Easy Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice - this Southern classic is made with vegetables, sausage, beans and Cajun seasoning, all in just 4 steps, right in the pressure cooker.
Serve this delicious one-pot dish with fluffy rice and a side of corn on the cob for a meal the whole family will love.
One of the easiest dishes to make in your Instant Pot is the Red Beans and Rice. No canned beans needed! Cajun seasoning adds this Luisianna dish it's classic flavor. We serve it over rice for a pure comfort food meal. It's a Southern classic made easy in the pressure cooker, in one hour, but it tastes like it was simmering on the stove all day. This dish might not be authentic, but it's easy and perfect when you need to feed a family.
Ingredients:
- onion
- garlic
- green bell pepper
- celery
- red beans
- sausage (I used smoked)
- Cajun seasoning
- Italian seasoning
- Bay leaves
- vegetable stock
- water
- salt and pepper
- rice, to serve
Step by step instructions:
This dish really comes together in just 4 steps. The recipe below is broken down into more steps, to make it easy to follow. You make it once, and it will go even faster next time.
Step 1: Saute veggies
Add oil to the Instant Pot on saute setting and heat up. Saute chopped veggies until the onion is translucent.
Step 2: seasoning and sausage
Add seasoning to sauteed vegetables and stir well. It should be very fragrant. This helps activate the seasoning and ensure a flavorful final result. Add sausage and cook for a couple of minutes.
Step 3: Beans
Deglaze the pot with a little bit of water, then add all liquid and beans. Stir everything together. Place Bay leaves on top.
Step 4: Pressure cook
Close the lid, set valve to sealing position and set the timer to 35 minutes. Once done, let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally.
What sausage to use in this recipe?
I use smoked sausage in my recipe because I am feeding a family of 5 with small children, so a mild sausage is preferred. If you want the dish spicy, use the classic andouille sausage, but you have to cook it first, remove onto a plate and then follow the recipe from step 1.
What beans to use in this recipe?
The traditional dish calls for small red beans, but since they are quite hard to find, I used red kidney beans. Rinse them before adding to the dish. No soaking needed.
Serving:
A classic way to serve this dish is over rice. You can follow my recipe for the Perfect Fluffy Rice cooked in the pressure cooker or stove-top. Popular sides are corn on the cob, sauteed greens with bacon, green beans and potatoes, etc.
Variations:
- vegetarian: skip the sausage and add 6 oz. of white or Baby Bella mushrooms.
- spicy: use andouille sausage (if it's raw, you will need to cook it first, remove onto a plate, then saute veggies like in step 1.)
More easy Instant Pot recipes:
For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Instant Pot Category.
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Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb smoked sausage see note
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 lb dry red beans 2 cups
- 2 cups water
- 2.5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Make sure the stainless steel insert is in your Instant Pot. Press "saute" setting and wait 2 minutes. Add oil.
- Add chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped celery and chopped bell pepper. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
- Add seasoning and stir well. Saute for 1 minute. Add sausage and stir well. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Press "cancel/off" button. Add 1/2 cup of water and deglaze the pot (scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to make sure all cooked on bits are off).
- Add remaining water and vegetable stock. Add beans and stir everything together.
- Close the lid and set the valve to sealing position (newer models do it on their own).
- Press "manual" or "pressure cook" button and set the timer to 35 minutes. Make sure the Instant Pot is set to cook at HIGH pressure.
- The IP will beep and it will start coming to pressure. When the timer is up, press "cancel/off" button and let the pressure release naturally.
- When the sealing pin has dropped, carefully open the lid away from your face. Stir the bean mixture.
- Serve over rice with a garnish of chopped green onions.
Cindy Warren says
Can you use canned beans?
Lindsay says
I loved this recipe so much, I'd like to spice it up next time...have you ever used kielbasa in this recipe?
Lara says
Really good recipie, but my beans were hard afterwords :(. They were not like rock hard or anything, just still had a bite to them so they were not tenner and didn't puff up
Anna says
Hi Lara! That can happen sometimes with older beans. Maybe add a few more minutes of cooking time next time?
Heather G. says
Hi! For the dried beans is it one pound + two cups? Thanks!!
Anna says
Hi Heather! 1 lb dried beans is the same as 2 cups of dried beans. Sorry if it's not clear. I hope this helps!
Heather G. says
Wow, I am a dork. Duh! Thank you so much, LOL
Amy says
This was great. I used regular red beans and I had to cook for an additional 20 minutes because the beans were too hard. Other than that, great recipe.
Anna says
Thank you so much, Amy!
Molly says
This recipe was really easy and tasted great. I had to cook it twice as long as the recipe called for though to get my beans soft enough. What did I do wrong? Should I have soaked them over night?
Anna says
Hi Molly! My beans were quite well done after the cooking time. If your beans are older, they may need a longer cooking time. If you are unsure how old are your beans, it's safe to soak them overnight. I hope this helps!
Courtney O'Dell says
Red beans and rice is one of my favorite dishes but I always mess it up. This recipe was foolproof!
Suzy says
This is such a classic! Love that it cooks faster in the instant pot!
Melissa says
This was so good! My family just loved it!
Eden says
One of our favorite weekday meals! We love this recipe and using our instant pot!