Pressure Cooker Red Beans and Rice

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated Sept. 8, 2023

Pressure Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1¾ hours
Rating
4(514)
Comments
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This is a pressure cooker spin on the New Orleans classic (though we have a slow cooker version, too, if that’s more your speed). Pressure cookers have a special way with dried beans, cooking even unsoaked beans quickly and evenly, so that the beans become creamy but retain their shape. Here, you want the beans to be very soft, so that the stew is thick, not brothy. “Monday red beans” are traditionally flavored with a leftover pork bone, so you can use one instead of a ham hock, if you like. If you have a favorite Cajun or Creole seasoning blend, use 1 heaping tablespoon of it in place of the sage, cayenne, garlic, onion and paprika, and taste before adding any salt, since seasoning blends vary in salinity.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 10garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1teaspoon onion powder
  • 1teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ½ to 1teaspoon ground cayenne, to taste
  • ½teaspoon ground sage (optional)
  • 1pound dried red kidney beans (no need to soak)
  • 12ounces smoked pork sausage, preferably andouille, sliced into 1-inch-thick coins
  • 1smoked ham hock (about 10 ounces)
  • 3dried bay leaves
  • 3fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Cooked rice, for serving
  • Sliced scallions, for serving
  • Louisiana-style hot sauce, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

613 calories; 23 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 997 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Turn on the sauté setting of a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker and heat the oil. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until limp and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the celery and bell pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and sage (if using); grind in a generous amount of black pepper and add ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, then turn off the sauté setting.

  2. Step 2

    Add the beans, sausage, ham hock, bay leaves, thyme and 5½ cups water. Scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. Cook on high pressure until the beans are creamy, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

  3. Step 3

    Turn off the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to reduce naturally for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid. Taste the beans to make sure they are tender, and add salt and cayenne to taste. Using a fork, mash some of the beans against the side of the pressure cooker to make the mixture creamy; you can turn on the sauté setting and let the mixture bubble for a few minutes to thicken, if you like, but it will also continue to thicken as it sits. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, and pick the meat off the ham hock if you like. Top the beans with hot cooked rice and scallions; serve with hot sauce.

Ratings

4 out of 5
514 user ratings
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Comments

Lyn O

To those of you using an Instant Pot: Your "high" setting is only 10 to 11 psi. This would be more of a "medium" setting on a regular pressure cooker. Standard "high" pressure is 15 psi. This is why you need more time.

Jill

You could leave out the meat and ham hock, and to replace the missing smoky flavor, a bit of liquid smoke. A little goes a long way with that stuff. You could substitute Beyond Meat sausage (haven’t tried that in this recipe.) You could also char the green pepper and onion for a bit of smoky flavor. I agree on the comment re: using Camellia brand red beans if you can find them.

Sarah

I found that at least 1 hour 30 was needed with my instant pot. I ended up letting it go for almost 2 hours to let the beans get soft enough. Please update the time requirements or recommend soaking of the beans.

S. T.

Really loved this! After a recent trip to New Orleans we were looking to replicate some wonderful meals. I used rancho gordo domingo rojo beans and cooked for one hour in my instant pot. They could have gone longer I guess but we enjoyed them without further cooking, and I didn’t mash them because I forgot to :). Had a 16 oz piece of andouille and no ham hock. Otherwise followed recipe exactly. Will happily make again!

Matthew

60 minutes on high in my instant pot worked perfectly for me. I would be nervous jumping straight to 90 minutes, as some comments suggest—you can always re-pressurize and cook more, but there’s nothing you can do if the beans turn to mush. Putting the beans in unsoaked, as the recipe recommends, makes sense here, because it lines up the cook time of the meat and the beans. For me, the beans softened just as the meat started to fall off the bone. Good recipe.

J. Smith

Soak red beans in water overnight or for 8-10 hours. If you don’t have time to do that, then you can pressure cook red beans in instant pot for 30 minutes, then let naturally release steam. Put beans aside and follow this recipe as written.

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