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Brazilian black beans are a delicious and indulgent dish, making them a perfect family treat. This easy instant pot black beans recipe, is packed with comforting flavors from smoked sausage and bacon, plus, as all Brazilian recipes, it’s loaded with all the garlic and onions. Thisbig batch recipe freezes wonderfully, and will make your midweek dinners a breeze!
Looking for the slow cooker version of this recipe? Check out Slow Cooker Black Beans Brazilian Style for instructions!
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Why I love this recipe
Oi Gente!
To me, a full plate of arroz e feijão (Brazilian rice and beans) is more Brazilian than carnaval and futebol. We Brazilians, usually eat beans pretty much everyday, almost in every meal. I mean, what’s not to love?!!Beans are easy to make, CHEAP, and protein-packed!They also freeze very well, and can last several meals. Not only that, they’re also a pretty diverse side dish, and good enough to just be eaten as a main dish. In other words, beans are AWESOME!
This Brazilian beans recipe has a special place in my heart as it’s the recipe I grew up eating. I remember coming home from school, and almost everyday being greeted by the sounds of a whistling stove top pressure cooker, and the delightful smells of my mom’s bacon, onion and garlic refogado, while she was preparing this very recipe, we’d then eat for lunch. And then again for dinner. This is definitely a dish packed with a lot more than just delicious flavors. To me, it’s packed with wonderful memories!
I hope you love this authentic Brazilian recipe as much as I do, and that you too create wonderful memories while making and eating it with your family and friends. And if you’re looking for a vegetarian black beans recipe to switch things up a bit, check this one out!
Bom Apetite!!
Beijinhos xx
Beans in Brazilian Cuisine
Beans are at the very center of Brazilian cuisine. There are a number of traditional regional Brazilian dishes with some kind of feijão as the star of the dish – tutu de feijão, acarajé, baião de dois, feijoada, and so many others. Depending on where you are in Brazilthe preference for color/type of beans will vary, but, when it comes to the basics and the day to day of the average Brazilian, the feijão Carioca (pinto bean) is the most consumed.
Although the pinto is the most consumed feijão in Brazil, in Rio, where I’m from, the star bean is the Feijão Preto (black beans).
This Brazilian style black beans recipe while meaty and comforting, is not at all the same thing as a traditional feijoada recipe. Feijoada is a different, much more elaborate, and even meatier dish, that includes Brazilian dry beef, and other cuts of pork. I’ll be posting that soon!
How to make Brazilian Black beans
Cooking dry beans may seem overwhelming, but I promise you, it’s actually really easy. The only actual hands on time in this recipe is about 20 mins, all of the other “time” is wait time while the beans are soaking and then when they’re cooking. Think of all the things you can do in between!
Anyway, there are 4 simple parts to this recipe.
TIP: If this is your first timecooking dry black beans, be sure to check out this post where I explain in detail how to cook dry beans. That post is loaded with all the basic info you need to know like, how to soak beans and why you should do that, especially if you’ll be using aninstant pot, how to freeze beans and more!
1- Before you cook the beans
- Pick, wash and soak the beans in cold water for at least 30 mins
- After 30 mins, drain all the water, wash again, then soak again for another 30 mins in cold water
- During the second soak, cut the sausage in 1-inch chunks, and set aside
- Drain again, wash well one last time
2 – Cooking the beans
- Add the beans to the instant pot, along with the sausage chunks
- Add the water to the pot and close
- Cook for 30 mins on manual
3 – While the beans are cooking
- Cut the onion, the bacon
- Prepare your Brazilian Sofrito, or mince the garlic
- Gather and measure the spices and set aside
4 – Seasoning Black Beans
- When the beans are fully cooked, change the instant pot setting to sauté and let them simmer uncovered. Season with salt and pepper, add the cumin, the vinegar, and the bay leaf to the pot, stir and continue to simmer for about 15 mins. At this point, we want to cook (stirring occasionally) untilthe liquid thickens a little.
- Meanwhile, add the bacon to a large skillet over medium to high heat, and let them cook until lightly browned.
- Add the olive oil to the skilled, then the onions and sautée until transparent.
- Now, add the garlic to the skillet, stir and sautée until fragrant and lightly golden (careful not to burn).
- Add the contents of the skillet tothe pot of beans
- Stir and let it simmer until the beans reach the desired thickness
If you’re freezing the beans, put them into freezer safe containers, then let it cool uncovered to room temperature. After that, put the lid on, then freeze. They should last a few months in the freezer, or about 5 days in the fridge.
These Brazilian Black beans pair perfect with
- Brazilian Rice
- Couve a Mineira – Brazilian Collard Greens with Bacon
- Farofa – Toasted Cassava Flour Recipe
- Fried Sweet Plantains
- Brazilian Lemonade
- Pan Seared Chicken Breast
- Bife Acebolado – Steak and Onions Recipe
Other Brazilian Recipes to try in the Instant Pot
- Hot Dog Pasta Recipe
- Salpicão – Brazilian Chicken Salad
- Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Brazilian Black Beans
Brazilian black beans are a delicious and indulgent dish, making them a perfect family treat. This easy instant pot black beans recipe, is packed with comforting flavors from smoked sausage and bacon, plus, as all Brazilian recipes, it's loaded with all the garlic and onions. Thisbig batch recipe freezes wonderfully, and will make your midweek dinners a breeze!
If you're looking for the slow cooker version of this recipe, check out Slow Cooker Black Beans Brazilian Style for instructions. If you need a vegetarian Black Beans Recipe, check this one out.
Prep Time: 1 hour hour
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Aline Shaw
Ingredients
- 16 oz dry Black Beans
- 1 14 oz Smoked sausage cut into chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt** *add more, or less salt as desired – depending on how salty the sausage and bacon you're using are – taste as you go!
- black pepper to taste
- ½ tsp of white vinegar
- 4 strips of smoked bacon cut into lardons
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 tbsp Brazilian Sofrito or 6 cloves of garlic, minced
Instructions
Pick, wash, then soak the beans in cold water for 30 mins.
Change the water, and soak in cold water for another 30 mins.
Drain beans, then add them to a pressure cooker or instant pot. Add the sausages and 5 1/2 cups of water.
Close the instant pot, and cook on manual for 30 mins.
After 30 mins, safely release the pressure and open the pan.
Change the now open/uncovered instant pot settings to sauté mode, and let the beans simmer, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper, add the cumin, the vinegar, and the bay leaf to the pan, stir and continue to simmer for about 15 mins.
Meanwhile, add the bacon to a large skillet over medium to high heat, and let them cook until lightly browned.
Add the olive oil to the skillet, then the onions and sautée until the onions are transparent, 2-3 mins.
Add the garlic to the skillet, stir and sautée until fragrant and lightly golden.
Add the contents of the skillet into the beans, stir and let it simmer until desired thickness is reached.
Bom Apetite!!
Did you make this recipe? Show me how it turned out! Snap a photo and share with me on Instagram tagging @aline_shaw!
Notes
**If you’re using a stove top pressure cooker, add an extra cup of water to this recipe. Please be careful. Pressure cookers can be dangerous, especially if there isn’t enough water left inside of the pan – they can explode! Always keep a close eye on the pan, and when in doubt STOP and check. Please use your pressure cooker with caution, and follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions.
