Instant Pot Rice & Beans (Only 5 Ingredients!)

GFGluten FreeOFOil FreeVVegan

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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.

ingredients for rice and beans on wood cutting board

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.

bowl of rice and beans on wood cutting board with lime

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? 🙂

bowl of rice and beans on wood cutting board with lime

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 !

bowl of rice and beans on wood cutting board with lime

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 🙂

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Instant 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.

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 Minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 5 Servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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.

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ingredients for rice and beans on wood cutting board with bowl

 

About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. I love cooking with hatch chiles!! I recently got a new instant pot so I can’t wait to test it out ???? Everything looks so tasty and flavorful

  2. I recently adapted a mostly plant based eating habit. This recipe has become one of my 2 favorites. I make it weekly. My meat loving husband likes it too. Thanks!!

  3. Hello Caitlin,
    I have been following your articles well for the past 2 years. The recipes you share are great. You made my family meal more wonderful. Thank you very much.

    1. That’s so awesome, thank you for the kind words and glad you’ve been following for so long!

  4. i doubled this in the instant pot. I used dry kidney beans but try to get the freshest possible. I ran out of salsa, so I added another cup of fire roasted crushed tomatoes and a jalapeno. SOOOOOO GOOD! Now we have plenty for lunches. Simple, easy, tasty and well received in the family. Thank you!

    1. Happy to hear you and your family liked it and that you were able to make it work with what you had!

  5. This recipe was fantastic. A few of the beans were not tender, so I will soak them first next time. I love that the brown rice cooked so well that I couldn’t even tell that it was brown! I usually acoid brown rice because it comes out too firm for my taste.

  6. Very good! My husband and I are wading into vegan waters, at least most of the time, and this recipe seemed like it would would be great as a Sunday meal to double and then nibble from for a couple of days. I was right, husband said he could easily eat this a few nights a week.

    A couple of notes: I soaked the beans for 24 hrs, then doubled the measurements for the beans, rice and salsa. I added a chopped green pepper, chopped yellow onion, 4 lg cloves garlic (yes, we like garlic), a few dashes of hot sauce (not tabasco), and a smoked paprika spice blend that I’m now of course out of, just to add a little more spice. It really came out great and will be a keeper recipe…looking forward to trying more from this site!!

    1. Glad you guys were able to customize it to your preferences! Good luck on your journey into veganism!

  7. This recipe was easy to make, the flavor was great but the beans were too hard for my liking when it was done. I would probably use canned beans next time for better texture.

    1. Did you use the red kidney beans? If you substitute the dried red kidney beans for another kind they would likely need longer to cook and if you use already cooked canned beans you may just end up turning those into mush! See the notes on the bottom of the recipe for some extra tips!

  8. Great recipe, everything cooked perfectly. I did go with 29 minutes out of the gate and let it depressurize naturally for 15. Was GREAT!!!!

    Thanks!

  9. This was really good and so quick. Love that I have everything in the pantry except cilantro. Will def make again.

  10. Caitlin,

    This is a great basic recipe that can be adapted in all sorts of ways. Your comment about black beans turning brown rice gray reminded me that I had black (AKA “forbidden”) rice at home, so I made this dish with both, same cook time. I used a whole 4 cup carton of vegetable broth and threw in some leftover diced tomatoes along with the salsa. Delicious and very dramatic topped with chopped cilantro, scallions and salsa.

  11. Great recipe! I used Paul Newmans pineapple salsa and the flavor was great. While the rice and beans were cooking I fried up some pineapple sausage and served both together. Half of the beans weren’t quite cooked the way they should be. I think I’ll soak them a few hours the next time I make this recipe. What is the shortest time you can soak beans?

  12. Caitlin, this is a great recipe. Thanks for sharing! I have to soak my beans for them to come out soft, but other than that it is perfect every time.

  13. Love this recipe. I am making it again tonight. Quick question, do you think I can double it? I have a 8 qt. IP.

  14. This is a great find. We use chicken stock in our family. Tastes great. Thank you.

    I give this five stars.

  15. Excellent hands off recipe that could feed a crowd! I used short grain brown rice and Domingo Rojo beans (cutest little red beans ever). I did soak the beans overnight in the fridge. I followed the recommended cook/release times and the beans & rice were cooked but a bit soupy. I left the dish on warm while I grilled up some andouille sausages… maybe 20 mins. By then, the dish had thickened up nicely. If I didn’t have the smoking spicy sausage the meal would have been on the bland side. Next time I will sauté onion, garlic, celery, and throw in some herbs and spices. I think this recipe would be great substituted with white beans, and topped with parmesan. So! …now interested on how to scale this recipe down to 4 smaller portions.

  16. This recioe turned out fantastic! I was skeptical at first using dry beans without soaking. Ive been missing out on this super short cut. Also very inexpensive and tasty for only using minimal ingredients. I added some pickling brine, fermented jalapenos, and a can of adobo sauce and chipotle peppers. The flavor is crazy good. Thanks for posting. Look forward to other recipes ????

  17. If I wanted to add corn, would I need to adjust anything?
    I’m new to the instant pot world of cooking. Excited to try new ideas