Red beans and rice is a staple dish in Lousiana cuisine. Typically served on Monday’s, this dish would slowly cook away on the stove. Ham was traditionally served on Sunday and the ham bone was used to provide a wonderful flavor in the dish. Monday was laundry day and a pot of red beans and rice was perfect, as it was left unattended while the the clothes were washed and hung to dry. This laundry day tradition is part of the culture in Louisiana and today many homes still prepare this classic dish, although people make it any day of the week. It is also available at many restaurants in New Orleans, throughout the state of Louisiana and beyond.
Red beans and rice is slow cooked so that the flavor of the meat penetrates the kidney beans. Also, the bean get nice and soft through this prolonged cooking time. Some of the beans are broken and mashed to help thicken the broth into a nice creamy gravy. There are different options for meat in the dish, although it is typically pork, ranging from ham or tasso, to smoked sausage like andouille.Served on rice, this dish is economical but tastes incredible!
I received a pressure cooker a month ago and I was interested to see how this dish would fare in a machine that speeds up the cooking time. Since red beans and rice takes so long to cook, many people do not have the time to make it. If the pressure cooker can make this dish well, in a fraction of the time, it can become a far more manageable dish to prepare.
The pressure cooker that I use can brown food, so I fried up the onion, pepper and celery (aka the trinity in Louisiana). Then I added some cubed ham and garlic.
Add the rest of the ingredients (dry red kidney beans, water, and spices) to the pressure cooker. Close the lid and make sure the vent is also closed. Set the pressure cooker to high pressure and select 60 minutes. Then, walk away and let the pressure cooker take care of the rest. The 60 minutes should be enough to cook the beans until they are tender, but it is possible they may need a bit more time. Try using a wooden spoon spoon to press a kidney bean against the side of the pot. It should mush up easily and if it seems a little hard, then set the pressure cooker to cook for another 30 minutes. That should be plenty of time to soften those beans up.
Mash up about 1/3 of the beans and stir to thicken the sauce. My pressure cooker has a simmer function, so I let the red beans and rice simmer for a bit until the rice was cooked and we were ready to eat.
Even though these red beans and rice were cooked in under 2 hours total time, they had a full and rich flavor. If you did not know, you would assume that a pot had been simmering on the stove all afternoon! Serve with white rice and a side ofcollard greens for the full Louisiana experience!
Get the recipe for collard greens here! –Collard Greens with Ham Hock
Red Beans and Rice Pressure Cooker Recipe
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Make this classic Lousiana dish in a fraction of the time by using a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot. Kidney beans, ham, sausage, onions, pepper and celery make this great dish served on rice.
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 pepper , diced
- 2-3 celery stalks , chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 1/2 pounds ham , smoked sausage, tasso, cut into cubes
- 1 pound dry red kidney beans
- 5 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicier)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Heat oil on medium high and add onion, pepper and celery. Cook until they start to get tender, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and chopped meat and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
Rinse the kidney beans and drain.
Add all the ingredients (except the rice) to the pressure cooker. Close the lid and the vent.
Set the pressure cooker to high and select 60 minutes cooking time.
After the 50 minutes, let the pressure cooker release the pressure naturally. It should take 10-15 minutes.
Remove the lid and use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash about 1/3-1/2 of the beans.
Stir thoroughly and the mashed beans should thicken the broth into a nice creamy gravy.
Serve with rice.
Notes
If after the 60 minutes the kidney beans are still not soft, you may need to cook them a bit longer. If needed, set the pressure cooker to high and select 30 minutes cooking time. After this, the bean should definitely be tender.
Course: Main
Cuisine: southern
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FAQs
All you need to do to cook beans in the instant pot is add them into your pot, followed by 2 – 3x that amount of water. So if you're using 1 cup of dried beans (unsoaked), you'd follow that with about 2 – 3 cups of water. Basically, you want the beans to be fully submerged or else they won't cook evenly.
Can you overcook beans in a pressure cooker? ›
Yes, technically speaking, you can cook beans in the Instant Pot without soaking. However, you will find that the cooking times can be all over the place, and the final product is often inconsistent. Some beans will be overcooked and completely decimated, while others are still gritty or firm in the center.
Can you put raw beans in a pressure cooker? ›
Use a pressure cooker! A pressure cooker is a great tool for preparing dry beans quickly. Pressure cookers combine high pressure and high heat, which dramatically reduces cooking time. Beans cooked in a pressure cooker will cook in about one-third of the time it takes to cook beans on the stove.
What happens if you don t soak beans before pressure cooking? ›
Yes: When you soak beans, you dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to pressure cook them. For instance, unsoaked chickpeas take 35-40 minutes to cook, but soaked chickpeas take just 10 minutes to cook. No: I don't think anyone says no to this question per se, but there is a bit of a tradeoff.
How long should I cook beans in a pressure cooker? ›
Cook on High Pressure for Following Times:
- Black Beans--30 Minutes on High Pressure.
- Chickpeas--40 Minutes on High Pressure.
- Kidney Beans--35 Minutes on High Pressure.
- Pinto Beans--25 Minutes on High Pressure.
- Navy Beans**--25 Minutes on High Pressure.
- Butter Beans--40 Minutes on High Pressure.
Overfilling your Instant Pot can affect the pressure that builds up inside, so you might end up with a mushy meal, or one that doesn't cook properly. Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside.
How do you reduce gas in pressure cooking beans? ›
But most people can enjoy more beans with less gas with the help of these tips: Soak beans overnight in water, then drain, rinse and cook in fresh water. This decreases the oligosaccharide content. Cooking the beans in a pressure cooker may reduce the oligosaccharides even further.
Is it better to slow cook or pressure cook beans? ›
Both methods were ranked as easy, however, considering the amount of cook time required for slow cooker beans, the Instant Pot method comes out on top. The stovetop and oven methods result in beans that were unevenly cooked– some had hard spots while others were mushy.
Is it healthier to pressure cook beans? ›
Pressure Cooking Beans From Soaked
Reduces indigestible sugars by over 75%. Removes a majority of the anti-nutrients, allowing the digestive process to absorb more iron, for example. The beans cook evenly. They're nice to look at and also eat, because they're evenly cooked so no more crunchy beans.
Why are my beans still hard after pressure cooking? ›
This is because without enough liquid your Instant Pot will not come back up to pressure and that causes a whole new set of issues. To solve it, add some liquid and try again. If the beans are extremely hard or barely cooked, I might set it for 8 or 9 minutes.
Cooking methods vary in their ability to retain nutrients, and pressure cooking stands out. Research, including a study from the 1990s, suggests that pressure cooking retains about 90 to 95 percent of food nutrients, outperforming other methods like steaming, roasting, and especially boiling.
Do Mexicans soak beans before cooking? ›
Mexican cooks don't pre-soak beans. They just add beans to water and get on with the cooking. No soaking or draining for them.
Can you cook dried beans in a pressure cooker without soaking? ›
Forget pre-soaking. Forget hours of gentle simmering. Beans on the stovetop are fantastic for a lazy weekend afternoon, but with a pressure cooker, you can go from opening a bag of dried legumes to plump, tender beans in under an hour.
Why do Mexicans soak beans? ›
Many Mexican cooks have succinctly preached against pre-soaking for decades, but some people argue that pre-soaking dry beans and draining before starting the cooking time with fresh water will: 1) shorten the cooking period; 2) remove some of the toxic phytic acid present in different degrees in all beans, and 3) ...
What is a good bean to water ratio? ›
Place rinsed beans in a large cooking pan. Cover with 3 cups of water per 1 cup of beans. Use 10 cups for a 1 pound bag.
What is the best water to bean ratio? ›
Get to know the golden ratio
For drip coffee brewing — which encompasses most home coffeemakers, bulk brewers and pour-overs — Helfen says that the ratio of 60 grams of coffee to one liter of water, or roughly 1:17, is the one most commonly used by coffee pros (and is often referred to as “the golden ratio”).
How much water do I need for 2 cups of beans? ›
In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans. Heat to boiling; boil for 2–3 minutes.
How much water do I need for 2 cups of soaked beans? ›
Boiling Method
Place washed and soaked beans in a heavy pot with 3 cups of water per 1 cup of soaked beans. Bring to a boil, boil uncovered for about 10 minutes, skim off any foam that may form. Vegetables and spices can be added at this point, if desired.
