Cooking Beans in a Pressure Cooker
We prefer the flavor and texture of dried beans to canned, and the pressure cooker proves itself truly invaluable here since it can cook dried beans in a fraction of their conventional cooking time. We cooked almost 150 pounds of dried beans to find the best method and foolproof timing. It proved best to aim for slightly underdone beans, then finish by simmering for the last few minutes uncovered on the stovetop so we could more easily check for doneness. This method accounts for variations among pressure cookers, the age of the beans, and the simple fact that you can’t test the beans along the way.
Type of Bean: Black Beans
Pressure Level: Low
Cook Time: 10 min
Pressure Level: High
Cook Time: 9 min
Type of Bean: Black-Eyed Peas
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 5 min
Type of Bean: Cannellini Beans
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 5 min
Type of Bean: Garbanzo
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 3 min
Type of Bean: Great Northern Beans
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 5 min
Type of Bean: Navy Beans
Pressure Level: Low
Cook Time: 10 min
Pressure Level: High
Cook Time: 8 min
Type of Bean: Pinto Beans
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 3 min
Type of Bean: Red Kidney Beans
Pressure Level: Low or High
Cook Time: 5 min
Type of Bean: Flageolet Beans
Pressure Level: Low
Cook Time: 10 min
Pressure Level: High
Cook Time: 9 min
Type of Bean: Cranberry Beans
Pressure Level: Low
Cook Time: 9 min
Pressure Level: High
Cook Time: 8 min
WHAT WE LEARNED
Soak beans overnight before cooking: Soaking beans before cooking is crucial for even cooking and to minimize busted beans.
Add salt and oil: Adding salt to the soaking liquid and the cooking liquid tenderizes the beans’ skins, dramatically reducing the number of beans that burst. Adding oil to the cooking liquid prevents foaming.
Use low pressure and a natural release: We had slightly better results cooking beans under low pressure. But high pressure works OK if that’s the only setting your pot has. A natural release helps the beans retain their shape, and it doesn’t spray a mess of foam out of the vent like a quick release does.
Skim the floaters: Sometimes we noticed a few beans floating on top of the water after releasing the pressure and removing the lid. These beans typically turned out underdone so it’s best to fish them out of the pot.
Adjust if using a 6-quart stovetop pot: Cook only half batches of beans (½ pound beans, 2 quarts water, ½ tablespoon oil, and ½ teaspoon salt) and shorten the cooking times by 2 minutes.
Adjust if using a 6-quart electric pot: Cook only half batches of beans (½ pound beans, 2 quarts water, ½ tablespoon oil, and ½ teaspoon salt). Use low pressure, and do not use the pot’s built-in timer. Instead, use your own timer and start the countdown as soon as the pot comes to pressure. For cooking times longer than 5 minutes, reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes. For cooking times shorter than 5 minutes, just bring the pot up to low pressure. To naturally release the pressure, turn the cooker off immediately after the cooking time and let it sit for 15 minutes; do not let the cooker switch to the warm setting.