Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

My mom is from New Orleans, so I grew up eating a lot of red beans and rice and just love it.  Sadly, I never learned how to make it myself so I have always resorted to going to Popeye’s Chicken when I craved red beans and rice. 

Well, with the current state of things, and the limited number of things available at the grocery store, I thought this was the perfect time to make my own version of red beans and rice in the Instant Pot!

I was lucky enough to get the very last bag of red kidney beans and smoked sausage (no andouille sausage was available).  Sadly, there was no rice left at the store but my sister managed to find some at another grocery store!  Yes!!  So, I was able to make red beans and rice, minus a couple of ingredients that I would normally add-in. 

Tips for making Red Beans and Rice in the Instant Pot:

1.Using this recipe, there is no need to pre-soak your beans.  Woo Hoo!  That’s good news since soaking can take several hours. 

2.Be sure to thoroughly rinse your red beans and double-check to make sure that there are no tiny rocks in the bag. 

3.  While I did use red kidney beans in this recipe, you could change up the type of beans that you use.  The cooking time may need to be adjusted based on the type of beans that you use. 

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?  Check out some of our favorites!

• Instant Pot ABC Green Beans
• Instant Pot Pecan Glazed Ham
• Instant Pot Carrot Cake Cheesecake
• Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
• Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients for making Red Beans and Rice in the Instant Pot:

• 1 pound sausage- either andouille or smoked sausage works- cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic-minced
• ½ cup diced onions
• ¼ cup diced bell peppers-optional
• ¼ cup diced celery-optional
• 1 pound dried red  kidney beans-rinsed
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning- I used Tony Chacheres 
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth
• cooked rice-1 cup per serving

Directions for making Red Beans and Rice in the Instant Pot:

1.Turn Instant Pot on “saute” on high.  Once hot, add in olive oil and sausage and stir until evenly browned on all sides.

2.Once sausage is evenly browned, add in onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic and saute until onions are tender. Stir well and use the liquid from the vegetables to deglaze the bottom of the pot.  Do so by gently scraping the bottom of the pot with your spatula to get all of the browned sausage bits off the bottom of the pot.

3.Once all vegetables are tender, add in Cajun seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper. 

4.Stir well and then pour in beans and chicken broth.  No need to stir.  Add in the bay leaves.

5.Close the pressure cooking lid and set the timer to 60 minutes.  Make sure that the pressure cooking valve is in the “sealed” position.  When the timer beeps, naturally release the pressure for 15 minutes and then remove the lid. 

6.Remove the bay leaves, which should be right on top.

7.Using a potato masher, mash the red beans 5 or 6 times.  You do not want to mash all of the beans, just enough to break open some of the beans to increase the creaminess of the red beans. 

8.Serve with cooked white rice.  Enjoy!

Recipe