Ingredients - Exactly As I Made Them:
• 1 lb navy beans, rinsed and sorted
• 4 cups water (to cook beans)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced + sautéed with pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup Grandma's Molasses - Original
• 1/3 cup organic brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Black pepper to taste
My Method - 25 Min + Sauce:
Step 1 - Cook the beans:
1. Add rinsed navy beans + 4 cups water to Instant Pot.
2. Seal and pressure cook HIGH 25 minutes.
3. Quick release, drain beans but SAVE 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid.
Step 2 - Mix sauce & finish:
1. In a bowl, whisk Grandma's Molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, and salt.
2. Set Instant Pot to Sauté, add a little olive oil and sauté your diced onion with a pinch of salt until soft.
3. Add the cooked beans back in, pour the sauce over, add 3/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid and stir.
4. Seal again and pressure cook HIGH 10 minutes to let the sauce soak in.
5. Natural release 10 minutes, then open. Set to Sauté 5-8 minutes to thicken to that spoon-coating thickness in your photo.
Why this 2-step method works: Cooking the beans first in water makes them creamy inside. Adding the molasses/sugar after keeps them from staying hard, sugar and vinegar can toughen beans if added too early.
Taste tip: If you want more smoky like Boston beans, next time add 1 tsp smoked paprika to your sauce mix
