Dear reader, I have been cooking beans for decades, and by habit I soak them overnight. Recently, I thought I would try something new. Every pressure cooking blog notes that you can cook beans without pre-soaking in an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I tried it and it did not go well. My Navy Beans took 80 minutes instead of the suggested 25-40 minutes. What the heck! Food is expensive with inflation and all of the other economic issues that we are dealing with. I wasn’t about to throw out the beans. I needed to do some investigative work, and I used some AI tools. They quickly found my problems:
- I used tomato paste when pressure cooking the beans. It would be better to add this after the beans are cooked.
- The glazed ham remnants that I used in the soup were fairly high in sugar, which also extended the cooking time.
- AI specifically asked me if I bought my beans from Amazon (I did) as apparently their various brands are known to use old beans. Old beans can take twice as long to cook as premium, fresher beans like Rancho Gordo.
Let’s look at AI’s suggestions and the result!
A quick (1 hr) soak in boiling water before pressure cooking speeds up softening for old beans. Adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt to the soaking water helps, too.
In goes the salt and baking soda. AI advised 1 t baking soda and 1T salt. I’m using less water (I’m only soaking 1/2 pound of Navy Beans), so I halved the baking soda and salt.
In goes the boiling water, then a quick mix.
I covered the beans and let them sit for an hour. I drained the beans and rinsed them to remove the salt and baking soda. I added them to my electric pressure cooker with fresh water, and pressure cooked them on high for 40 minutes. Always follow your pressure cookers safety advice (in the manual). I depressurized the pot after the 40 minute cook time. In this experiment I didn’t do a natural release. Since I didn’t use a natural release I initially let out the steam slowly, and then opened up the release valve fully. I didn’t want bean juice spraying about my kitchen.
This electric pressure cooker is pretty cool. It is a Wolfgang Puck brand and it was introduced in 2006, four years before the first Instant Pot hit the market. It uses a simple rotary dial, but it can do all of the basic pressure cooker functions (searing, pressuring cooking, and keep warm). I bought it barely used for a very good price. Pressure cookers make your cooking life easier. If you are interested in buying a new or used one at a bargain price check out my link at the bottom of this post.
Here they are, very soft. Yes, some are broken, but I’m OK with that; I’m just a home cook. I would much rather have them buttery soft than whole and hard. I probably could’ve pressure-cooked them for 30 minutes and gotten a more aesthetically pleasing bean.
I’ll stored them in a jar; it is important to keep them in some of the cooking water. They will stay fresh in the fridge for about 5 days, or you can freeze them for longer storage. However, I decided to use them in yet another soup recipe.
You can rescue old beans with a little effort. I’ll probably keep soaking beans overnight. In the past, when I found old beans in my pantry (that I had forgotten about), I added a pinch of baking soda to the overnight soak. However, the above tests prove you can speed up that process by using a little chemistry and common sense. You certainly could add 1 t of baking soda and 1 T of salt to a cold overnight soak if you were dealing with some ancient legumes.
You don’t know how old a bean is when you buy it. AI suggests that buying them from Amazon is a poor choice, and it is likely better to buy them from your grocer, as they may have a quicker turn around. You can also go with a premium brand like Rancho Gordo, but those beans are pricey.
Interested in buying an electric pressure cooker but on a budget? Check out my September 15, 2026 post (link below).
https://www.drmikekuna.com/2026/09/15/
Peace
Mike