How Long To Cook Red Beans In Instant Pot

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What Is The Dried Bean Equivalent Of A 15 Oz Can

How to Cook Red Beans in the Instant Pot

Great question! This seems to be a stumbling block when it comes to making recipes when you only have homemade beans on hand. But, not to worry!

Most cans of beans include 1¾ cups of beans and ¼ cup of aquafaba or bean liquid. If a recipe calls for a 15 ounce can of beans, youll need a little less than 2 cups cooked beans or, if you havent made any beans yet, ½ cup dried.

An approximate ratio is: 2 cups dry = 6 cups cooked

What Do You Serve With Instant Pot Red Beans And Rice

Serve the red beans and rice over a bowl of cooked white rice, and garnish with sliced green onion for a fresh, bright touch of flavor. For more kick, add a dash of hot sauce!

If you’re looking for easy sides that go well with the dish, try these options:

Instant Pot Adzuki Beans

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Adzuki beans are a staple of Asian cooking and a tasty filling for steamed buns and pastries. Cooking adzuki beans in the instant pot saves a lot of prep time, and allows you to focus on the rest of the dish.

My husband just loves Asian dumplings in any form. Homemade from scratch Japanese Gyoza happen in our house at least once or twice a month, and traditional Mongolian buzz dumplings are always a big hit. Recently weve started experimenting with steamed buns as well, and theres no end to fun fillings for those.

Im particularly fond of char sui pork, but my husband loves sweet red bean paste. The first step in making sweet red bean paste for dumplings is, of course, cooking the adzuki beans.

Adzuki beans are versatile, and they are as at home in a soup or chili as they are mashed and sweetened for red bean paste. They have a relatively mild flavor, along with a beautiful deep red color that livens up foods.

Beyond there versatility, theres some rumor that theyre easier on the stomach than other beans. We have a friend that insists she has a bean allergy, but the only beans she can eat are adzuki beans. She puts them in everything and substitutes them for pinto and black beans readily. I cant say from personal experience whether or not theyre easier on the stomach, since my family loves all manner of beans and never has any issues with them.

Read Also: How To Convert Recipes To Instant Pot

How Do I Make Instant Pot Beans

The process sounds more complicated than it really is. Once you make the beans, youll wonder why you hadnt tried making them like this in the first place. Here are simple, step-by-step directions for making your beans:

  • Soak beans overnight in fresh water .
  • Rinse your beans well and pick out anything that doesnt belong.
  • Measure out your beans and pour into your pot.
  • Add desired amount of water or, generally, a 2-3 inches above the level of your beans.
  • Add any seasonings you wish.
  • Secure the top to the Instant Pot and move the lever to the sealed position.
  • Press the bean or manual button and adjust to the correct timing for your particular beans.
  • Allow the beans to pressurize and cook.
  • When the Instant Pot is done, let it naturally release for at least 30 minutes. You can release the pressure manually , but we recommend letting the beans rest until the pressure is completely gone.
  • Drain any excess liquid from the pot and allow to come to room temperature before storing in the fridge. If youre making refried beans, you might want to save some of the liquid and blend directly into the batch.
  • See? Wasnt that much easier than you thought it would be?

    How Do You Steam Red Beans

    Instant Pot Pinto Beans

    Place the kidney beans into the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. Bring beans to a boil. Let them boil for 3 minutes, then remove from heat. The beans will expand, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for this.

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    What Youll Need To Make Instant Pot Red Beans And Rice

    The Speckled Palate participates in affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my disclosure page for more information about these affiliate programs.

    In addition to these tools that youll want to use, you also need some ingredients that may or may not be in your pantry and fridge:

    • Spicy sausageAndouille is traditional for red beans and rice, but a hot Italian sausage works. So does mild Italian sausage, if you dont like the heat.
    • Dried red beansdo not even consider using canned red beans in this dish or itll be completely mush when you take the lid off
    • Onion, bell pepper and garlicthere are no replacements for these lovely ingredients, so make sure youve got em on hand

    How Many Beans Can You Cook In The Instant Pot

    Its better to err on the side of less rather than more when it comes to beans. Because the pot needs room for liquid to boil and beans to grow, you should only fill your pressure cooker halfway at most. To be on the safe side, only add a maximum of 2 pounds of dry beans to your pot.

    Pre-packaged dry beans are usually sold in one pound bags, which makes the perfect amount. If youre able to buy from the bulk bins , grab a pound or two for your next bean bake.

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    What Is An Heirloom Bean

    Heirloom beans are not genetically altered because they have not been crossbred with any other species of beans.

    The thing about heirloom beans is that they have a bit more flavor on the taste buds and I find them to be quite pretty.

    Even though they are more pretty to look at, it doesnt change their amazing nutritional value or their amazing sources of protein and fiber. So do not let that interfere with your bean preferences.

    How To Make Red Beans In An Instant Pot Step By Step Photos

    Instant Pot Red Beans

    Start by slicing 1/2 lb. smoked sausage into medallions. Use andouille sausage, if possible, but if you cant find it in your area, use another type of smoked sausage. Add the smoked sausage to the pot with 1 Tbps olive oil and sauté until the sausage is browned. If your pressure cooker does not have a sauté function, you can do this part in a skillet.

    While the sausage is browning, finely dice one onion, one green bell pepper, and 3 stalks of celery. Mince four cloves of garlic. Remove the browned sausage from the pot and add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic.

    Continue to sauté until the onions are soft and transparent. The moisture from the vegetables should dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

    Rinse 1 lb. red beans and sort through them to remove any bad beans. Add them to the pot along with the cooked sausage, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and some freshly cracked pepper.

    Finally, add 3 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water. Stir to combine. Secure the lid on the pot and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes .

    To serve the red beans, place about 1.5 cups in a bowl and top with a cup of cooked rice. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top. Dont skip the green onions, either! They give the dish a blast of freshness that really brings it all together. 🙂

    The way that rich sauce coats the rice is just so MMMM-mmmm!

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    Quick Tips For Making Instant Pot Red Beans And Rice

    • Give yourself enough time to get it going. While this red beans and rice recipe is pretty hands-off, you still have a portion of time where youre chopping, searing and sautéing vegetables before the pressure cooker lid goes on. Dont forget about it and then panic.
    • The sear and saute make a difference. Dont skip this step to cut corners because it adds a ton of flavor to the final dish!
    • Dont forget to cook the rice! We serve this with our favorite white rice, but you can serve it over brown rice if thats your jam. Just make sure to time it out to where your rice is done around the same time that the beans are.
    • Make it small batch. You can easily half this recipe and cook it for 1 hour and 30 minutes if youre just feeding yourself and/or one other person.

    How To Add Even More Flavor

    The base recipe below is how we make it most of the time. But! There are a couple things you can do to add even more flavor to your Instant Pot red beans and rice.

    • Use vegetable or chicken stock in place of the water.
    • Add a bit of bullion. There are the cube kinds, but I love Better Than Bullion. Their vegetable base would be great in this. Heads up, though, it is very, very salty on its own. I would wait and add any additional salt at the end, after you taste it.
    • Add cajun seasoning we never do this. Why? Because a well-flavored andouille sausage, plus the veggies, hot sauce and thyme provide plenty of flavor for us. But! You can add a cajun blend, such as Tony Chacherys , or add your own combination of cajun spices if you wish. Again, I would recommend holding off until the end.
    • Add ham hocks
    • Butter! I was so surprised when I saw this was a thing, but lots of people apparently add a whole stick of butter to their bean mixture. We never do this, but I have seen so many people swear by it that I thought Id mention it here.

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    Cooking Times For Different Beans

    If you’re wondering how long does it take to cook beans in Instant Pot, refer to this easy cheat-sheet for cook times. For each type of bean, they were soaked overnight, cooked on High Pressure, then the Instant Pot was naturally released.

    Keep in mind that while you will set your cook time to the amount noted, actual cooking will take longer since the pressure cooker takes about 10 minutesto reach pressure.

    Beans
    40 minutes

    Cooking Note: Beans take longer to cook when cooked with acidic ingredients, like tomatoes, vinegar or lemon juice. For example, Chickpeas cooked in seasoned water are done in 15 minutes, but in a recipe like Chana masala, which contains tomato and other acidic ingredients, they take 45 minutes.

    What Kind Of Pressure Cooker Should I Use

    Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

    I used my 7-1 Multi-Functional Instant Pot pressure cooker so that I could do the sauté steps all right in the same pot, but you can use any electric or stove top pressure cooker.

    There are several other brands of multi-function pressure cookers on the market as well, such as this Cosori model that is a little less expensive and comes with a glass lid for when youre using the slow cooker function.

    If youre using an old-school single-functin pressure cooker, just do the first couple of sauté steps in a skillet and then transfer everything to the pressure cooker when you add the beans, spices, and broth.

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    Why Use The Instant Pot For Beans

    Glad you asked! Using a pressure cooker for beans not only saves you hours of cooking and cleaning, but also helps you to prep food ahead of time for easier meal decisions and better health. If youve got beans made, youll use them. If you dont, you probably wont.

    If you have dried beans on hand, you just throw them into the instant pot with some water and theyll be done in less than 2 hours. All you have to clean is the lid and the insert and nothing else. Youll have a bounty of beans that will last you at least a few days. Even if you add in soaking time, cooking legumes in the pressure cooker instead of on the stovetop is quicker and much less frustrating.

    How To Make Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice

    Making homemade vegan red beans and rice in the instant pot only requires a few simple steps:

    • Start by washing the beans. Rinse the beans under cool running water using a colander. Pick out and remove any odd-shaped beans.
    • Add ingredients to the instant pot. Place the red beans in the bowl of the instant pot, along with the remaining ingredients , finishing with the liquids.
    • Pressure cook the beans. Manually set the Instant Pot to HIGH pressure for 50 minutes , close the vent to SEAL. Once done, let the pressure cooker steam vent naturally for about 20 25 minutes.
    • Add vegan sausage and taste for flavor. Add vegan sausage and parsley, and taste for flavor. Some recipes call for mashing some of the beans against the wall of the pot with the back of a fork, this will help thicken the liquids making a gravy of sorts. For myself, I love it just as it is.
    • Cook the rice. While the beans are pressure cooking, make the rice according to package directions using at least 1 cup of rice.

    Now all you have to do is enjoy the best red beans and rice ever!

    And it pairs great with this Vegan Cornbread or Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins too!

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    How To Flavor Beans

    Instead of just cooking dried beans in water alone, I like to add a little flavor to my beans. This step of course is optional but highly encouraged.

    • Along with beans and water, add a half an onion and bay leaf.
    • You will want to add salt or homemade taco seasoning AFTER your beans have been cooked. Adding salt BEFORE cooking dried beans can make it harder for your beans to break down and soften properly.

    How Do You Make Red Beans And Rice From Scratch

    How to Cook Red Beans Using an Instant Pot

    You can make Red Beans and Rice in the instant pot in just 4 easy steps:

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add oil and bacon, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir constantly until the bacon is brown and crispy, then remove it and set aside.
  • Add onions, bell peppers, and celery to the skillet, then cook for 2 minutes. Stir, then add the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • To an instant pot, add the cooked vegetable mixture along with red beans, turkey necks, sausage, worcestershire sauce, bacon, and water. Cover the lid, press pressure cook on high, and set the timer for 90 minutes.
  • After the timer goes off, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. Smash some of the red beans against the side of the pot, and stir in the seasonings. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then serve with cooked rice.
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    How To Reheat Leftovers

    This Red Beans and Rice Recipe cooks roughly 6 8 servings. So, you might end up with some leftovers depending on how hungry you are. hehe~

    You can reheat the leftovers using the Pot-in-Pot Method: rice at the bottom, layer a steamer rack on top of the rice, then the red beans in an oven-safe container on top of the steamer rack pressure cook both the red beans and rice in the same Instant Pot!

    Use Your Instant Pot To Soak Beans

    If after reading Tip #1, youve decided to soak your beans, this section is very handy. The Instant Pot has a nifty Delay Start function that will save time .

  • Simply fill up the Instant Pot with the amount of beans you want to cook add the appropriate amount of water and salt.
  • Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and the appropriate cook time for soaked beans.
  • Press the Delay Start button. Use the +/- buttons to adjust how many hours you want to soak the beans . Then press the Delay Start button again to adjust to how many minutes you want to soak .
  • If you select 8 hours, your beans will soak in the salted water for 8 hours. When that 8 hours is over, the Instant Pot will automatically start pressure cooking the beans.

    I find this function to be incredibly useful. When I had an office job, I would set the timer before leaving for work in the morning. When I came home in the evening, a pot of freshly cooked beans greeted me. Alternatively, I set the timer before bed, and in the morning, I wake up to a pot of cooked beans.

    Another caveat because I like to be really thorough. If beans really make you toot , this method may not be the best option. Thats because the beans will automatically start cooking in the water in which theyve soaked. And when beans are soaking, they release those oligosaccharides , which wont be drained out.

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