Instant Pot Creamy Vegan Black Beans

There were way too many adjectives to actually fit into the title of this black bean recipe, and only a few made the final cut. Honorable mentions for the rest of the list:

• Big batch
• Oil free
• Luscious (my husband’s words lol)
• Versatile
• Freezer friendly
• Protein packed
• Whole food plant based

Go make them right now and report back on any others you think should be added to the list!

For years, I’ve been loyal to this other vegan black bean recipe, which is still delicious in its own right, and will definitely stay in my repertoire for its layers of flavor and more complex spices. However, it’s more work, with extra chopping, measuring, ingredients, added oil, and standing over a hot stove attempting to fend off my toddlers. Not something I have a lot of patience for in my life right now. It also requires cooked beans, so you’re either loading up on canned beans or taking the huge extra step and dishes of cooking your own beans from scratch first. With a broken-since-November dishwasher, I honestly might cry if I see another dirty dish.

But I still LOVE black beans. Besides tofu and lentils, they’re one of my top plant based protein sources, so I was eager to try a black bean recipe that my neighbor Julie’s mom makes for her. When she sent the recipe, I wasn’t yet an Instant Pot pressure cooker owner, but she had me covered there, too. She lent me hers, and after trying out a red beans and rice recipe (so I could experiment with both legumes and grains in this glorious appliance), I basically sprinted to Target to pick up my own. You know it’s batch cooking central at NCK now, so I sprung for the ginormous 8 quart and have been singing its praises ever since.

Here’s the (affiliate) link to my Instant Pot on Amazon

Anyone else have amazing neighbors? After two years of apartment living, including a stretch at the end as a family of four (New Yorkers with families I don’t know how you do it), we moved into our house sort-of-in-the-city just in time for a pandemic to begin. Womp womp. The better part of our first spring and summer was spent with family, soaking up our last moments with my dad, and attempting to (begin to) heal and grieve in the wake of losing him. It was also filled with as much nesting as we could muster, wrapping up major renovations, unpacking boxes, and tending to the needs of a one- and three-year-old.

But winter on the lake brought a new camaraderie, and despite social distancing and not being able to go inside each other’s houses, our kids brought us together more and more with some remarkable neighbors. We began to connect while watching toddlers stumble around the ice with hockey sticks, a connection that has been absent for so many of us as we do our part to contribute to the best health for everyone. A delicious black bean recipe is one of so many awesome aspects of finally being part of a neighborhood again.

I think the only thing we can ask for now is to sit around a table to share a meal together.