Let’s talk about the ultimate cheat code: a pressure cooker. This is the difference between driving a beat-up sedan and hopping into a sportscar. A pressure cooker uses steam and high pressure to force water inside the beans in a fraction of the time.
No soak? Not a problem. Dried chickpeas go from rock-hard to tender in about 40 minutes in an Instant Pot. Black beans? Twenty-five minutes. It’s like giving your beans a personal jetpack.
If you don’t have one, don’t worry—you can simulate a similar effect by cooking beans in a tightly covered pot on the stove with minimal water. It’s not as fast, but it helps.