Cooking Dry Navy Beans in Instant Pot

One of the first recipes I learned to make from my grandma was bean soup. The time it took to soak the dry navy beans takes so much time. It seemed like days. I’ve sped up the process with the Instant Pot and what would take over night, now takes an hour (about 30 minutes of natural release). This definitely lets you make dinner quicker (or in advance). You too can quick cook dry beans with this recipe to make ham and bean soup.

If you are using older beans, you may want to add additional time to cooking or let the beans sit in the pressure canner before opening. If you find that your beans are not a creamier texture after cooking, you will want to either cook them longer in the pressure cooker or put them in a pan on the stove. It may be easier to put on the stove, so you can check them easily for proper texture/doneness.

Serve with a side of delicious cornbread.

getting ready to cook navy beans with liquid

How Do You Quick Cook Beans?

To quick cook beans, you need to use a pressure canner (like an Instant Pot). Instead of taking several hours (or over night), this cooks the dried beans quicker under pressure. There is no soaking beans in advance, no rinsing the beans. You can add the flavors into the water and they will infuse with the beans while cooking.

How Do I Measure Dry Beans to Cooked Beans?

I was taught that 1 cup dry beans equals 2 cups cooked beans as they will double in size. You will need double the amount of liquid you have for dry beans to have tender beans.

Are Dried Beans Used?

Yes. When cooking beans, you start with dried beans. We used cold water (it doesn’t matter the temp) and chicken stock (to add flavor).

Can I Use A Crock Pot?

You can certainly use your slow cooker to cook the beans. You will want to get started by cooking over night. This will not be quick and will take over night. Our method takes about an hour.

Do You Need To Soak Beans Overnight?

No soaking is needed to prepare for cooking the beans. You can inspect your beans for any potential rocks or bad beans and remove them. Make sure your cooking liquid is double the amount of beans you have. If you have excess water, you can drain after cooking.

Do I Need to Use All These Ingredients to Soak Beans?

You can use plan cold or hot water when cooking beans. If you have flavors you want to add (like for soup), you can add those into the pressure cooker and it will add flavor to the beans. If you want just plain beans, just use water to cook them. You may want to add salt to have salted water, personal preference.

Can I Just Quick Cook Beans in Water?

Yes. You can use cool water, hot water or a mix of a liquid of your desire. Do make sure you have double the liquid to the amount of beans to allow proper cooking time.