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Black beans are stewed in the pressure cooker with spicy Hatch chiles, smoky andouille sausage, and fall-off-the-bone tender chicken legs.
By
J. Kenji López-Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process
Updated September 14, 2023
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Why It Works
- A pressure cooker will get your chicken fall-off-the-bone tender in just about the same time as it takes to cook the black beans.
- Minimal ingredients and only a few steps make for an easy, one-pot, ready-in-under-an-hour meal packed with flavor.
My wife has taught me many things, but few as mind-blowing and useful asthis five ingredient, one pot, 30-minutes Colombian chicken stew with potatoes and tomatoes. It works like this: Add chicken, potatoes, fresh tomatoes, sliced onion, and bay leaves to a pressure cooker. Seal the lid and heat it. As the tomatoes and chicken heat, they give off liquid which in turn cooks the potatoes while the onions add flavor to the whole thing. Because the high heat of a pressure cooker cooks so efficiently, you end up with spoon-tender chicken and potatoes in an intensely flavored broth all in 30 minutes or less. How do you like that!
The concept of using minimal, but carefully selected ingredients and relying on the pressure cooker to extract flavor while cooking them was an intriguing one, so I decided to try my hand at coming up with a few more one-pot meals in a similar style, this time using a combination of chicken and various legumes. It providesdinner for four with inexpensive ingredients, a few minutes of actual labor, one pot on the stove, and all in about one hour start to finish.
This dish is a variation on a common theme: beans and smoked pork. As Idiscovered last year, black beans actually benefit fromnotsoaking, which makes them an ideal candidate for a fast recipe like this. I start by sautéing some sliced smoked andouille sausage in olive oil in my pressure cooker before adding some chopped onions and a big dash of cumin. Next, I add a can of diced Hatch chiles (regular diced green chiles will work fine if you can't find Hatch), my black beans, my chicken, somehomemadeor store-bought low-sodium chicken stock, and the stems from a small bunch of cilantro.
I seal it all up and bring it to high pressure. Since we're starting from raw dried beans, it takes a bit longer than thelentil versionI developed. About 40 minutes on high pressure does the trick. The chicken in this version ends up cooking to the point where it pretty much falls off the bone no matter what you do with it, so rather than trying to keep it in larger pieces, I decided to shred it before stirring it back into the finished pot.
A handful of chopped cilantro, some lime wedges, and a dollop of sour cream and you've got yourself one heck of a stew.
January 2015
This recipe was cross-tested in 2023 and lightly edited to ensure best results.
Recipe Details
Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken and Black Bean Stew Recipe
Prep10 mins
Cook90 mins
Active15 mins
Resting Time15 mins
Total115 mins
Serves4to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable or other neutral oil
8 ounces smoked sausage (227g), such as andouille or kielbasa, sliced into 1/4-inch disks (1 2/3 cups)
1 medium onion (8 ounces; 227g), diced (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Two 4-ounce cans diced green chiles (preferably Hatch)
8 ounces (227g) dried black beans (1 heaping cup)
12 sprigs cilantro, leaves roughly chopped (1/2 cup), stems tied together with a piece of kitchen twine, divided
1 quart (950ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
4 chicken legs, divided into thighs and drumsticks (about 2 pounds; 900g)
Sour cream, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook until starting to crisp around edges, about 2 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes longer. Add cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chiles, dried black beans, cilantro stems, and stock. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Seal pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook for 30 minutes. Cool pressure cooker under a cold running tap (if using an electric cooker, use the quick release valve), and open.
Add chicken pieces to pressure cooker. Seal pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook for 10 minutes. Cool pressure cooker under a cold running tap (if using an electric cooker, use the quick release valve), and open. Using tongs, transfer chicken pieces to a medium bowl. Discard cilantro stems. Return beans in pressure cooker to high heat and continue cooking, stirring, until reduced to a thick, stew-like consistency, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, shred chicken and discard skin and bones. Stir chicken into beans, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in half of chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, and remaining cilantro at the table.
Special Equipment
Electric or stovetop pressure cooker
Read More
- Chicken Chile Verde Pressure Cooker
- Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Masala
- 30-Minute Pressure Cooker Chicken With Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Chorizo
- Better Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
468 | Calories |
22g | Fat |
31g | Carbs |
39g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings: 4to 6 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 468 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 22g | 28% |
Saturated Fat 7g | 33% |
Cholesterol 144mg | 48% |
Sodium 1303mg | 57% |
Total Carbohydrate 31g | 11% |
Dietary Fiber 7g | 26% |
Total Sugars 3g | |
Protein 39g | |
Vitamin C 24mg | 118% |
Calcium 116mg | 9% |
Iron 5mg | 26% |
Potassium 1170mg | 25% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)