If you are new here, HI! My name is Juli and I just started eating beans a year ago after not eating them for 10 years while following the paleo diet. Well it has be(an) AMAZING. Beans are the freaking best. And black beans seem to work the best for me and my own gut stuff, so I buy A LOT of black bean products. Canned black beans, Fillo’s Cuban Black Beans, A Dozen Cousins Black Beans…but making the beans for yourself is SO.MUCH.CHEAPER and wayyyyy less sodium. So here we are! Today we are going to make some Cuban black beans, save some money, and keep our liver functioning properly. What a joy.
Since beans are oh so cheap to make, I’ve made this recipe a few times to get it just right. I have cooked the beans with the veggies and without, but I much prefer without because I find that the veggies get way too soft and almost flavorless when they are in the pressure cooker for that long. So instead, I cook the veggies first then add then add them back in later for extra texture and flavor. It’s a slight extra step, but it’s definitely worth it. Nobody wants floppy bell pepper skin floating around in their beans. IYKYK.
On a completely unrelated note…has anyone felt like this full moon is trying to kick them in the face? Last weeks blood supermoon and lunar eclipse has me not sleeping, crying constantly, and worrying about every tiny thing in my life AND everyone else’s life. I never used to pay attention to the moon, but now that I do, it’s almost a confirmation of why I’m feeling the way I am. Not that you can’t have that in your life without paying attention to the moon, but it’s just a little reminder that you’re not totally insane and this connection we have to the moon is real. I mean…this is also coming from a person who has become quite woowoo over the past year. I even just got some crystals that are next to my bed. Oh lord, I’m also going to a past life exploration reading today. Soooooo woowoo. Anywho, I must be going because I have a past life to hopefully relive. But if you’re not interested in that, I hope you enjoy the beans instead!
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans, soaked for 24 hours
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt*
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Place dried black beans in a large bowl, cover with water and set aside for at least 24 hours. This helps soften the beans for a more enjoyable texture. Once fully soaked, drain and rinse before cooking.
- Place olive oil in the basin of the instant pot and place on the sauté function. Add onion and bell pepper. Add a pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Press cancel on the instant pot.
- Add the rinsed beans to the pot along with water, vinegar, salt, oregano, cumin, black pepper, and bay leaves. Mix together to combined then top with lid, secure, and press the pressure cook function. Set to 30 minutes on high pressure. Once the beans are done cooking, you can quick release or let it naturally release, either way will work. Add the onions and peppers back in and mix to combined. The beans will have some excess liquid, but it thickens as it sits throughout the week and keeps the beans fresh!
Notes
*I REALLY like salt so I like to add a good amount. You could always lower the salt amount and then taste the beans once they are cooked to see if they need more salt
What I Used to Make This Recipe:
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Mercury is also in retrograde right now…
and it’s trying to kick all of our asses
What do you do if you don’t have an instant pot/pressure cooker? Have you tried it in Dutch oven?
you can definitely cook it in a pot or dutch oven, i just haven’t tested the recipe that way so I’m not sure how long the beans will take.
So so good! Do you think these will freeze well?
I’m curious: What’s your skincare routine like now that you are on the bean protocol? Are you still using a lot of acne-specific products, or were you able to stop most of that? Thanks!
i follow a korean skincare routine! here is my post about it – https://paleomg.com/the-skincare-routine-that-has-completely-transformed-my-skin-in-under-a-week/
Quick question – when do you add the onions, peppers and garlic back in?
after everything cooks up!! sorry about that, i added that to the description!!
Try adding a splash of vinegar to the beans when you serve them! Delicious!
Thank you. I usually do it the traditional way on the stove top. This was really easy to follow!
yay glad to hear it!!
This is probs the 20th time I’ve visited this page and made this recipe so I figure that means I better review it – make these beans! This is such an easy delicious cheap to make recipe! I regularly make a half recipe and it works well scaled down (this yields a LOT and I have a tiny freezer). I also regularly make this then add in browned meat to make a black bean chilli – chorizo is amazing in it! I’ve also made it with other types of beans following the same recipe with similarly tasty results but black bean is best. Thanks for this recipe!