HAVE to measure this water, but you just want to be sure you use ENOUGH water that your beans will remain covered in water as they soak up the water. Experience will teach you how much water you need to use for soaking your beans. Then let sit for 6-8 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse.
Step 1: Add 3 cups of water to the Pressure Cooker for every 1 cup of dry beans which have been soaked. (or triple amount of dry beans)
Pour pre-soaked beans into pressure cooker with water
Step 2: Add beans to water. If you’d like, add a clove of garlic (peeled and smashed or sliced), 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. dried herbs such as thyme or oregano, or a three-inch strip of kombu (sea vegetable, which many feel makes the beans more digestible).
NOTES: Adding salt or any acid (like tomatoes or vinegar) to beans hardens their skins and prevents them from cooking properly. In most instances, it’s best to add salt AFTER the beans are almost entirely cooked.
With one exception: When pressure cooking soups, adding a small amount of tomatoes or using a lightly salted stock may lengthen cooking time slightly, but does not prevent the beans from softening.
Bring beans to high pressure
Step 3: Lock the lid in place and bring up to high pressure. Cook for required amount of time.
Turn off heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally (about 10 minutes). Beans are done to perfection when you can easily smoosh one between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
Cool your beans thoroughly before refrigerating
Step 4: Let the beans cool in the cooking liquid — which is likely to thicken — and serve them in their own “sauce”. Or drain — and if you like the taste of the cooking liquid, set it aside for soup-making or for cooking grains.
How To Flavor Your Pressure Cooker Beans
How do you use Flavor Matches? It’s very simple. Look over the list of ingredients which match your bean of choice, and add those ingredients to your beans after they are done cooking. Also, be sure to balance your flavors using sweet, spicy, salty, and bitter ingredients.
Bean Cooking Chart
Dried Beans (1 cup) | Soaking Time | Regular Cooking Time | Pressure Cooking Time
Adzuki | None | 45 – 50 min. | 15 – 20 min.
Black (Turtle) | overnight | 45 – 60 min. | 15 – 20 min.
Black-Eyed Pea | overnight | 1 hr. | 10 min.
Chick-Pea | overnight | 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hr. | 15 – 20 min.
Fava | overnight | 45 – 60 min. | not recommended
Kidney | overnight | 1 – 1 1/2 hr. | 10 min.
Lentil, Red | none | 20 – 30 min. | 5 – 7 min.
Lentil, Green | none | 30 – 45 min. | 6 – 8 min.
Lima | overnight | 60 – 90 min. | not recommended
Lima, Baby | overnight | 45 – 50 min. | not recommended
Mung | overnight | 1 – 1 1/2 hr. | 8 – 10 min.
Pea, Split | none | 35 – 40 min. | not recommended
Pinto | overnight | 1 1/2 hr. | 10 min.
Soybean | overnight | 3 hr. | 15 min.
White (Great Northern, Marrow, Navy, Pea) | overnight | 45 – 60 min. | 4 – 5 min.