Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
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Thanks to the pressure cooker, everyone’s favorite New Orleans dish can be made in no time! No need to presoak the beans either. Simply throw everything into the Instant Pot and let it do the work for you. SO EASY!
So I’ll be completely honest with you.
I never cook with dried beans. Never, ever, ever.
I have always used canned beans instead. That is, until now.
Because hello? The IP can pressure cook the beans in just a fraction of the time it would take in real life! (“Real life” meaning stovetop.)
And guess what? There’s no pre-soak needed here either!
So there you have it. Red beans and rice literally from scratch using dried beans.
If you want to keep it vegetarian, you can omit the andouille sausage but still keep the same cooking time in the IP.
Just be sure to serve warm with rice and a dash of Tabasco for a kick of heat!
Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white long grain rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 12.8-ounce package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 1 pound dry red beans
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or more, to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 3 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Add olive oil and sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Add garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in sausage, red beans, Cajun seasoning, oregano, basil, sage, thyme, bay leaves and vegetable broth; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 30-35 minutes. When finished cooking, release pressure naturally according to manufacturer's directions, about 20-30 minutes.*
- Serve immediately with rice and hot sauce, garnished with green onions, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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The flavors in this recipe are great, but as several others have already noted, the beans were not near done enough for our taste. We’re from the south so we tend to our beans cooked really tender. I cooked ours in the 6 quart Instant Pot for the 35 minutes per the recipe and natural release. I cooked them again for another 10, then 5, then finally 25 more minutes and they were finally done to our liking.
Absolutely delicious! Substituted vegan sausage and added two diced jalapeno peppers. What amazing flavor, and so good for you. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome!
Thanks for the recipe. I made this last night and it was very easy and delicious. Here are a few comments/suggestions:
– The total cook time is more like 2-1/2 hours. It took me nearly 30 minutes to chop up the sausage and veggies and get them all sautéed and then measure out the rest of the ingredients, it takes about 20 minutes for the pot to heat up in the pressure cook cycle, it took 50 minutes of pressure cooking for my beans to be soft (I checked them after 35 and they were still very hard), and another 40 minutes for the natural cool down cycle. Once everything is in the pot you can just walk away and let it do its thing, but it takes WAY longer and 65 minutes for this recipe, so keep this in mind for planning purposes.
– My batch needed a little more seasoning so I added 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, an extra teaspoon of the cajun seasoning and a lot of salt and black pepper. Next time I might add more.
I will definitely make this again and keep playing around with the seasonings and timing. Overall great recipe!
This recipe came out great! I did soak the beans for 8 hours because I am new to an IP and not sure of it’s capabilities yet. For those that would prefer a crock pot, use a crock pot recipe. This is for an INSTAPOT. Thanks for another great recipe!
Smelled great when opening but quite a few beans were still crunchy after 35 mins and natural pressure release. Currently reheating and putting back under pressure for another 15-20 mins to finish cooking. Will update with results.
Wonderful flavor, but to my palate and my husnad’s, way too spicy. Will definitely make again, but will use 1/3 of the called for Cajun seasoning.
Good call, make it your own! 🙂
Do you have an idea of what the time would differ if using canned beans? I’m assuming a lot less…I want to try it with dried at some point…maybe after soaking, but since I have canned…just curious…if not, that’s OK…I might try and report back…Thanks!
That sounds like a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I too found the flavor delicious but at 33 minutes the beans were nowhere near done. Finishing them on the slow cooker program for 2 more hours.
This was good in terms of flavor but I found that I needed to cook the beans for WAY longer (like an extra 30 minutes) in my instant pot so that they would be tender enough.
I tried your recipe and it turned out delicious! I only made one change that I think lengthened the amount of cooking time – I added a small frozen smoked pork neck to add flavor. I used the “small” red beans (versus the larger red beans) and cooked for 35 minutes at high pressure. The beans were still a little tough at this time, so I turned on at high pressure again for 8 more minutes and they were just right. Maybe if I had added a thawed piece of meat, the cooking time would have been fine (and it’s probably not really needed with the sausage). I’m fairly new to the Instant Pot, and from this experience I learned that with a quick release method it is not that hard to add minutes if the food is not quite cooked enough, and just check again. My thoughts for the other commenters that also had extended cooking times – did they possibly use the larger red beans? And were their beans fresh? (Beans can take longer if they are old). Anyway, I found this to be a good and easy recipe. The whole family enjoyed. (I live in Indiana, so am not at a higher altitude).
Thank you for your feedback and inout Martha! We appreciate it!
Is there a way to make the rice with the beans together in the IP? I’ve made rice in the IP with other ingredients before, specifically with chicken to make a version of “chicken biryani” but it’s hard for me to get good rice in the IP, usually it’s mushy. This recipe looks great, I’m just wondering if there is a way to make it all at one time? Thanks
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Do you slice the sausage after cooking?
No they are cut prior to cooking, it should say so in the ingredient list. Hope that helps!
This was FANTASTIC! It was the very first recipe I tried in my new Instant Pot and I just loved it. I even did a little happy dance at the table. So flavorful and satisfying! Not to mention easy and cheap!
Awesome Emily! We’re glad you liked it so much!
Thanks a lot, CHUNGAH! You made my day. well, night actually.., since I prepared this instant rice with red beans for dinner. I followed your instructions like a good girl and the end result was amazing. My boyfriend loved it. thank you once again.
Thank you Sara! That’s great!
We use one of our two plastic microwave rice cookers, each of different size. We prefer this method of cooking rice.
We bought one at a clearance table for just a couple of bucks. This was many years ago so not sure about exact cost.
There are a number of microwave cookers on the market for around $15. They each have a little different design, but basically the same – basically a plastic bucket with an insert.
Our cooker are a Progressive International and the other is Mainstays. Both work equally well.
Please make a copycat Starbucks thai chicken wrap!
It’s quick and easy recipe. I like red beans. 🙂
It looks really good, soon I’ll try the recipe above.
We have loved so many of your recipes and now you are adding IP recipes! My IP is my lifesaver with sports 4-5 x a week between the kids. I hate running through the drive through so I made this recipe as I was walking out to take the kids to baseball. Love that while we are playing, dinner was cooking and then we all sat together around the dinner table chatting soon after getting home. You recipes are always winners. Taco Pasta is one my kids absolute favorites and is in the meal rotation almost every week. This was delicious! I may take the leftovers bean and make it into veggie soup for dinner tomorrow night. Thanks for saving dinner for us!
That is so great to hear! We’ve been enjoying the IP recipes as well, it’s awesome that you like them this much! Thanks!
Your recipe does not indicate the size of the IP used for the Red Beans and Rice. I have a Mini 3qt, do I need to downsize the ingredients to accommodate. I purchased Red Beans yesterday intending to make this dish in the slow cooker later this week.
Yes, Pat, you may need to downsize as this was made in a 6-qt Instant Pot.