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Simple Black Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic
These black beans, inspired by beans we tasted in Oaxaca, Mexico, are flavorful enough to be served as a side dish, or you can use them as a filling for tacos or burritos. The tomatoes melt into the mix, lending the beans sweetness and acidity, as well as a dose of umami that makes the dish taste full and complex. For additional ideas on how to use the beans, see the following recipes.
6
Cups
Tip
Don't forget to squeeze the softened garlic cloves from the head into the beans when cooking is complete. Not only does the garlic boost flavor, their creamy consistency gives the beans a little thickness and body.
FAST: 1½ hours
Slow: 7¼ to 8¼ hours
15 minutes active
Ingredients
-
2
cups (1 pound) dried black beans, rinsed and drained
-
1
large white or yellow onion, chopped
Directions
-
01In a 6-quart Instant Pot, combine the beans, onion, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, bay, 1 teaspoon salt and 5 cups water. Stir to combine, then distribute in an even layer.
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December 9, 2022
Best bean recipe
These beans are so good even my kids will eat them! To those wondering, this recipe can easily be modified for the stovetop (I don’t own an instapot). You only need to add more water and to occasionally stir the simmering beans. The recipe also works great in a stovetop pressure cooker but it cooks a little faster than what’s listed here.
July 9, 2022
Best Black Beans
A friend asked me to bring black beans for a get together she was having. I took these and her friends raved about them — all wanted the recipe.
December 12, 2023
good beans
Easy, nutritious and delicious. We eat these over rice with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, taco sauce , etc. I love my instant pot for beans (it means we eat more beans due to the time factor), and I always cook extra beans so we can have Milk Street's Cheese crisped pinto bean quesadillas(only with black beans) the next day because they are also easy and delicious. Thanks, Milk Street!
March 24, 2024
needed a lot of help
these were tasteless even though made with rancho gordo beans. Adding sautéed green bell pepper (for a proper sofrito), cumin, worcestershire and hot sauce made it very good and like real Latino beans.
Hi Tamisha,
We’re so glad you're exploring our recipes. When we developed the recipes for our Instant Pot book, Fast and Slow, we offered pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions for every recipe that worked well cooked either way. Recipes that have only one set of instructions did not produce good results when prepared with the alternative method. And unfortunately, it’s not possible for us to reverse engineer Instant Pot recipes for stovetop cooking. But the good news is that many of them were inspired by recipes we’d already prepared for conventional cooking methods. If you check our website, you might find what you are looking for.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
I am disappointed that the Black Bean soups require an Instant Pot/Slow Cooker to make. I'm surprised there is no stove top recipe. Oh, Well, off to my NYT Cooking app!
Hi Greg,
We’re so glad you're exploring our recipes. When we developed the recipes for our Instant Pot book, Fast and Slow, we offered pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions for every recipe that worked well cooked either way. Recipes that have only one set of instructions did not produce good results when prepared with the alternative method. And unfortunately, it’s not possible for us to reverse engineer Instant Pot recipes for stovetop cooking. But the good news is that many of them were inspired by recipes we’d already prepared for conventional cooking methods. If you check our website, you might find what you are looking for.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Once again someone complaining about the instant pot recipes. If you don't have an instant pot go check out the TONS of other great recipes from Milk Street that do not require one, including one for black bean soup. But good luck with your NYT app recipes, you are missing out. And I have to say the fast/slow recipes have been simple and come out perfect every time so thanks Milk Street!
These are so delicious and so simple to make! If you only used your instant pot to make this one recipe it would be totally worth it, but of course the instant pot does so much more. We make these on the weekend and then use the beans up over the week. Don't forget to check out the recipe for Molletes - we use this black bean recipe as the base.
Is it possible to half this recipe with the same result? I want to use the InstantPot, but not sure if the timing would need to be adjusted with the lesser amount. Thank you!
Hi Greer -
I think this could work and cooking times *should* remain the same, however we haven't tested this so I can't be 100% sure. The only question is whether the pressure cooker gets up to pressure faster with less in the pot. If it does, then I would say it might take a little less time. It's just hard to know for sure. Sorry we can't be clearer but I hope this helps.
Thanks,
The Milk Street Team
What are the differences in the beans between the fast and slow methods, is one more tender or flavorful?
Thanks,
Jac
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Is it true that one of the reasons for soaking beans overnight before cooking is that it breaks down the sugars in them and so make it easier to digest? Is this a fact? Thanks!