How To Make
Pressure Cooker Beans

If you own a pressure cooker, then you can use it to make perfect pressure cooker beans in minutes!

Be sure to soak your beans first. This helps to cut down on the amount of time your beans will cook, and also aids in digestion. Refer to the Beans main page for simple directions.

Now, ready with those soaked beans? Let's make some pressure cooker beans! :O)

name Step 1: Add 3 cups of water to the Pressure Cooker for every 1 cup of soaked beans.

name 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.

name Step 3: Lock the lid in place and bring up to high pressure. Cook for required amount of time.

(Click here for a handy Bean Cooking Times chart.)

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.

name Step 4: Let the beans cool in the cooking liquid -- which is likely to thicken -- and serve them in their own "sauce" (my preferred method). Or drain -- and if you like the taste of the cooking liquid, set it aside for soup-making or for cooking grains.