Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
These Instant Pot Rice & Beans require only 5 simple ingredients to make! Perfect for Meal Prep or an Easy Weeknight Dinner. Vegan, Gluten Free, Oil Free.
While they may be simple, there is just something that is so satisfying about a big ol’ bowl of rice and beans. As an added bonus, this recipe has BIG flavor, but only required 5 affordable ingredients.
Heck, you may already have all of them in your pantry! And if you don’t you can definitely get them at your local store for a great price.
While the ingredients for this recipe are humble, I promise that the flavors will still “wow” you. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but something magical happens to that Salsa and Cilantro in the pressure cooker – the flavors intensify and become much more complex.
While this recipe is so dang easy, I also love how customizable it can be. You can easily increase or decrease the spice level based on the Salsa you choose to use, and you can also add in some extra spices if you’re feeling fancy. Plus, let’s not forget about the toppings! I like this Instant Pot Rice & Beans recipe best when topped with fresh Cilantro, Avocado, and a squeeze of Lime.
This dish is hearty and filling on it’s own as a main, but you could also use it as a side! May I suggest making some Sheet Pan Fajitas to go along with it? 🙂
I pretty much only use my Instant Pot to make rice and beans (or both at the same time), but if you’d like me to create more iPot recipes, please leave a comment below and let me know! I think it would be a nice challenge and change of pace 🙂
A Few Final Thoughts:
- You can also use dried Black Beans for this recipe, but they will make the rice look a little, er, grey. It’ll still taste great though!
- This recipe is simple, but feel free to add in some extra ingredients if it suits your fancy – I think Corn, Jalapeños, or some extra tomatoes would be great!
- I have not tested this recipe on the stovetop, so unfortunately I cannot provide modifications for that. You may be interested in my One Pot Mexican Quinoa though !
If you’re looking for more easy recipes, you’ll also love this One Pot Spinach and Artichoke Pasta and this Slow Cooker Bean & Quinoa Chili!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintInstant Pot Rice & Beans (Only 5 Ingredients!)
These Instant Pot Rice & Beans require only 5 simple ingredients to make! Perfect for Meal Prep or an Easy Weeknight Dinner. Vegan, Gluten Free, Oil Free.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup dry Red Kidney Beans
- 1 1/2 cup dry Brown Rice
- 1 cup Salsa
- ½ bunch Cilantro, stems and leaves divided
- 3 cups Vegetable Broth
- 2 cups Water
Instructions
- First, chop your Cilantro, keeping the leaves and stems roughly separated.
- Add the dried Beans and Rice to the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- Gently pour the Vegetable Broth and Water over the Rice and Beans, then give everything a good stir.
- Next, add the Salsa and stems of the Cilantro into the pot. Do not mix!
- Close the Instant Pot, set the valve to Sealing, and use the Manual Mode to cook on High for 25 Minutes.
- One the cook time finishes, let the Instant Pot release pressure for an additional 10 Minutes (leave the “Keep Warm” feature on).
- Finally, move the valve from Sealing to Venting to release all remaining pressure, and serve the Beans and Rice warm. Garnish with the chopped Cilantro leaves, and anything else you desire!
Notes
- A few of my beans rose to the top of the mixture, and I noticed they looked a little “dry” when I opened the pot. If this happens to you, simply mix the Beans and Rice together, then cover the pot again and let sit for 12 – 15 minutes.
- Different beans require different amounts of time to cook in the pressure cooker, so I would be wary of substitutions. If you do decide to use a different bean, make sure to cook the mixture for at least 22 minutes, so the brown rice will cook completely.
- I used this Instant Pot to make this recipe.
Want to save this Instant Pot Rice & Beans recipe for later? Pin the recipe to your Pinterest boards:
Do you soak the beans before hand? Thanks, looks yummy!
That’s totally optional but the instant pot can handle un-soaked beans too!
Not sure what happened. I followed the recipe, and the beans were still quite hard when it was finished. If I make it again, I’ll soak the beans overnight and see if that helps.
Your beans might have been old, in which case they would require longer cooking time!
Beans tend to take on a more tough texture when cooked in acidic conditions. Removing the salsa to add at the end or adding a base like baking soda (sparingly because it can affect the taste) may help. Older beans also can remain more tough than newer.
25 minutes is not enough time to safely cook dried kidney beans (even at high pressure). PHA may be removed during that time, but the undercooked beans certainly cause gastrointestinal problems at under 30 mins. Most instant pot recipes require 40-45 minutes for dried beans alone (I can attest to these outcomes as well).
I would either adjust this recipe to require soaked beans, or insert a 15 minute step that cooks just the beans before proceeding with the recipe as-is.
Very tasty! I would suggest adding an extra 1/2 to 1 C water; the beans on the top were not covered by water by the end of the cooking time, and were thus undercooked. (The rest of them were perfect, so it’s not that the beans were old.)
How can only 1.25 cups of kidney beans make 5 servings?
Hi Jim! The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of dried beans, which will about double in size to make 3 cups of cooked beans. Serving sizes are always an estimate, so feel free to adjust the recipe ingredients and size to what will work best for you!
Are you supposed to soak the beans first?
That’s totally optional but the instant pot can handle un-soaked beans too!
Can I use can beans? Or will they get too soft?
I don’t recommend that! This recipe is to cook beans from dry 🙂
Great flavor. My beans were way undercooked and when I tried to add time I kept getting a burn notice. Ate it anyway.
Mhm it could be a glitch in the IP or maybe the beans were old (older beans tend to have hard time cooking!) Glad it tasted great though 🙂
Older beans. That is likely.
We absolutely love this recipe. So easy and delicious. Only recommendation I have is using small red beans as I found regular red beans don’t cook in the allotted time (at least in my Ipot). This is now a staple on our weekly menu.
I’m glad you enjoyed, Steven!
I have made this a few times, with both red and black beans, delish both times. I do soak the beans in the pot for about an hour, followed by a 35 min cook, and 10 min natural release. I do this just to make the beans a tad bit softer. Great recipe, easy, healthy, and economical.. I do have a question can the leftovers be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze the leftovers of your Instant Pot Rice & Beans. Just cool them, portion into airtight containers, and label. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge or microwave and reheat using your preferred method. Enjoy!
I followed the recipe exactly, but some of the beans were still hard. Not sure what went wrong but I’m bummed about wasting food…
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. It could have been that your beans were a bit older which means they would require longer cooking time!
It was delicious. I was worried the rice or the beans would not cook through. I was not disappointed!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Carol!
Are you supposed to rinse the dried beans and rice before adding to the pot? Also, does the cooking time stay the same if you double it? Thanks in advance!
Hi Kat, I would not recommend doubling this recipe as I think it would be too much volume-wise for the Instant pot. And yes, I’d recommend rinsing the rice and beans first!
How can only 1.25 cups of kidney beans make 5 servings?
There is also rice!
At first mine came out very watery. But it thickened as it cooled down. Very tasty
Thank you!
Can this be made with pinto beans and white rice?
I would not recommend using white rice because it has a shorter cooking time, but pinto beans should be fine!
Wow! This came out perfectly – and is so delicious. Thanks so much for this recipe, which will keep me healthy and satisfied for many, many meals!J
Happy you loved it, Jamie!
I used black beans and had to cook for 35min. I love the taste! Thank you
You are so welcome, Kathleen!