Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are mostly authentic (I put my own spin on them) 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 pressure cooker!
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 a semi-authentic Cuban black beans recipe made in the electric pressure cooker.
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!
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This pressure cooker Cuban black beans recipe has an optional 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)
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If you make these delicious Instant Pot Cuban black beans, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I’d like to know how you liked this recipe!
Adapted from Food & Wine: Cuban Black Beans
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are mostly 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 strip Kombu (optional)
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 3"-5" Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3-4 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, kombu, onion, jalapeños, garlic, bell peppers, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, cinnamon stick, 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.
*3-4 cups, depending on how "soupy" you like your beans.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans recipe and more
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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!
Delicious! Super creamy and lots of flavor.
Star rating isn’t working for me, but I would give these 5 stars! I did not have kombu so I just left it out. These black beans are super flavorful! Putting some in the blender to puree makes them more “restaurant” quality. They were super simple to make. I did have turn my pressure cooker back on and cook for about 5 or 6 minutes more because my beans were still pretty firm the first time. Since my pot was hot, it didn’t take any time to come to pressure. I will definitely be making these black beans again!
Mine ended up like soup. Any ideas? I know I used the exact amounts per the recipe.
They are pretty soupy. The liquid is great for rice. You can cut the broth by 1 cup when you make them if you want less. I made a note.