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
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.
The Instant Pot is our preferred method for cooking kidney beans because it's quick and easy (no soaking required!), and yields perfectly tender beans! Here's what you need to know: Ratio = 1 part kidney beans : 3 ½ parts water. Cook Time = 40-45 minutes.
What is the ratio of beans to water in a pressure cooker? ›
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? ›
I cooked pinto beans in an electric pressure cooker and ended up with a few overcooked mushy beans, few cooked ones, if slightly al dente, and the majority of beans so severely undercooked that they seemed to be hardly cooked at all.
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 much water do you put in 2 cups of beans in a pressure cooker? ›
When cooking beans in the Instant Pot, you'll use 2 1/2 cups of water for every 1 cup of dry beans. I've tried using less than that, but since beans expand as they cook, the ones that aren't fully submerged in liquid will cook unevenly.
How do you make beans less gassy in a pressure cooker? ›
Throw out the water and cook the beans with fresh water in a pressure cooker until soft. Or boil until soft. Dont add salt to the water until beans are soft. Add asafoetida to the food containing the beans to reduce gas, Ginger, cummin and fennel also help do that.
Is it better to slow cook or pressure cook beans? ›
Pressure cookers were made for beans. Slow cooking them would not improve the taste, and with kidney beans specifically you shouldn't slow cook them at all (unless you boiled them for ten minutes first).
What happens if you put too much water in a pressure cooker? ›
Overfilling: Adding too much water to a pressure cooker can cause it to become overfilled, exceeding its maximum capacity. This can prevent the cooker from building up enough pressure to cook food properly and may result in leaks or spills.
How much water do I need for 2 cups of beans? ›
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.
Using too much liquid.
Follow this tip: While at least 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid is essential to well-cooked food in the pressure cooker, too much liquid will pull the flavor out of foods. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, use just enough liquid to bring the cooker to pressure.
Is it healthier to pressure cook beans? ›
Pressure cooking makes grains and legumes more digestible by reducing phytic acid and lectins. ... Pressure cooking is also on par with fermentation as the best way to reduce the lectins (yet another anti-nutrient) in grains. Turns out, pressure cooking may be the best possible way to cook your soaked beans and grains!
Does cooking beans in pressure cooker destroy nutrients? ›
In fact, researchers found six times the antioxidant levels in the pressure-cooked beans. I've been pressure-cooking beans just because I like their texture better (the canned ones can be a bit mushy for me) and dried beans are so cheap compared to canned ones. But now we know they're tastier, cheaper, and healthier.
Why are my beans still hard after slow cooking? ›
Chances are your beans are old. Old beans can seem to take forever to get soft. Cook them longer, making sure you are using plenty of water. Next time, if you have beans from the same source, soak for 48 hours.
How long does it take to cook 3 cups of beans in a pressure cooker? ›
Add 8 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, garlic, bay leaf and oil to the pot. Cook the beans: Secure the pressure cooker's lid and set the pressure to high for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the beans you are using.
Why do you need to soak beans before pressure cooking? ›
Here's how a pressure cooker can help. Beans should be soaked in cold water for at least eight hours so that they'll cook faster, more evenly, and also to minimize the unpleasant effects that have earned them their "musical fruit" reputation.
Are beans better in a pressure cooker? ›
Pressure cookers can speed the preparation time for dry beans. While traditional soaking and cooking dry beans on a stove may require hours of preparation time, 1 pound of dry beans can be prepared in less than an hour in a pressure cooker.
