Easy, cheesy enchilada rice loaded with hearty brown rice, black beans, and corn. Instructions for Instant Pot and stovetop.
I love easy recipes for a weeknight dinner. Easy, hearty, flavorful recipes are even better. And super tasty recipes that are mostly hands-off are the best. My Instant Pot has been great for that!
In the Howard household, I do most of the cooking and my husband usually cleans up the messes I make in the kitchen (he really loves it when I’m testing and photographing several recipes in one day… so many loads of dishes!). He also does the laundry and mows the lawn, so I’m pretty sure I’m getting the better end of this marriage. However, when I am making super easy recipes, I generally have the time and energy to do dishes myself. I set up my laptop on the counter, watch some of my favorite Netflix shows, and end up with a clean kitchen and dinner on the table. Win-win!
This Instant Pot enchilada rice is one of my favorite hands-off recipes. Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot, pressure cook, stir in some cheese at the end, and you have a rich, hearty dish perfect for tonight’s dinner. If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, see the end of the recipe for a stovetop adaptation.
What is an Instant Pot?
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An Instant Pot is a brand name of multi-use, programmable electric pressure cookers. The Instant Pot brand offers several different sizes and there are a number of other brands on the market as well with similar features. I have the Instant Pot Duo 6qt, so all of my instructions are based on that one. All of the pressure cookers are pretty similar, they just name things a bit differently, so refer to your manual if I reference a button that you don’t have on yours – or leave a comment in the notes and I’ll try to help you out!
How to Make Instant Pot Enchilada Rice
Start by chopping up the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño. Place the stainless steel pot inside the Instant Pot, then add the butter, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and rice. Pour the water over the top. Do not stir. Then add a can of corn, black beans, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, and cream cheese. Add in that order and do not stir after adding these.
Seal the lid, press the “Pressure Cooker” button until it’s on “Normal”, press the “Pressure Level” button until it’s on “High” and then press the +/- buttons until it says “00:20” (for 20 minutes). Make sure the pressure release valve is closed. The Instant Pot will beep once and say “On”. Then it will get up to pressure, beep again, and start counting down. When it’s done, turn off the Instant Pot and quick release the pressure by opening the pressure release valve, making sure to stay clear of the steam. When the float valve is down, take the lid off.
Add the cheddar cheese and salt and stir until the cheese is melted through. It may look a bit runny at first but thickens up within a few minutes. Serve with cilantro and avocado.
Note: If you get a “Burn” notification, don’t worry! It just means that some stuff is stuck to the bottom of the pot. It’s usually happened to me when I haven’t used enough liquid or when I’ve used a tomato- or cream-based sauce that is touching the bottom of the pot. That’s why in this recipe we add the water to the rice mixture first, then pour the enchilada sauce and other ingredients on top without stirring. To remedy the situation, release the pressure, open the lid, and stir well, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pot. Try turning the pressure cooker on again for the remaining time. If it burns again, then release the pressure again, take off the lid, and turn the pressure cooker on “Saute” to cook the rest of the way. This method may not work well for big cuts of meat but has saved me when creating various rice and pasta recipes.
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Try this Instant Pot Greek Yogurt, my absolute favorite recipe that I make every week. If you try this recipe for Instant Pot Enchilada Rice, leave a comment and review below and let me know how it worked out for you!
Instant Pot Enchilada Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 2 cups water
- 15 oz can of sweet corn (drained)
- 15 oz black beans (drained)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 15-20 oz enchilada sauce
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro & Avocado to serve
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño.
- Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, water, then rice. Do not stir.
- Then add the corn, black beans, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, and cream cheese in that order. Do not stir.
- Seal the lid, close the pressure valve, and press “Pressure Cook” until it says “Normal”, press the "Pressure Level" button until it is on "High", and press the +/- button until it's on "00:20".
- The Instant Pot will beep and then show “On” until it comes up to pressure, then it will beep again and start counting down the cook time.
- When the time is up, press “Cancel” to turn the Instant Pot off. Quick release by opening the pressure valve, making sure to stay away from the steam.
- When the pressure is released and the float valve is down, remove the lid. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted through. Salt to taste and serve with cilantro and avocado as garnish.
Stovetop Instructions
- Start by cooking the brown rice in a saucepan or rice cooker following package instructions.
- Chop the onion and the peppers.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, then add the onion and saute for about 3 minutes, then the peppers and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the enchilada sauce, black beans, corn, and taco seasoning. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer until the rice is done.
- Add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the enchilada mixture. Stir until melted, then incorporate the rice and mix through. Salt to taste and serve with cilantro and avocado as garnish.
If I use quick cook brown rive will that work? I tried it firstwith long grain brown rice but the rice never fully cooked. Any suggestions?
Great question. I used Uncle Ben’s whole grain brown rice for this recipe – there are lots of variations on rice so it could be that you just need to add a few extra minutes to the cook time. If using quick cooking brown rice you would need to cut down the cook time, but I’ve never actually used it so I’m not sure what the exact timing should be. Let me know if you try it and how it works out!
I think all of Uncle Ben’s brown rice is parboiled to reduce the cooking time (even the products that aren’t labeled “quick cooking”). Most brown rice isn’t. So for anyone using brown rice that isn’t parboiled, you’ll probably have to adjust the time. Maybe try natural releasing or adding 5 minutes or both. Most brown rice cooks in the instant pot in 20 min or a little longer with a 15 min natural release.
So good! I never use canned corn for anything, so I was wary at first, but the corn was one of the best parts, adding a subtle sweetness and a great texture.
Only change I made was to double the beans, which felt just right. My family loved it. I could make this every week!
So glad you liked it! My husband would agree with the extra beans, I sometimes add extra just for him.