Cooking Black Beans Without Soaking

Big serving bowl filled with perfectly tender homemade black beans

If you can cover beans with water and turn your stove burner on, you can make these black beans. From scratch! I believe in us. Let's do it!

Wood platter displaying dry beans, onion, garlic, vegetable broth, adobo chiles, and kombu

For some of you, making beans from scratch may seem like old hat. But for those of us less experienced (hand raised) in the art of buying bulk beans to cook yourself, this recipe is good news.

After a little trial and error, research, and testing, we came to realize that if you want black beans that are flavorful, perfectly tender, and not mushy, they actually turn out tastier, less mushy, and deeper in color when you skip soaking before cooking. This is wonderful because it not only saves time, but there's also virtually no prep timeand the beans are ready in less than 2 hours!

That's right! This recipe is super easy, requiring just 6 ingredients and 1 pot to make.

A large pot filled with ingredients for making Easy 1-Pot Black Beans

How to Cook Black Beans

Because the beans aren't soaked beforehand, it's a good idea to add a strip of kombu (seaweed) to make the beans easier to digest. And for flavor, add a halved onion and some garlic. Another way to infuse more flavor is to add some vegetable broth to the pot. We prefer a ratio of 3:1 water to vegetable broth.

Next, cook your beans until tender. Then remove the onion and kombu and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to evaporate some of the extra moisture. This is also an excellent time to add your salt and other seasonings. For a smoky, spicy note, we added cumin powder and two chipotles in adobo sauce.

Stirring a large pot of tender, flavorful homemade black beans created using our Easy 1-Pot Black Beans recipe

We hope you all LOVE these black beans! They're:

Easy to make
Flavorful
Perfectly tender
NOT mushy
Versatile
Healthy
& Super delicious

These beans are so delicious on their own, but they would also work well with things like burrito bowls, tacos, nachos, veggie burgers and more!

More Homemade Bean Recipes

Instant Pot Black Beans (Perfect Beans Every Time!)
1-Pot Pinto Beans
1-Pot BBQ Baked Beans

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Grabbing a spoonful of homemade black beans that are perfectly tender and flavorful

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 10 (1/2-cup servings)

Course Side

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan

Freezer Friendly 1 month

Does it keep? 5-7 Days

BEANS

1 pound dry black beans* (rinsed and sorted // for soaking, see notes)
3/4 cup white or yellow onion (gently peeled, not chopped)
5 cloves garlic (smashed and peeled // but not diced)
1 strip kombu* (seaweed to improve digestibility)
Water
Vegetable broth*
Sea salt + black pepper to taste

ADD INS (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin (for smokiness)
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (for heat)

Add beans, onion, garlic, and kombu to a pot and cover with 3 inches water/vegetable broth. We went with a ratio of about 2/3 water and 1/3 vegetable broth for a little flavor.
Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour – 1 hour 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. If during that time the beans are no longer covered in enough liquid to cook, add more water or vegetable broth to just cover.
Once tender, remove the onion and kombu and scoop out any excess liquid that's making the beans soupy (some liquid is good, just scoop out any excess sitting at the top).
Season beans to taste at this time. We added salt, cumin powder, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Then increase heat to medium/medium-high (the beans should be bubbling) and cook – stirring occasionally (uncovered) – for 10-15 more minutes. The liquid should evaporate a bit more.
Your beans are now ready to enjoy! These make a delicious addition to burrito bowls, burritos, tacos, nachos, taco salads, veggie burgers, and more. You could also add them to chili!
Store beans well covered in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days. Will keep in the freezer for 1 month (oftentimes longer).

*1 pound dried beans typically equals 2 cups dried or 4-5 cups cooked beans.
*We didn't find soaking necessary for texture and flavor. But if you'd like to soak the beans for improved digestibility, soak overnight in cool water, or for 6 hours. Then drain and proceed with recipe as instructed.
*Don't worry – you can't taste the kombu in the beans. It's just there to help improve digestibility.
*As the recipe is written, we used a ratio of 2/3 water + 1/3 vegetable broth.
*Method adopted from the talented folks at Serious Eats.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with DIY vegetable broth, 1/4 tsp each sea salt and black pepper, and without optional add-ins.

Serving: 1 half-cup servings Calories: 176 Carbohydrates: 31.8 g Protein: 11 g Fat: 1 g Saturated Fat: 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.07 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 216 mg Potassium: 770 mg Fiber: 8.2 g Sugar: 2.1 g Vitamin A: 706 IU Vitamin C: 2.98 mg Calcium: 72.44 mg Iron: 2.98 mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

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