Red Beans (Instant Pot)

Red Beans and Rice is by-far our favorite weeknight dinner. Today's recipe makes this weeknight-favorite easy, with one-step cooking in Instant Pot and loaded in flavor, with Mexican salsa and spices. 

If you have not tried cooking red beans from scratch, this is the recipe for you. All you need is; dried beans soaked overnight, medium salsa (hot if you prefer heat in beans), and some pantry staples - chicken stock, garlic, tomato, cilantro, and spices.

(In short, I call these my Salsa Red Beans.)

Does this sound like a do-able weeknight dinner!? So, let's get cooking!

When I started cooking in Instant Pot, I used it it very much like manual Pressure Cooker. Every thing I cooked on manual setting because that's what I was most comfortable with. I still prefer to share Manual settings on blog because these work for any kind of Instant Pot. However, these days, I'm also loving Pre-Defined settings on my Instant Pot. 

I use programmable Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1 and Instant Pot Duo 9-in-1. Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1 (affiliate link) is perfect for small family kitchen. It takes less space and has 3 quart capacity. It is my favorite for blog pictures. 7-in-1 means it is programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer. It also comes in 6 Qt or 9 Qt sizes. If you planning to buy an Instant Pot, I can tell you it is very a good investment. 

The first thing I cooked in Instant Pot, with "Bean and Chili" programmable setting, was these Red Beans. I must say, I loved the quality of beans that came out of pot after 40 minutes (very soft and creamy).  No peaking, no re-cooking. Just add everything, press button and forget. Good thing to know is, this option cooks beans at variation of temperatures for best quality of soft and creamy beans. Even better! Isn't it?! You can pick to cook beans soft or very soft (I used very soft).

To make red beans, first I wash and soak dried beans overnight. I make sure to discard soaking liquid next day before using.

Note: It is important to wash beans before soaking in water and discard soaking liquid from all thick-skin legumes such as Red Beans, Pinto Beans, or Chickpeas etc. Soaking of beans make skin soft and release toxins which reside in outer thick layer. It is always best to discard that water.

Once I have beans, Red Beans comm together in 50 minutes with only 10 minutes of prep and rest is job of Instant Pot.

Really, it is That easy!

Traditional Mexican Bean's recipes have bacon, or sausage. I prefer to only use low-sodium, and low-fat chicken stock. Instead of meat, I flavor these beans with salsa, spices, garlic, cilantro, and chilies. 

The ease of this recipe always remind me of my Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. Mix, pour, close and forget. It is that kind of recipe and also very flexible because long cooking in Instant Pot (under pressure) extract lots of flavor.

No Salsa? Make Your Own!

When I don't have salsa in-hand. I make quick salsa with fresh grated (or canned diced) tomatoes, and mix rest of salsa ingredients - jalapeno, lime juice, red onion. When first time I took recipe's pictures (Instant Pot picture above), I used salsa ingredients instead of salsa.

Use Vegetarian Stock for Vegan Beans

Sometimes I even replace chicken stock with vegetable stock when we are on strict vegetarian-diet. Since there is no dairy used in cooking of these beans. Recipe is also vegan when made with vegetarian stock and served without yogurt or sour cream.

These beans are also healthier with very negligible amount of oil used in cooking. I saute garlic in just oil spray. Rest, there is no oil used in cooking these beans. When low-sodium chicken stock used, this recipe is also low in fat.

By the time beans are ready, I cook white or brown rice to serve on side. Someday I even have portion of rice frozen and ready to go which makes life easier on weeknights. I recently shared tips on How To Cook and Freeze Rice. If you planning to make some to use later. This is the best place for some helpful notes and tips.

Creamy-dreamy Red Beans with cooling sour cream and red onion. A serving of white rice and I call this instant-pot-dinner-heaven! (For this post, I served Red Beans with Cilantro Lime Rice.)

Oh, and if you are a Brown Rice person? Here is my Instant Pot Brown Rice recipe. These brown rice also taste darn delicious with these Red Beans. OMG so good!

For more Creamy Beans, try this:
1) Take out a cup of beans, process in food processor, mix back in.
Or 2) Mix in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Stir well to combine.
Or 3) Mix in 1 cup sour cream before serving.

Let's head to the recipe and enjoy cooking Red Beans and Rice for dinner tomorrow!