how to cook black beans from scratch

beet season basics

Cooking black beans from dried beans was never worth the time until I tried Rick Martínez’s Frijoles de la Olla recipe (also found in his newly released cookbook Mi Cocina). There’s no presoaking involved; instead the beans, water, lots of salt, and seasonings are added to the pot all at once and then cooked until tender.

tips for the best black beans

• Skip presoaking. Soaking beans doesn’t really cut down on cooking times for small and thin-skinned beans like black beans, black-eyed peas, and lentils (but large beans like chickpeas do benefit from a soak). Unsoaked beans also have darker color (=more nutrients) and are less watered down (=better flavor). Which makes sense, if you presoak the beans in water, the beans will absorb water and the cooked beans will taste watered down. But if you skip the presoaking, the beans absorb the seasoned cooking liquid, and taste well seasoned.
• Use a lot of salt. Don’t be put off by the amount of salt in this recipe (which is cut down from Rick’s original recipe). Keep in mind that the salt gets diluted into 3 quarts of water. And you want enough salt so that it will get into the beans and flavor them from the inside.
• Taste test often to tell when the beans are done. The freshness of dried beans varies so its important to taste the beans often to check if they are done. Taste test 4 beans to check for doneness. The beans are done if all four beans are tender.

I’ve made these black beans in a pressure cooker, slow cooker, and on the stove top and have included directions for all three cooking methods. Note that 3 quarts of water may not safely fit in your pressure cooker depending on its size. For my pressure cooker I add 2 quarts of water to cook the beans, and add the final quart once the beans are done to dilute the cooking liquid to the right saltiness and consistency.

Yield from 1 pound of dried beans

• 1 lb dried beans = 6 cups cooked beans
• 1 15-oz can of beans = 1.5 cups of beans
• 6 cups cooked beans = 4 15-oz cans of beans

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the best black beans (from scratch!)

Black beans cooked from dried beans are so much more flavorful than canned. It only takes a few minutes to prep, then cook in a pressure cooker (Insta Pot), slow cooker, or on the stove.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 6 cups of cooked beans

Author: adapted from Rick Martínez’s Frijoles de la Olla

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried black beans
• 3 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
• 3 scallions cleaned and trimmed
• 3 cilantro sprigs
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano or Italian oregano
• 1 ½ tbsp fine sea salt
• 3 qt water*

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in pressure cooker (*only add 2 qt water), slow cooker, or large pot.
• Pressure cooker: cover and seal lid, cook on high for 30 minutes, let the pressure release naturally. Add remaining 1 quart of water once beans are done cooking

  Slower cooker: cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours, starting to test if the beans are cooked at 4 hours

  Stovetop: bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and simmer 1½ – 2 hours

  Taste test 4 beans, if they are all tender then the pot of beans are done.

Notes

Leftover beans freeze well. I’ll usually measure out 1.5 cups of beans (= 1 15-oz can of beans) per freezer container, cover beans with cooking liquid, and freeze.