Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice with Canned Beans

The best Instant Pot red beans and rice with canned beans recipe ever! Really easy to make and cheap too. Great pressure cooker dinner idea that’s hearty and packed with lots of flavor. Using uncooked rice and a few other ingredients it’s a one pot meal my kids absolutely love.

Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

Instead of dry beans we used canned beans so it would cook faster. You can make it as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe, in a Crockpot Express or other brand you have at home. They all basically work the same as long as you have the saute and high pressure function to them. Easy one pot meal that is hearty and healthy.

You can add the kielbasa sausage or make it vegetarian instead like our Instant Pot black beans and rice was made. I typically buy whatever type is on sale. You could even use Northern or pinto beans instead if you preferred those.

Ninja Foodi Red Beans and Rice

For this machine you will use the lid that is not attached for the pressure cook function. This gave our hearty rice dinner a great added flavor. You could use any sausage links that are precooked. This is the style I typically pick up at the store. There are many varieties, spicy is quite good too.

Everyone is a bit different. Some like red beans and rice a bit soupier in it’s consistency, we like it on the drier side but you can make it either way with this recipe. If you want more of a gumbo style I would add an additional 1/2 cup of liquid and with that you could include 1 cup of frozen okra too. That would transition it into that rhelm.

How to Make Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice with Canned Beans

Just add a bit more chicken broth or water before you put your Instant Pot lid on and it will come out just as you had envisioned it. I ate a lot of this in Louisiana when I lived down South, plus crawfish (oh so good), gumbo and more.

• Pressure cooker – we have an Instant Pot but there are many other brands
• Wooden spoon – my preference when cooking, especially sauteeing in my pot
• Knife to dice your onion, bacon and sausage

Easy Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Instant Pot Beans and Rice Ingredients

If you wanted to start with dry small red beans, use our cooking times for beans chart to get them tender first. You do not have to soak the beans if using this pressure cooking method.

1. Onion
2. Bacon
3. Sausage – Andouille sausage is best if you like a bit of a kick
4. Can of red kidney beans is what I used
5. Chicken broth
6. Rice – white, long grain uncooked
7. Salt and black pepper to taste
8. Spices
9. Green onion and hot sauce can be served on top

Are red beans and kidney beans the same thing?

No, red beans and kidney beans are actually different types. The main difference is that red beans are smaller and rounder, more like pinto beans. However, these beans still are fairly similar and can generally be used interchangeably in recipes that call for either dried or canned beans

I use what I find at the store on sale. I don’t feel there is enough of a difference to search for either one specifically. Typically it is quite a lengthy process but there is always a way you can simplify things. That is what we did for you here.

How to Cook Red Beans and Rice in Electric Pressure Cooker

We loved this recipe because it had a great flavor and was a complete meal in a bowl! If you are not about a lot of spice use a different type of sausage as opposed to Andouille. That is where a lot of the spiciness comes from.

I am not a spice loving person but this is just perfect for me and my kids enjoy it too for dinner. It feeds the 5 of us with leftovers for lunch the next day as well which makes it a really inexpensive meal idea. Here’s a quick rundown of how it’s done:

1. Set pot to saute, add olive oil, bacon, onion and garlic. 
2. Cook until bacon is pretty cooked and onions begin to soften.
3. Add moon shaped slices of precooked sausage and warm them together with other ingredients.
4. Turn pot off and pour in your red beans that have been drained and rinsed.
   1. If you want to use dry beans refer to our post on cooking beans in a pressure cooker.

Once they’re tender you can begin with step one of this recipe. You cannot put them in without already being soft using this cook time.

How long does it take to cook red beans?

On the stovetop you’d need to cook red beans for 1 hour, and then begin checking for doneness. These can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to cook through though depending on their size and age. Be patient. In an Instant Pot it takes closer to 30 minutes with no pre-soaking required. With canned you’re closer to 10 min.

1. Pour in your chicken broth, water, cumin and salt now. Stir
2. Sprinkle in uncooked rice and submerge into the liquid on top, do not stir.
3. Close lid and set valve to sealing. Push the rice button which will automatically set to 12 minutes.
   1. Those without this button, set to high pressure for 12 minutes.
4. Allow to naturally pressure release for 2 minutes when done, then let rest of steam out quickly.

Looking for more easy Instant Pot recipes

Soon after we made this other cheesy version of Instant Pot sausage and rice using the same links!

• Instant Pot chili has only 5 ingredients and we make this every few weeks on top of rice
• New Years dish = Instant Pot Hoppin John with black eyed peas inside
• A huge kid fave is this Instant Pot chili mac recipe
• These Instant Pot black beans are a great side dish

Yes I am sure you could find a stove top recipe for beans and rice but why bother when you can make it to perfection in under 20 minutes here??!!

What do you serve with red beans and rice?

1. Southern Bacon Cheesy Grits are known to be a favorite to some
2. Cajun Shrimp are a good add in if you want more protein
3. Of course mixed vegetables work as well as:
   1. cauliflower
   2. steamed spinach

How Long Does it Take to Cook Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

If you cook from scratch you have to make the beans tender first which takes 40 minutes or so. Then you add the rice and broth as stated below for an additional 12. With canned you cut it down to just 14 total. You start with putting the Instant Pot on saute, high.  Add olive oil. Add onions, garlic and bacon and cook down until bacon cooks a bit and onions soften. 

• Add precooked sausage and warm along side other ingredients. Turn off IP by pressing cancel.
• Pour in your can of red beans, that have been drained and rinsed. 
• Add chicken broth and water (we used 2 c. of each to look like this picture, if you want it wetter add an extra 1/2-1 c. chicken broth for a soupier consistency). Stir. 
• Add salt, and cumin. Stir. Sprinkle in uncooked rice and submerge into liquid on top, do not stir.

Put lid on IP and close steam valve. Push rice button, will automatically set for 12 minutes. When it beeps allow to naturally release steam for 2 minutes, then do a quick release, stir. Season more if desired and serve!