This Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice recipe takes a New Orlean’s staple and adapts it wonderfully for the instant pot! Sausage, ham, vegetables, and seasonings combined with dry, uncooked beans cook all in one pot, making this an EASY and healthy instant pot recipe!
I love adapting recipes for the instant pot! I’ve got dozens of easy instant pot recipes you can cook all in one pot, for dinner, like this Instant Pot Stroganoff, Cajun Pasta, and Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya.
I have vowed to only share practical Instant Pot recipes with you. Ones that I actually make my family, are easier to make in the instant pot than the stove-top version, and taste good! This delicious recipe checks all the boxes, and I’m really excited to share it with you!
What I love about this Healthy Instant Pot Recipe:
- Packed with protein from andouille sausage, diced ham, and beans, giving this recipe about 34 grams of protein per serving!
- Fresh vegetables including onion, celery, bell peppers, and green onion.
- Packed with New Orleans flavor from cajun seasoning, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and parsley.
How to make Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, step-by-step:
1. Brown sausage. Using Instant Pot sauté mode, brown sausages in 1 tablespoon of oil, remove to a plate.
2. Sauté vegetables. Sauté garlic and onions, celery, bell pepper, and green onions.
3. Add beans and spices, including black pepper, Cajun seasoning, thyme, oregano, bay leaves., water and chicken broth.
4. Pressure cook. Set on MANUAL/HIGH Pressure for 55 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural release.
5. Puree some of the beans to thicken the mixture. Add salsa, parsley, sausages and diced ham.
6. Turn to Sauté for 15 minutes, or until desired thickness.
Serve with a scoop of white long-grain rice. Top with remaining chopped green onion, and top with hot sauce, if desired.
Important Tips for success:
- Adjust the cooking time as needed: given the various brand of instant pots, different elevations of users, etc., think of the cooking times I list as a starting point. If your beans aren’t cooked all the way after the 55 minute pressure cook, simply add a few more minutes.
- Check out your Instant pot manual. This recipe was created and tested in my Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W . Cooking times and liquid requirements may vary for your particular instant pot manual so it’s important to consult your manual to see the recommended cooking method for dry beans and adapt accordingly.
Dry Beans or Cooked Beans?
Dry Beans! The best part of this recipe is you don’t have to cook the beans, soak the beans, or use canned beans. Simply purchase a pound of dry, uncooked beans at the grocery store and let the instant pot do the rest.
Other Variations:
- Substitute the meat. Chicken or bacon could be substituted for the sausage. Cook the chicken or bacon completely in step 2, remove to a plate. (Both will overcook and be dry if you leave them to cook in the instant pot).
- Substitute the beans. You can substitute other dry beans for this recipe (black beans, etc.) but do not substitute canned beans!
- Make it vegetarian. To make this a vegetarian instant pot recipe, omit the ham and sausage. You could also add more sautéed vegetables, if desired.
Make-ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions:
To store: Red beans and rice will stay good stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To make ahead: This recipe can be made ahead of time and kept on warm for up to 2 hours before serving or make it 1-3 days ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Serve with hot cooked rice.
To freeze: Allow the red beans and rice to cool completely and store in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stove top. Serve with hot cooked rice.
Don’t miss my other easy Instant Pot Recipes! And if you love this, you might also love Dirty Rice, Borracho Beans, or Instant Pot Chicken and Rice.
Recipe
Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound andouille sausage , sliced 1/2-inch thick (smoked sausage can also be used)
- 1 heaping cup diced ham
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 medium yellow onion , finely diced
- 4 ribs celery , finely diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper , chopped
- 1 bunch green onions , chopped, divided
- 1 pound dried red beans (preferably New Orleans Camelia brand)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley , chopped
- Cooked white long-grain rice , for serving
- Hot sauce , for serving
Instructions
- Rinse beans and remove any small dirt or withered beans. Set aside. (You do not need to soak them).
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Brown the sausages in 1 tablespoon of oil until browned on both sides. Remove to a plate.
- Add remaining oil to the pot, then add garlic and onions. Sauté over medium heat until onions become transparent. Add celery, bell pepper, and half of the green onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add red beans, black pepper, Cajun seasoning, thyme, oregano, bay leaves. Add water and chicken broth.
- Set on MANUAL/HIGH Pressure for 55 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural release.
- Remove bay leaves. Spoon 1 ½ cups of the mixture into a bowl, mash until smooth (or use a food processor) and stir back into the pot. Add salsa, parsley, sausages and diced ham.
- Simmer on SAUTE for 15 minutes, or until desired thickness.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Add up to 1 cup more water or broth if beans seem too thick.
- Serve over white long-grain rice. Top with remaining chopped green onion, and season with hot sauce, if desired.
Notes
Important Tips for success:
- Adjust the cooking time as needed: given the various brand of instant pots, different elevations of users, etc., think of the cooking times I list as a starting point. If your beans aren’t cooked all the way after the 55 minute pressure cook, simply add a few more minutes.
- Check out your Instant pot manual. This recipe was created and tested in my Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W . Cooking times and liquid requirements may vary for your particular instant pot manual so it’s important to consult your manual to see the recommended cooking method for dry beans and adapt accordingly.
Nutrition
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Delicious and made as written, except for the ham! I made it for dinner and am having some right now for lunch. I might either use less water next time or let it simmer a bit to thicken more! Thank you!
Man was that good! Followed the recipe exact forgot the parsley though. Beans were so tender. I used my immersion blender to purée a little of it.
This is a GREAT recipe! The beans were just slightly undercooked at the recommended time so I pressurized it again for 5 more minutes and let it do another natural release and it was PERFECT. Great flavor and made my house smell amazing! Highly recommend this recipe.
10 outta 10. Literally no salt needed. This was devoured by my guys. I’m freezing some for a chilly evening supper. Awesome!
Made this for a Cajun seafood boil party I went to today. It turned out AMAZING. I did add a little bit more Cajun seasoning. I came home empty handed zero left overs. Was a great addition to the event and all my friends were happy with it.
This tasted great. I left out the ham and salsa for a more southern style, and I didn’t have celery. I added a dash of gumbo file, and didn’t measue my parsley, oregano, or thyme, so likely used twice the recipie’s measure. I didn’t want to thicken at the end, so it could have used 5 more min in the pressure cooker. Definitely making this again, and it’s a great recipie to adjust as you see fit.
My formative years were spent in southern Louisiana enjoying all the culinary delights the area had to offer – gumbo, jambalya, catfish, crawfish, etc. I moved away in my early adulthood and never had a cooking mentor, so I never learned how to cook the cuisine. I’ve now been living in the state of Maine for over 30 years and have been trying to duplicate the wonderful red beans and rice flavors of my youth. This recipe finally FINALLY nailed it for me. I’ve made this twice and have savored it twice. It brings me back home as soon as I take the first bite. Thank you, thank you, thank you for a terrific recipe! FYI – I omitted the ham in my 2nd batch (too much meat) and I substitute a can of good tomato sauce for the salsa. Good sausage is the key to this recipe – I love W.A. Beans kielbasa (made in Maine).
Made this tonight. Didnt have any bell pepper or celary or bay leaves or green onion or thyme. Still tasted great!
I doubled the recipe in an 8qt instapot. 2# of beans. Only used 3/4 cup of parsley. 3/4 tsp of ground thyme. 4 stalks of celery. 1 bundle of green onion. No ham. Like Kelly said above the liquid can probably be cut to 2/3. I didn’t puree any beans after it was cooked. I used a potato masher for a couple min and sauteed on low for about an hr after it was done. This thickened up nicely and may give consideration to keep the original recipe as is. The beans cooked down over the hr and reminded me of popeyes. Great list of ingredients, and can’t wait to let neighbors and friends try.
Also I did not use salsa.
Great base recipe for red beans in the Instant Pot! Made some adaptations since I’m from New Orleans and have been making the laborious version all my life.
Didn’t use the salsa or thyme. Only used about 2 cloves of garlic since I’ve noticed it has a tendency to overpower red beans. I soaked the beans all day and only used 4 cups of liquid. Still cooked for 55 min natural release and sautéed until thickened afterwards. Turned out perfect!
Thank you Kelly. I will use your authentic hints.