Homemade beans are super healthy and easy to prep.

Making a big batch of black beans is a great way to meal prep for the week. Beans also freeze very well.

Instant Pot Black Beans

Just the Recipe | Instant Pot

1 lb Dried Black Beans

8 C. Cold Water

1 Onion

From the Pantry:

1 Bay Leaf

2 Dried Arbol Chili Peppers

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Coriander

1 tsp. Granulated Garlic

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Steps

Pick over the black beans, discarding broken beans, and looking for stones. Rinse in cold water.
Peel and halve the onion.
Add the dried beans, onion halves, and spices to the IP.
Cover with 8 cups of cold water.
Follow your IP directions. For the Instant Pot brand I use (see Kitchen Essentials), it’s 25 minutes on the Beans/Chili setting. Make sure the vent is set to ‘Sealing’ and follow all IP precautions. I allow to naturally release pressure for about 30 minutes and then quick release.
Pick out and dispose of the onion halves, bay leaf, and dried chilies. (Use tongs!)
Drain and store black beans in the refrigerator with some of the broth.

Black Bean Salad

Just the Recipe

3 C. Black Beans (recipe above)

1 1/2 C. Fresh or Defrosted Frozen Corn

1 C. Diced tomatoes

1/2 C. Diced Scallions/Green Onions

1 C. Freshly Chopped Cilantro

1 Lime

From the Pantry

Olive Oil

1 tsp. Cumin

Pinch of Cayenne

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Steps

Dice the tomatoes. Chop the scallions and cilantro.
In a large bowl, add 1/2 cup of olive oil, the juice of the lime, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. Cumin and pinch of Cayenne (skip if you’re not a fan of heat). Whisk together.
Add the black beans, corn, tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro to the bowl. Stir to combine.

Meal Block Plan | 6 Lunches

Spinach & Black Bean Salads

To assemble:

Black Bean Salad (Above)

Spinach

Salad Dressing

I use Chipotle Dressing (I make this Chipotle Honey recipe from Bri McKoy) but use any store bought/homemade dressing you’d like!

Optional Toppings: Sour Cream, Avocado, Salsa, Corn Chips, Lime Wedges, etc.

Steps

To 6 - 1 quart jars (I use Mason Jars or re-use quart size gelato containers, see photo), add 2 tsp of salad dressing. (Make these upside down to keep the spinach fresh and it easy to dump into a bowl at work!)
Add a cup of the black bean salad mixture. (The recipe above makes enough for 6 salads)
Top with spinach.
Assemble toppings into small containers or bags for each salad.
- For example, I’ll pack a mini-avocado, a small bag of corn chips, and/or a little Tupperware with a dollop of sour cream, extra cilantro, and a lime wedge for each day’s salad. Typically I shop the pantry and fridge for what I have on hand and determine toppings based on that.

#Kitchen Acumen Tips:

You do not have to pre-soak beans if you are going to cook them in a pressure cooker. Follow the directions that come with the model you purchase.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make dried beans in a Crock Pot. Soak the beans overnight. Drain, then follow the directions above but cook in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.
To confirm beans are cooked through, for both IP and Crock Pot, spoon up some beans and gently blow on them. Their peels should come up a bit/blow backwards. If the peels don’t move, keep cooking!
Let’s talk storing beans. And bean broth.
- I’ll make a pound at a time and store them in a big glass bowl in the fridge. I’ll plan for several meals in a week to use the beans while they are fresh. After about 5 days, I assess how many beans are left, how many more I think I can use, and then freeze the rest in pint or quart size freezer bags. Always label the bags clearly with contents and the date. Don’t let your freezer be the place food goes to die and get thrown out months later.
- I hate to dump out the liquid the beans cook in, especially when I season the cooking water. It’s so tasty and rich. So I keep much of the bean broth. The bowl of beans I keep in the fridge for the week usually has about a cup of broth to keep the beans from drying out. Then, I’ll drain the rest off and store it in the freezer as I do with any other stock/broth and defrost to use with soup and chili recipes. Some recipes the week I make the beans do use the broth, so I’ll keep the jar in the fridge until I freeze the extra beans we won’t get to and then both the beans and the broth go in the freezer. As with the beans, label the broth container clearly. It’s also helpful to keep a freezer inventory!
At the height of the summer, I’ll buy dozens of ears of corn. We get really good corn around here. We’ll make more than we can eat and I cut the rest off the cob and store it in pint-size freezer bags for recipes like this, cornbread, or chili, in the winter. You know I love to bottle up those summer flavors!
You can use the Black Bean Salad in many ways. Other options include:
- Topping for nachos (you know we love our nachos!)
- As a stand alone dip or as a layer in layered Mexican dip
  - For a layered dip starting at the bottom layer: refried pinto beans, black bean salad, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, top with scallions and/or sliced jalapeno peppers
- On top of or as a side for roasted fish or chicken
I’m hooked on Rancho Gordo’s heirloom beans. They are delicious. That said, when I’m out of RG’s, I buy dried beans from Aldi (so affordable and still tasty!) or Whole Foods.