One of my favorite things about living in Tucson is – believe it or not – access to tepary beans! The white ones are my favorite. They’re small, firm, slightly sweet, slightly earthy, and SO delicious. Cooking them in the Instant Pot is easy, though I add a few extra steps to make sure the onion mixture is full of flavor, too.

Ingredients:

• 2 white or yellow onions, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
• 2 cups dry white tepary beans, soaked (will yield ~4 cups of beans, after soaking!)
• 6-8 cups vegetable broth, depending on how much “pot liquor” (broth) you like in your beans (I make mine homemade from veggie scraps that I keep in the freezer…note to self: create blog post on making cheap and easy homemade broth!)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (adjust to your liking – I like a LOT)
• 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
• 2-3 cups chopped spinach or kale
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Saute the onions in olive oil over medium heat until they are translucent. You can add a little salt and pepper, if you’d like.
2. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown.
3. Add the coconut sugar to the onions and continue cooking them until they are nice and brown. I usually let mine go for about an hour over low heat.
4. When the onions are almost ready, put the soaked beans, drained of excess water, in the Instant Pot with the broth, nutritional yeast, and Herbes de Provence.
5. Add the onion mixture and stir to combine.
6. Set the Instant Pot on manual for 30 minutes.
7. After the beans cook, turn the Instant Pot off and let the pressure naturally release.
8. Once the pin has dropped and you can open the lid, stir the chopped spinach (or kale), salt, and pepper into the beans.
9. Let the mixture sit for approximately 10-15 minutes, long enough for the spinach to wilt.
10. Stir again to make sure all ingredients are incorporated and enjoy!