Pressure Cooker Black Beans & Rice

Name: Pressure Cooker Black Beans & Rice
Yield: Serves about 6
Ingredients: 1 pound dry black beans, rinsed and picked over; 1 small onion, roughly chopped; 2 carrots, chopped; 2 celery stalks, chopped; 1 bell pepper, chopped; 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; Black pepper, to taste; 5–6 cups broth or water, depending on your pressure cooker and whether the beans are soaked; Salt, to taste after cooking; Cooked rice; Cilantro, lime, avocado, salsa, or cheese (optional)

Jillian Guralski

Sep 14

2 min read

A bowl of black beans and rice with cilantro, lime, and avocado

A bag of dry black beans can turn into a very inexpensive, flexible meal with a pressure cooker and a few vegetables.

What You Need

Serves about 6

Beans

1 pound dry black beans, rinsed and picked over
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Black pepper, to taste
5–6 cups broth or water, depending on your pressure cooker and whether the beans are soaked
Salt, to taste after cooking

For Serving

Cooked rice
Cilantro, lime, avocado, salsa, or cheese (optional)

How to Make It

1. Prep the Beans

Rinse the black beans and remove any debris. You can soak them ahead of time if you want a shorter cooking time, but you do not have to.

2. Add Everything to the Pressure Cooker

Add the beans, onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, pepper, and broth. Do not fill the pressure cooker beyond its recommended limit for beans and legumes.

3. Pressure Cook

Cook on high pressure according to your pressure cooker's recommended timing for dry black beans. As a general starting point:

Soaked black beans: often around 8–12 minutes at high pressure
Unsoaked black beans: often around 25–35 minutes at high pressure

Allow a natural pressure release for at least 15–20 minutes before opening. Bean age and pressure cooker model can change the timing, so treat the clock as a starting point rather than a guarantee.

4. Check the Beans

Taste a bean. If it is still firm, cook for a few more minutes under pressure. Once tender, remove the bay leaves. Add salt and adjust the seasoning.

5. Serve

Spoon over cooked rice. Add cilantro, lime, avocado, salsa, or whatever sounds good.

Calm Kitchen Skill: Let the Food Tell You When It Is Done

Dry beans are a good example of why cooking times are sometimes ranges rather than rules.

Older beans can take longer.
Soaked beans cook faster.
Different varieties behave differently.

Use the recommended time as your starting point, then check the actual food. The timer tells you when to check. The bean tells you when it is done.

Jillian's Kitchen Note

Dry beans are one of those ingredients people often keep in the pantry because they are inexpensive and useful — and then avoid because they are not quite sure what to do with them.

This is what you do with them.

Vegetables, broth, seasoning, pressure cooker. Then put them over rice and call dinner handled.

Make It Easier

Swap in any of these to cut down on prep time:

Frozen chopped onion and peppers
Pre-chopped mirepoix
Jarred or frozen garlic
Microwave rice

Jillian Guralski, MBA, MS, RDN, LDN is a Registered Dietitian and nutrition educator with more than 15 years of experience. She created The Jillian Method to make food, cooking, and everyday health habits feel more practical, flexible, and easier to live with.