How to Make Instant Pot Great Northern Beans

Cooking dried beans in the Instant Pot is amazingly easy. You don't even have to soak the dried beans. And you can turn a bag of dried beans into a delicious dish that is packed full of nutrition.

For less than $3 you have the beginnings of a healthy meal, side dish or ingredient for homemade soup and stews.

How To Flavor Dried Beans

Ham is one of the best flavorings to add to dried beans. I usually use a ham bone, a chunk of ham, bacon or even a ham hock to season a pot of dried beans.

But what if you don't have some type of ham on hand? If you don't have a piece of ham to season a pot of dried beans Hurst's dried great northern beans come with a ham seasoning packet.

What options do you have? If your planning on using the beans for other recipes like soup or stews you don't need to worry about seasoning the beans with ham.

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If you plan on eating great northern beans as a meal you can add other dried herbs and fresh vegetables to the beans. I like to add onion and garlic. You can add sliced or diced carrots or celery.

I always add salt, pepper and bay leaf to my beans. You can also use thyme to add more flavor.

Instant Pot Dried Beans

My favorite thing about cooking with the Instant Pot is that it makes quick work out of cooking dried unsoaked beans.

It only takes 30 to 45 minutes to cook great northern beans in the Instant Pot. Amazing! It takes hours on the stove.

If you have soaked beans you would reduce the pressure cooking time to 20 to 25 minutes.

Prep

• Prep rinse the dried beans under cold running water.
• Pick out any debris or discolored beans.
• Mince the onion and garlic.

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What to make with great northern beans

• Beans and rice
• Freeze the beans in portions to use for soup or stew recipes.
• Mash 1 cup of cooked beans and use it to thicken soups or stews.
• Sprinkle the beans on a salad.

Recipe Notes

I used dried beans that came with a ham seasoning pack. I didn't add ham at all to my pot of beans. If you don't have a ham seasoning pack you can add a ham bone, ham hock or even half a pound of uncooked diced bacon.

Do you need broth to cook beans?

For years I used water when I cooked dried beans. It is only recently that I started using broth instead of water. The broth will add a bit more flavor to the beans but it is not necessary. The beans can be cooked in water and still taste amazing.

Ingredients

• 20 oz. bag dried great northern beans (I used Hurst's Great Northern Beans with original ham flavor seasoning packet) SEE NOTES
• Small onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 dried bay leaf
• 6 cups chicken broth or water

Directions

1. Pour the rinsed and drained dried beans into a 6 or 8-quart pressure cooker.
2. Add the minced onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and seasoning pack if using Hurst's Great Northern Beans.
3. Pour the chicken broth or water into the pressure cooker. Stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to combine.
4. Place the lid on and position the pressure valve to the sealing position.
5. Push the manual button or the bean button and set the timer to 30 minutes.
6. After the beans have finished pressure cooking let the steam natural release.
7. The natural steam release will take about 20 minutes.
8. Check to see if the beans are done. If some of the beans are still hard place the lid back on. Push the valve back to the sealing position and press the manual button again. Cook for another 15 minutes and do a quick release.
9. Remove the lid. The beans should be soft and tender.
10. Serves over cooked white rice
11. Makes about 8 servings of beans and rice.
12. The pressure cooked beans freeze well.

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