Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice - Enjoy this ultimate Southern favorite Red Beans and Rice cooked in an instant pot for a quick comfort food fix. Featuring meaty goodness from Andouille sausage, ham hock, and smoked turkey. Loaded with amazing flavors from Creole Seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Extremely tasty and savory and without a doubt a winner dish!

Course dinner, Entree, Side

Cuisine Southern

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 343kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

oil
12 ounces (336 g) Andouille Sausage, sliced
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon (8 g) minced garlic, about 6 medium garlic cloves
2 teaspoons (2 g) fresh thyme, minced
½ - ¾ cup (50-75 g) celery, diced (about 1 medium rib celery)
1 large bell pepper, diced
1 pound (450 g) red kidney beans, soaked overnight
½ pound (225 g) ham hock or smoked turkey, chopped
1 tablespoon (12 g) Creole Seasoning
2 teaspoons (4 g) paprika
½ - 1 teaspoon (1-2 g) cayenne pepper, optional
2 - 3 bay leaves
4 cups (960 mL) chicken stock or water
salt, to taste
pepper, freshly ground, to taste
3-4 cups cooked white rice
2 green onion, diced

Instructions

Rinse dry beans and pick through and discard any foreign object.
Place the beans in a large bowl, covering them with 3-4 inches of cold water. Let it sit overnight.
Set the instant pot to the high saute setting and add oil. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add the sausage and cook while frequently stirring until the sausage is lightly browned- about 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Then add the onion, garlic, thyme, celery, bell pepper, and cook, occasionally stirring until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Return sausage to the pot together with soaked red beans, smoked turkey, creole seasoning, paprika, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and broth or water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Turn off saute setting.
Close the instant pot and shift your valve to " Sealing." Press the "Pressure Cook" button, ensuring the “High Pressure” setting is selected, and set the time for 35 minutes. Note: It takes about 10 minutes for the pot to “preheat” and come up to pressure before it starts cooking. (During cooking, avoid touching the metal part of the lid.)
When the timer runs out, let the pot sit untouched for 20 minutes (20 minutes natural release). Then manually release the remaining pressure by turning the steam release knob to venting.
As soon as the pin drops down, you can open the lid.
Check beans to make sure the beans are cooked to desired doneness. If not, close the lid and cook for an additional 5 minutes (with a 10-minute natural release). Discard bay leaves.
Serve with rice and garnish with green onions.

Notes

Soak your beans in water overnight to help them cook up more tender and evenly. Or skip the soaking part and cook the dry beans directly to the instant pot.
You can also use kidney beans, white cannellini beans, and black beans while following the same cooking preparation. But for the authentic red bean flavor, stick with dried red beans.
To prepare smoked ham hocks for cooking, you can remove the meat and skin from the bones (you can also use the bones to make a flavorful broth, so don’t throw it out) and cut it into small pieces.
I use chicken stock most of the time to cook beans instead of just water to add more flavor. But on this recipe, plain water works fine since the dish makes its own stock from bits of added pork.
I prefer adding fresh thyme to my stews, but you may opt for dried thyme, too. Since I’m also a heat seeker, adding cayenne is the way to go, but you may leave it out.
Andouille sausage is the best option for this recipe since it yields that spicy and cured flavor that adds depth to the flavor.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in each recipe.

Nutrition