This vegan version of Edna Lewis’s classic baked beans recipe, The Taste of Country Cooking, uses onions and tomatoes for a little sweetness and an Instant Pot for speed. With just a few ingredients, the beans are imbued with deep flavor, perfect for serving with crunchy bread or a green salad, over rice or starchy vegetables, or wrapped in tortillas. This recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Get ahead: Before proceeding with the recipe, the beans must be soaked for 8-12 hours.
storage: It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
material
Quantity: 8 (makes about 8 cups)
direction
Active: 10 minutes
|Total: 1 hour an additional 8-12 hours to soak the beans
step 1
In a 6-quart Instant Pot or other multicooker, combine beans, water, onions, aminos, tomato paste, smoked paprika, black pepper, and mustard.
Step 2
Close the pot lid tightly and close the pressure valve. Select Pressure (High) and set it to 30 minutes. (It takes about 10 minutes for the appliance to come to pressure before it starts cooking.) When cooking is complete, cover your hands with a towel or hot pad and manually apply pressure by moving the pressure relief handle to “Vent.” I’ll release it. Do not put your hands or face close to the vents when steam is coming out.
Step 3
Taste the soup and season with aminos and/or salt as needed. Please enjoy warm.
replacement
Don’t you have navy beans? >> Use Cannellini, Great Northern, Cranberry/Borlotti, or Pinto. Liquid Aminos >> Coconut aminos or low-sodium tamari.
variation
To bake these instead, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees. Heat the beans and water in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except salt, stir, cover and bake for about 3 hours or until beans are very tender and fragrant. (Check the pot occasionally, and if the liquid has reduced to no longer cover the beans, add just enough boiling water to cover the beans and continue cooking.) Taste and add aminos and/or salt as needed. Season.