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Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans

June 6, 2019 by Sandy 9 Comments

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Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans

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!

Cuban Black Beans in a brown bowl in front of 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.

pot of beans and vegetables ready to cook in pressure cooker

Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans are a dump and start recipe. You don’t even have to chop up the veggies!

This post contains Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Brown bowl of Cuban Black Beans

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.

Kombu kelp on wooden surface with Kelp package

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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Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans in brown bowl as well as title and Simply Happy Foodie.com logo

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

5 from 3 votes
Cuban Black Beans in brown bowl
Print
Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans
Prep Time
12 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
1 hr 17 mins
 

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.

Course: Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: Cuban
Keyword: pressure cooker Cuban black beans recipe
Servings: 8 - 10
Calories: 311 kcal
Author: Sandy Clifton
Ingredients
  • 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)
To Finish
  • 2 tsp Kosher Salt (or more to taste)
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/3 cup Olive Oil
Instructions
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.

  7. Remove the kombu, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Discard.

  8. 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.

  9. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the pot and stir.

  10. Add the salt, sugar, and olive oil. Stir.

  11. 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.

  12. Serve hot, over rice or alone.

Recipe Notes

*3-4 cups, depending on how "soupy" you like your beans.


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RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans recipe and more

This post contains Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten-Free, Instant Pot, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetable Sides, Vegetarian

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Comments

  1. Gene Diaz

    June 30, 2020 at 12:01 pm

    These is not an Authentic Cuban Black bean recipe . You dont put cinamon or Sea weeb in the beans
    IF anything you use Brown Sugar

    Reply
    • Sandy

      July 8, 2020 at 10:49 pm

      I know, and I say so in the first sentence of the post. I will say though, there are two Cuban women I know who use the kelp. That’s how I learned it.

      Reply
  2. Anna Byrd

    May 29, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    Delicious! Easy and straightforward. I’m eating it right now and am thrilled. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Sarah Mraz

    March 24, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    Mine ended up like soup. Any ideas? I know I used the exact amounts per the recipe.

    Reply
    • Sandy

      March 24, 2020 at 5:18 pm

      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.

      Reply
  4. Catherine S

    January 28, 2020 at 2:14 pm

    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!

    Reply
  5. Karen

    November 26, 2019 at 6:57 pm

    Delicious! Super creamy and lots of flavor.

    Reply
  6. Diana Valdemar

    August 28, 2019 at 7:48 am

    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?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      August 28, 2019 at 4:13 pm

      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!

      Reply

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Sandy wearing a black shirt and a red apron I’m Sandy - foodie with a passion for cooking and sharing my tasty recipes. My hubby Paul, our Pug Gizmo, and I live in Washington.

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