Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are authentic and delicious! These amazingly flavorful pressure cooker Cuban black beans are great as a side dish, or serve with rice for a main dish. Cuban black beans made from dry beans are so easy in the Instant Pot®!
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans
Black beans are more popular than ever. It’s no wonder as they are delicious in so many recipes. Black beans are widely available, too.
Today I’m sharing an authentic Cuban black beans recipe made in the Instant Pot®.
I use my Instant Pot® for beans often. I pretty much never soak the beans, and they always come out perfect!
It’s fine if you do soak them, that just cuts down on the cook time and water you have to add.
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are a dump and start recipe. You don’t even have to chop up the veggies!
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This pressure cooker Cuban black beans recipe has a special ingredient that you may find strange… Kelp! It’s called kombu, and it is a type of dried seaweed in the kelp family.
What does the Kombu do to the beans?
Kombu, a member of the kelp (seaweed) family, helps to reduce the gas-producing properties (sugars) of the beans. So the beans become less of a “musical fruit”.
It also adds a subtle umami flavor that is quite nice.
I promise, it does not taste like seaweed or fishy in the beans at all! You can find kombu in many grocery stores, or online here: Maine Coast Kelp & Kombu Bag Organic, 2 oz (affiliate)
Instant Pot Cowboy Beans
Instant Pot Drunken Beans
Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
25+ Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Adapted from Food & Wine: Cuban Black Beans
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are authentic and so delicious! These super flavorful pressure cooker Cuban black beans are great as a side dish, or serve with rice for a main dish.
- 1 lb Black Beans, unsoaked, rinsed
- 1 lg Yellow Onion, whole
- 2 Jalapeños, deseeded
- 10 cloves Garlic, leave whole
- 2 Bell Peppers, 1 green and 1 red, whole
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 5"-6" Cinnamon Stick
- 1 strip Kombu (dried Kelp)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium (or veggie broth)
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt (or more to taste)
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
Prepare the vegetables:
Peel the onion, but leave it whole. Cut the jalapeños in half and scrape out the seeds. Peel the garlic and leave the cloves whole. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and shake out the seeds. Leave them uncut.
Add the beans, onion, jalapeños, garlic, bell peppers, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, cinnamon stick, kombu, bay leaves, and chicken broth to the inner liner pot of the pressure cooker. Make sure the beans are submerged.
Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 25 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
When the cook cycle has finished, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute natural release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure.
When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
Remove the kombu, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Discard.
Spoon out the onion, jalapeños, garlic and bell peppers. Put them into a blender, along with about 1/4 cup of the beans and 1/4 cup of the liquid from the pot.
Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the pot and stir.
Add the salt, sugar, and olive oil. Stir.
Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Set cook time for 10 minutes, high pressure. Let naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
Serve hot, over rice or alone.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans recipe and more
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Pin This Recipe
I don’t have kombu but I have sea kelp (flakes) so how much of that should I use in place of the strip of komgu?
I don’t think I would use the flakes as they would be difficult to discard after pressure cooking. Unless you could wrap them in cheesecloth. You can just omit the kelp. It will still be delicious!