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Instant Pot White Navy Beans (No Soak)

March 13, 2020 by Carmy 15 Comments

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Here’s how to use your Instant Pot to make white navy beans – a simple and quick method for cooking dried navy beans beans in a pressure cooker in around an hour! No soaking required.

white beans cooked in the instant pot

What are White Beans?

“White beans” can refer to a couple different beans: Navy beans, Great Northern beans, Cannellini beans, or Baby Lima beans. They’re all white beans and to be honest, they kinda look the same. I even know people who use the white beans interchangeably for recipes. So what’s the difference?

White Navy Beans: also called pea beans, the white Navy beans are small, oval-shaped, and quicker to cook. As they get creamy when cooked, they’re perfect for mashing, pureeing in dips, and thickening soups, stews, and more. 

Great Northern Beans: larger than Navy Beans but smaller than Cannellini beans, medium-sized Great Northern beans are known for their mild, nutty flavour and firm flesh. They hold their shape better than the smaller white Navy bean.

Cannellini Beans: they are the largest of the white beans family, also called White Kidney Beans. Their flavour profile is nutty and earthy, and cannellini beans keep their shape best out of all of them.

Baby Lima Beans: also called butterbeans, they have a distinctive flat-oval shape with a mild earthiness flavour and a creamy, buttery texture.

For today’s Instant Pot recipe, I’ll be using white navy beans. I have not tested the other white with the other beans.

Why use the Instant Pot to Cook Navy Beans?

With the Instant Pot, you can go from dried beans to tender cooked beans in around an hour. No soaking required!

Just like my Instant Pot chickpea recipe, I don’t soak my beans beforehand. While some people like to soak their beans overnight because they find it easier to digest, I personally do not feel a difference.

However, I will preface this with a disclaimer that not soaking the beans beforehand will cause more beans to have their skin split. It doesn’t affect the flavour of the navy beans but it’s just not the prettiest. If having the beans look whole and pretty is a main concern (ie dinner party guests!), you can soak the beans overnight and and pressure cook it for half the time.

Natural Pressure Release or Quick Release beans?

I prefer to natural pressure release my navy beans when cooking in the Instant Pot. It keeps the beans from splitting even further and it doesn’t over cook in the IP so it means I don’t have to run to the pot right away when meal prepping and just get to it when I get to it.

What You’ll Need to Cook Navy Beans in the Instant Pot

  • dried navy beans: 1 cup dried beans = 3 cups of cooked beans.
  • water or stock: I prefer using stock as it makes the beans more flavourful. I like using Better Than Bouillon.
  • garlic
  • salt
  • olive oil: this keeps it from getting too foamy if you end up quick releasing.

dried navy beans in a glass container

How to make Instant Pot Navy Beans

Rinse your dried navy beans and combine all the ingredients into the Instant Pot.

Press manual on your Instant Pot and set the timer for 25 minutes. It can take up to 15-20 minutes to pressure up. When done, natural pressure release or quick release after 10-15 minutes.

How To Storage Your Beans cooked from Dried

Cooked navy beans can be used right away, or cooled and stored in their cooking liquid. They will keep for up to a week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag or mason jar.

pressure cooked navy beans stored in a mason jar

Notes on Making Dried Navy Beans in the Instant Pot

If your beans come out too firm, the age of your dried beans can be a factor. Dry beans are best used within two years of harvest. See if pressure cooking them for another 1-2 minutes helps.

I have the Duo Plus 9 in 1 Instant Pot and this is the only Instant Pot model the recipe has been tested in.

Recipes than Uses White Beans

  • Chicken Chili Soup (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot)
  • Instant Pot Spicy Beef and Rice
  • Tuscan White Bean, Kale, Pancetta, and Polenta Soup
  • Tuscan Bean Salad
  • White Bean Hummus
white beans cooked in the instant pot

Instant Pot White Navy Beans (No Soak)

Here’s how to use your Instant Pot to make white navy beans – a simple and quick method for cooking dried navy beans beans in a pressure cooker in around an hour! No soaking required.
5 from 9 votes
Print Rate
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
NPR: 15 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dried navy beans
  • 6 cups water or stock
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Instructions

  • Rinse your dried navy beans and combine all the ingredients into the Instant Pot.
  • Press manual on your Instant Pot and set the timer for 25 minutes. It can take up to 15-20 minutes to pressure up. When done, natural pressure release or quick release after 10-15 minutes.

Notes

Cooked navy beans can be used right away, or cooled and stored in their cooking liquid. They will keep for up to a week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I'm always so happy to hear about it! I'd love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I'd really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 822mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 4mg
Authour: Carmy
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Instant Pot

More Instant Pot Recipes You May Like

  • Instant Pot Korean Inspired Ragu
  • Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
  • Instant Pot Coconut Thai Curry Chicken
  • Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
  • Spicy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Meal Prep (inspired by the chicken burrito bowls from Chipotle)

 

Other places to connect with me
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Email: [email protected]


Want more information about meal prepping? Confused and curious about how to start meal prepping? Want to have everything you need in one convenient spot? Check out my new e-book - it is everything you need to know to start meal prepping!  ♥

Filed Under: All Recipes, Instant Pot, Recipes Tagged With: beans

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CR

    April 23, 2020 at 3:27 pm

    5 stars
    I do use My 6 quart and 8 quart Insta pot regularly. Yum.

    Reply
  2. Gloria

    May 15, 2020 at 9:45 am

    5 stars
    Always a super healthy and economical way to make beans. Love the fact they are cooked much faster this way. I love cooking them in my pressure cooker.

    Reply
  3. Sean

    May 16, 2020 at 2:17 pm

    5 stars
    Wonderful, simple, perfect little recipe! I love making beans in my Instant Pot, and I rarely soak them (though I’m thinking about trying with kidney beans as an experiment). Great notes on the age of the beans and trouble-shooting too.

    Reply
  4. debra

    May 18, 2020 at 11:22 am

    5 stars
    I literally jumped up and put on an insta pot of these beans while still in the midst of reading your post. Such a good reminder how quick and easy they are to make. My head is swimming with ideas for dinner tonight. THANK YOU!

    Reply
  5. Tracy

    May 18, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    5 stars
    Another great reason to love the Instant pot! So glad it takes the soaking piece out of it – another time saver! Thanks so much for all of the great tips!

    Reply
  6. Virginia Holbrook-Heggie

    May 31, 2020 at 10:39 am

    5 stars
    Can this recipe be also used for:pinto,black beans, and red beans?

    Reply
    • Carmy

      May 31, 2020 at 11:15 am

      I’ve personally only tried it with black eye beans and pinto only and it worked :)

      Reply
  7. Rakisha Cooper

    September 8, 2020 at 9:40 am

    5 stars
    Excellent base recipe for navy beans. I had to add my own twist as far as seasonings (smoked turkey tails, fenugreek, Badia Complete, Bragg’s Organic Sprinkle and freshly ground black pepper) and veggies (carrots, celery, onions, orange peppers, fresh garlic, and a few leftover string beans thrown in). I had to add a bit more time, 5 minutes but 20 minutes was a great start. Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply
    • Carmy

      September 8, 2020 at 9:58 am

      So glad you enjoyed!!

      Reply
  8. Christine Stone

    September 12, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    I followed this recipe to a T but they are still hard beans. I am experienced owner/ user of my Instant pot. Pot worked as it should. I am going to add more time to mine and see how they turn out. If it fails guess I’m heading to the store.

    Reply
    • Carmy

      September 12, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      Hi Christine – do you know how old your beans are? Older beans take longer to cook.

      Reply
  9. Lindy

    December 14, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    Followed to a T but my beans burned and stuck to the bottom and are still hard. I’m cooking longer but the fact that they are burned I doubt they will be very good 😑. The beans were bought today so they are not old.

    Reply
    • Carmy

      December 14, 2020 at 7:51 pm

      What size Instant Pot are you using? There’s enough liquid in this recipe that nothing should have burnt. There should also be enough liquid leftover every time for you to store your beans.

      Reply
      • Ann

        December 31, 2020 at 2:48 pm

        Is this a 3 quart recipe or a 6 quart recipe?

        Reply
        • Carmy

          January 1, 2021 at 5:24 pm

          This recipe was tested in a 6qt.

          Reply

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Carmy is a healthy-ish living blogger based in Toronto. Here you can find healthy-ish meal prep recipes, Instant Pot recipes, and lightened up family favourites! Follow along on as she shares what she learns along the way!

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