Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans
In the Instant Pot, dried black beans and a handful of ingredients turn into a luxuriously delicious side or main course in 45 minutes, no presoaking, no sautéing, no fuss.
Servings 4 as a main, 6 to 8 as a side
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 white or yellow onion coarsely chopped, about 3/4 cup
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon dried epazote or 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro (see Kitchen Notes)
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lard (see Kitchen Notes)
- 5 cups water
- salt, if needed
Instructions
- Do not presoak the beans. Put all the ingredients except salt in the Instant Pot. Close it up and cook for 45 minutes on the bean setting (yes, there is a bean setting). When it’s done cooking, turn it off and let the pressure release naturally, until the Float Valve goes down. This could take 15 or 20 minutes or so.
- Taste and season with salt, if needed. That’s it. You’ve got a mess of delicious, fragrant black beans. Serve.
Kitchen Notes
Serving variations. The first night we lived it up and served them as the bed for a small steak, grilled, sliced and arranged on top of the beans. Serve them on their own, serve them with tortillas and toppings, serve them over rice, serve them draped alongside scrambled eggs. The only way you can go wrong is to not make them.
Lard substitutions? Yes, you can substitute olive oil or a neutral cooking oil for the lard. This will make it vegetarian—vegan even. It won’t taste as wondrous, though.
Speaking of lard, for god’s sake, don’t use that kind that comes in the giant white plastic bucket and that is shelf stable forever. We didn’t have time to drive up to Butcher & Larder, so we used Armour brand premium lard, which we found in the cooking oil section of the grocery store. Epazote? Cilantro? According to The Spice House, the Mexican herb epazote “has a distinctively sharp, herbal flavor, reminiscent of oregano and fennel with minty, pine notes. It is commonly found in Mexican cooking, where it’s a popular pairing with beans.” We bought epazote at our neighborhood grocery. For someone like me who is unfamiliar with most Mexican herbs, this package, a confusing mix of dried beige stems and powdery green leaves, was very perplexing. I guessed and used only the powdery leaf part. When I later searched for epazote on Amazon, I found that all the epazote products were the latter—dried leaf—that is, for once, I’d guessed right, hurrah! If you cannot find epazote, or just don’t feel like online ordering, then use fresh cilantro instead.
Speaking of lard, for god’s sake, don’t use that kind that comes in the giant white plastic bucket and that is shelf stable forever. We didn’t have time to drive up to Butcher & Larder, so we used Armour brand premium lard, which we found in the cooking oil section of the grocery store. Epazote? Cilantro? According to The Spice House, the Mexican herb epazote “has a distinctively sharp, herbal flavor, reminiscent of oregano and fennel with minty, pine notes. It is commonly found in Mexican cooking, where it’s a popular pairing with beans.” We bought epazote at our neighborhood grocery. For someone like me who is unfamiliar with most Mexican herbs, this package, a confusing mix of dried beige stems and powdery green leaves, was very perplexing. I guessed and used only the powdery leaf part. When I later searched for epazote on Amazon, I found that all the epazote products were the latter—dried leaf—that is, for once, I’d guessed right, hurrah! If you cannot find epazote, or just don’t feel like online ordering, then use fresh cilantro instead.