Spicy Black Bean Chili with Hearty Greens {Instant Pot Pressure Cooker}

Seasoned with smoky chipotle chiles, mild tomato salsa, and green chiles, this spicy black bean chili with hearty greens will rock your chili world. You will totally love how the greens balance the already vibrant flavors of this nourishing vegetarian chili.

In addition to the greens, a lot of the depth and balance in this chili comes from smoked and dried jalapeños in sweet tangy, spiced puree of tomatoes and vinegar–chipotles in adobo. They’re spicy hot and the small amount of chipotle chile adds that perfect smoky heat.

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The way I see it, pressure-cooking is the only way to cook beans. This recipe shows you how to cook the soaked-overnight black beans in 13 minutes. Tack on sautéing onions and spices in the beginning, and adding greens at the end, in a realistic 40 minutes, you’ve got a comforting cool weather supper.

Five minutes after you stir the dark leafy greens into the pot, what at first seems like too many greens melts, practically disappears, into the hot beans. The vitamin-rich greens can be arugula, beet greens, mustard greens, or a mess ‘o greens mix, like the ready-to-cook Southern greens you can sometimes find at Trader Joes.

Finish your spicy black bean chili with a vegan garnish of jicama matchsticks, creamy avocado, and diced green chiles. If you like, you can add a sprinkle of salty cotija or feta cheese or a dollop of sour cream. Serve with cornbread or these savory cottage cheese dill muffins.

What if you don’t have a pressure cooker?

• From scratch: Depending on the age of the beans, and whether or not you’ve soaked the beans beforehand, cooking time will be 1 to 3 hours on a medium simmer. You’ll need to use more water than the pressure cooker recipe. Keep an eye on the water level as the beans cook, always keeping them covered with liquid.
• With canned beans: Saute the onions and garlic per recipe. Substitute 4 cans rinsed and drained black beans for the dried beans. To meld all the flavors into the beans, cook, covered on medium low flame about 30 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, stir in the chopped greens.

Spicy Black Bean Chili with Hearty Greens notes:

• Be sure to inspect the beans before soaking and pick out any small stones masquerading as beans. Cover soaking beans with plenty of water—at least 6 cups. If you didn’t pre-soak the beans, cook 35 to 40 minutes in the pressure cooker.
• Have you ever bought a can of chipotles, used one or two, and then wondered what to do with the rest? Do this: Blend the spicy chiles right out of the can, with just enough oil to smoothen them out. Use what you need, and store what’s left in the freezer.
• To add chipotle chile smoky complexity to a recipe later, warm the container in hot water, just long enough to coax the frozen sauce out onto a cutting board. Slice off what you need and pop the container back in the freezer. Adobe red chipotle oil will jazz up vinaigrette, mayonnaise, pizza, and, of course, spicy black bean chili with hearty greens!
• The chipotle chile oil idea comes from my favorite cookbook (affiliate link) author, Deborah Madison.

Here’s another recipe you might like. The ample amount of greens shrink incredibly in this–spaghetti with beet greens.

**This recipe first appeared on Pressure Cooking Today where I’m a contributor.

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5 from 3 votes

Spicy Black Bean Chili with Hearty Greens

The timing is for pressure cooker or Instant Pot. This spicy black bean chili with hearty greens will rock your chili world. You will totally love how the greens balance the already vibrant flavors of this nourishing vegetarian chili. Makes about 8 servings.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: arugula, black beans, leafy greens

Servings: 8 servings.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black beans, rinsed and soaked 6 to 8 hours or overnight (see note)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large red onions, chopped, about 5 cups
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 3 to 4 cups water (see note)
• 2 teaspoons chipotle chile oil (recipe below)
• 7 ounces mild green chiles, diced
• 1 cup red salsa ,purchased or homemade
• 5 ounces bitter greens, e.g. arugula beet greens, mess o' greens, mustard greens, etc., washed, large stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Avocado
• Jicama ,cut in matchstick lengths
• Diced green chiles
• Chopped cilantro leaves
• Cotija cheese crumbles , optional
• Sour cream or Mexican crema , optional

For the Chipotle Oil:

• 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 to 3 tablespoons avocado oil

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over medium flame. (see notes for regular stove-top cooking)
• Add the onions and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, and oregano, stirring to mix into the onions. Add the water, soaked beans, chipotle oil, green chiles, and salsa.
• Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure 13 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
• Stir in the greens and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until they shrink and disappear into the beans. The time depends on the greens. For example, beet greens will take longer to cook, and arugula less time.
• Stir in the vinegar. Taste, adding salt to your liking. Serve with your choice of garnishes, vegan or the optional cheese and sour cream.

For the chipotle oil:

• In a blender puree the chiles with the oil until smooth, adding a bit more oil, if needed, for a smooth paste. Reserve in freezer to use as desired.

Notes

• For regular stove-top cooking, be sure to soak the beans beforehand. Keep an eye on the water level as the beans cook, always keeping them covered with liquid. Depending on the age of the beans, cooking time will be one to 3 hours, until the beans are perfectly tender.
• With canned beans: Saute the onions and garlic per recipe. Substitute 4 cans, rinsed and drained, black beans for the dried beans. To meld all the flavors into the beans, cook, covered on medium low flame about 30 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, stir in the chopped greens.
• For a thicker chili, use the smaller amount of water.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 503mg | Potassium: 987mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1213IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 4mg

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