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It’s never been quicker and easier to make red beans and rice thanks to the Instant Pot. Cooked from scratch, this sausage and bean stew is made with fresh veggies and is wonderfully seasoned for a tasty and fuss-free family meal.
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Table of Contents
- Why You Will Love This Recipe!
- Ingredients
- How to make red beans and rice in the Instant Pot
- Can you make this pressure cooker red beans and rice recipe ahead of time?
- Can you make the recipe without an Instant Pot?
- What do you serve it with?
- Recipe Notes and Tips
- More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice Recipe
When it comes to comfort food, this easy red beans and rice recipe is always a winner, but, it’s not always a great option if you are running short on time, and that’s where our trusty Instant Pot comes in!
Dried red beans are cooked with sausage, vegetables, and seasonings and served over rice for a hearty and protein-rich dinner. Even your pickiest eaters will love this Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice with Sausage!
Be sure to try my Three Bean Salad and White Bean Sausage Soup too!
Why You Will Love This Recipe!
- Quick and Easy: The Instant Pot speeds up the cooking process, allowing you to enjoy this hearty, flavorful dish without spending hours in the kitchen. Perfect for busy weeknights!
- Rich and Flavorful: With savory sausage, creamy red beans, and perfectly seasoned rice, this dish is packed with comforting, bold flavors that will satisfy the whole family.
- Nutritious and Filling: It’s a complete meal in one pot, full of protein, fiber, and healthy carbs, making it both a nutritious and delicious option for dinner.
Ingredients
- Sausage: Smoked or andouille sausage helps to add a wonderful flavor and make this dish more filling and comforting.
- Vegetables: Onion, celery, green bell pepper, scallions, and a few cloves garlic.
- Seasonings and spices: Salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, Cajun or Creole seasonings, basil, bay leaves, and sage.
- Beans: We use red kidney beans for this recipe. They are cooked quickly in the Instant Pot from dried, no need for soaking
- Stock: Chicken or vegetable stock both work great in this recipe and add flavor. You can also use water.
- Rice: To serve. Cooked white rice works great, but you can also use brown or wild if you prefer.
How to make red beans and rice in the Instant Pot
- Brown the sausage. Add olive oil to the Instant Pot and when hot, add the sausage and brown, stirring frequently. When well-browned, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions to the grease in the Instant Pot, as well as seasonings, salt, and black pepper. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot because there is a lot of flavor in those brown bits from the sausage. Add the celery, bell pepper, and minced garlic, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the beans and sausage. Add the beans and about 4 cups of unsalted chicken stock or water to cover everything. Add dried basil and sage to the pot. Return the sausage to the Instant Pot and stir everything. Add bay leaves on top.
- Pressure cook. Close the lid and seal the electric pressure cooker. Set on HIGH pressure for 35 minutes. In the meantime, you can cook the rice.
- Release pressure naturally. Do natural pressure release until all pressure is released, about 15 minutes. Carefully open the lid and test the beans for doneness. If the beans are underdone, return to high pressure for 3 minutes and repeat natural release as above.
- Season the beans. Stir in the scallions, reserving some for garnish. Taste and season well with salt and hot sauce if needed.
- Serve over rice. Serve hot with cooked white rice and the remaining green onions.
Can you make this pressure cooker red beans and rice recipe ahead of time?
This easy Instant Pot red beans and rice recipe is perfect for weekly meal prep and the beans freeze well too. Once cooked, let the beans cool and place them into airtight containers. They will keep well for 4 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
If frozen, thaw the beans overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a pot on medium heat on the stovetop to warm through and serve over cooked rice.
Can you make the recipe without an Instant Pot?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can still make this recipe on the stovetop, it will just take a bit longer and you will have to adjust the cooking time. Follow the instructions, simply brown and soften the ingredients in a large pot on medium-high heat. You will need to simmer the red beans for around 2 hours until they are soft and tender.
What do you serve it with?
This easy red beans and rice recipe is a filling meal all by itself, and they are great to serve alongside favorites like cornbread, coleslaw, corn on the cob, or fried green tomatoes.
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips
- I love this with red kidney beans, but pinto, cannellini or black beans will all work well too.
- Naturally release the pressure rather than quick release. This will ensure that the beans are cooked through.
- Taste before serving and add more salt to suit your tastes if needed. Hot sauce is also a great addition!
- The best part of this Instant Pot beans and rice recipe is you don’t have to soak the beans, cook the beans or use canned beans. Dry red beans cook quickly in the Instant pot.
- If you want to speed up the cooking time, you can use canned kidney beans though. Just adjust the cooking time to about 10 minutes. You will also need to reduce the chicken stock amount to only about 1.5 cups.
- If you don’t have smoked or Andouille sausage, you can use Kielbasa sausages.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Oatmeal
- Pressure cooker BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice
- Instant Pot Chuck Roast
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Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb smoked or andouille sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon thyme
- ¾ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb dry red kidney beans
- 4 cups unsalted chicken stock, or water
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- Pinch dried sage
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ cup chopped fresh scallions
- Cooked rice
- 1 bunch chopped fresh green onion
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. Add olive oil to the Instant Pot and when hot, add the sausage and brown, stirring frequently. When well-browned, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions to the grease in the Instant Pot, as well as salt, black pepper, thyme, oregano and Cajun seasoning. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, bell pepper, and minced garlic, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the beans and sausage. Add the beans and about 4 cups unsalted chicken stock or water to cover everything. Add dried basil and sage to the pot. Return the sausage to the Instant Pot and stir everything. Add bay leaves on top.
- Pressure cook. Close the lid and seal the pressure cooker. Set on HIGH pressure for 35 minutes. In the meantime you can cook the rice.
- Release the pressure. Allow the pressure cooker to release pressure naturally until all pressure is released, about 15 minutes. Carefully open the lid and test the beans for doneness. If the beans are underdone, return to high pressure for 3 minutes and repeat natural release as above.
- Season the beans. Stir in the scallions, reserving some for garnish. Taste and season well with salt and hot sauce if needed.
- Serve over rice. Serve hot with cooked white rice and the remaining green onions.
Video
Notes
- I love this with red kidney beans, but pinto, cannellini, or black beans will all work well too.
- Naturally release the pressure rather than a quick release. This will ensure that the beans are cooked through.
- Taste before serving and add more salt to suit your tastes if needed. Hot sauce is also a great addition!
- The best part of this Instant Pot beans and rice recipe is you don’t have to soak the beans, cook the beans or use canned beans. Dry red beans cook quickly in the Instant Pot.
- If you want to speed up the cooking time, you can use canned kidney beans though. Just adjust the cooking time to about 10 minutes. You will also need to reduce the chicken stock amount to only about 1.5 cups.
- If you don’t have smoked or Andouille sausage, you can use Kielbasa sausages.
