Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice
This recipe for easy, hearty, Instant Pot rice and beans makes cooking tasty black beans from scratch an easy weeknight endeavor. Stovetop directions at the end of the recipe.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Black Beans
- 1 pound dried black beans (no need to soak)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1 bell pepper (cored, seeded and diced - or substitute an onion)
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 cups long grain rice
- 2 cups water (adjust the amount of water based on package directions if following the stovetop method)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place the stainless steel liner inside the Instant Pot and add the onion and bell pepper. Then add the beans, spices (except salt), and water. The salt will be added to the beans after cooking.
- In a smaller pressure cooker safe pan (I used a 6-inch cake pan) add the rice, water, and salt.
- Add a 2- to 3-inch tall trivet into the Instant Pot on top of the beans and place the rice pan on top of the trivet
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Press “Pressure Cook” until it’s on “Normal” and press the “Pressure Level” button until it’s on “High Pressure.” Then press the +/- buttons until you see 00:35 for 35 minutes. The Instant Pot will say “On” until it gets up to pressure and then will start counting down from 35.
- When it’s done, just leave it alone (natural pressure release) for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure by opening the steam release valve.
- When the float valve is down, press “Cancel” to turn off the Instant Pot and open the lid. Carefully remove the rice pan, then add the salt to the beans and stir. Serve the beans on top of the rice with plantains if desired (see note).
Stovetop Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Cook the black beans according to package directions, or substitute 2 15.5 oz cans of beans for the dried black beans. Drain the cans.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a dash of vegetable oil and the onion. Cook for about 4 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the bell pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the black beans and spices and cook until heated through.
- Serve the beans on top of the rice with the plantains (see note below).
Notes
If you want to serve with plantains, thinly slice yellow, ripe plantains and bake on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray for 15 to 20 minutes while the beans are cooking.