Vegan Pressure Cooker Red Beans and Rice
- Total Time
- 1¾ hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- ¼cup 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
- 1heaping tablespoon white or yellow miso paste
- 2teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ to 1teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon ground sage (optional)
- 1pound dried red kidney beans (no need to soak)
- 3dried bay leaves
- 3fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1teaspoon soy sauce
- Cooked rice, for serving
- Sliced scallions, for serving
- Louisiana-style hot sauce, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
422 calories; 11 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 460 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.
Powered byPreparation
- 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, miso paste, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, 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.
- Step 2
Add the beans, 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.
- 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. Add the soy sauce, and season to taste with salt and cayenne. Using a fork, mash some of the beans against the side of the pressure cooker to make the mixture creamy. It will continue to thicken as it sits, or you can turn on the sauté setting and let the mixture bubble for a few minutes to thicken. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Top the beans with hot cooked rice and scallions; serve with hot sauce.
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Cooking Notes
BEVERLY A SAUER
Under self-imposed quarantine, 70 years old. Powdered onions and garlic are not the most delicious option but their shelf life, small storage requirements, and availability make them the best option in a crisis. The old Girl Scout in me keeps dry goods and spices in the pantry to ‘Be Prepared’ for any contingency: hurricanes, blizzard, COVID.
Todd
Oddly, salt isn’t mentioned in the ingredient list, but step 1 includes adding 3/4 tsp of it. Since both soy sauce and miso typically contain a huge amount of sodium, it might be a good idea to hold off on adding salt until the very end, and then only adding it if it really seems necessary.
Eliza
These cooked up great in 50 minutes BUT I pre-soaked the beans. In my experience, 1 hour in the instant pot is not enough time for dried beans to get creamy
jbno
Louisiana native here. Instead of miso and soy (which honestly feel pretty sacrilegious) just add some liquid smoke. My dad went vegan for a few years and that's what we used to give our beans the smokiness they need.
Chris
With a few adjustments, this came out great! * reduced water to 4c, as my InstantPot guide says to use 2-3 cups per cup of dried beans * 1/2 tsp of salt because my Miso is salty—next time, I’ll reduce that further to just 1/4 tsp * Omitted onion & garlic powder—fresh is plenty. * Finish Step 3 with 1tsp gumbo file powder to thicken * Sauté & adjust flavors The gumbo file was a last minute inspiration! The smoked paprika was too overpowering, so I’ll just use 1 tsp. next time.
scarpet
Used an InstantPot (50 minutes high pressure / 10 minutes before release) and made 1 day before to let flavor set in. WOW - maybe the best red beans and rice I've ever had, definitely the best I've ever made. Changes (serves 4): 4 cups water / 1 cup dried beans, 2 celery stalks, 1.5 tsp Pimenton de la Vera Dulce (rather than regular sweet paprika), 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne (no sage), 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp soy sauce, and ended with 2 tsp file powder. Kept everything else the same. Delish
Cathy
Next time, add one tsp Lawrys instead of sweet paprika and up the insta pot time to one hour and 15 minutes for the dried beans. This recipe was devoured!!!
Earl
The beans will need 80 minutes to get "creamy" in the instant pot. The 60 minute time is too short for dried beans.
Nissan22
Great recipe, and vegetarian without sacrificing deep flavor for the meat-cravers. Added some Better Than Boullion (roasted vegetable) at half the normal strength, mixed in the water. Cut liquid to about 5 cups, based on other people’s reviews. Threw in some Tony Cachere’s and Penzey’s cajun seasoning for good measure. Cooked for 1 hr, released pressure, adjusted seasoning w soy sauce and liquid smoke, and gave it a final 15 minutes of pressure cooking. Delicious , creamy, perfect texture.
jane mohon
pre-soaked beans take ~50 mins in instapot omit salt since soy sauce & miso have plenty of sodium use ~4c liquid, broth instead of water for more flavor
Bianca
LOVED this recipe. Will definitely make again! Quick note: I did soak my beans overnight and leave them at a rolling boil for 15 minutes before putting them in the IP. We also used the water they boiled in as the bean “broth” - so thick and creamy!
Emily
Based on previous notes about underdone beans, I set my instant pot on high pressure for 75 min. Beans came out wonderfully soft!
Jenny
I added 3/4 tsp Liquid Smoke at the end. Next time I’ll add a little more.
Maribeth
reduced water to 4c, as my InstantPot guide says to use 2-3 cups per cup of dried beans * 1/2 tsp of salt because my Miso is salty—next time, I’ll reduce that further to just 1/4 tsp * Omitted onion & garlic powder—fresh is plenty. * Finish Step 3 with 1tsp gumbo file powder to thicken * Sauté & adjust flavors
Eliza
I used fake chicken bouillon instead of miso and blended some at the end.
Amanda Melhuish
Lovely! added the liquid smoke from other comments. having good spices makes all the difference! preparing it with a gochujang marinated tofu since thats what i had on hand
JZapin
I cooked this for an hour and 10 minutes and then let it release naturally and it came out perfect with a little mushing of the beans.
Julie
This was a fast weeknight dinner. I used canned beans (1 red kidney and 1 cannellini) and added some vegan sausage while browning the celery. 15-20 min in the instant pot and served in a bowl over farro/barley. It was easy and flavorful.
Samantha
Delicious! Needed longer cooking time with unsoaked beans. Will do 75 mins next time. Otherwise it was delicious as written
JR
Super delicious! I used Ranch Gordo Rojo beans, which took 45 minutes in the Instant Pot (uncooked). I also added 2 tsp of liquid smoke based on other comments. Served with brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s. I’ll be making it again soon!
beans
I don't understand this instruction in step 2: "Cook on high pressure until the beans are creamy, 50 minutes to 1 hour." How are you supposed to know when the beans become creamy while they're cooking at high pressure? Am I missing something here? I've seen similar instructions in other pressure cooker recipes but never understood how you could possibly know.
Jessa
This was a little bland for me. I would kick it up a notch on flavor (not necessarily spice)
yumyum
Tasted kind of flat…the suggested liquid smoke by another reviewer made all the difference.
Cole
This was excellent. Based on other comments I reduced the water to 4c and increased the pressure cook time to 80 minutes, then let it naturally release for 10. I had pretty large kidney beans.
SF Home Chef
Since I used small red beans, I pressure cooked for 40 minutes, but otherwise I made this with few modifications other than adjusting the amounts for a smaller batch. I didn't have miso, but just a splash of liquid smoke at the end as suggested in another comment did the trick. In the absence of the miso, I used a tbsp of tomato paste instead, which probably gave it a heartier flavor profile. Really delicious, though!
mimi
Soaked the red beans in room temp for a few hours before proceeding. This is delicious!! Hearty but not heavy and wonderfully smoky. Had to use much more salt at the end for seasoning so i wouldn’t worry about too much salt. I didn’t add extra cayenne for the rest of the fam and it wasn’t spicy. I’m sure purists would object but I like it w sliced pickled jalapeño (both pepper and a bit of juice) for extra heat and zing. This also makes a LOT so next time I’d freeze some. Five stars
H
4 1/2-5 cups water, 80-90 minutes
Mary
Can the beans be frozen after cooking for future use?
anonymous
Used a can of bean because thats why i had. Simple and deep in flavor. Easy to forget that this is vegan because it tastes almost meaty. Lovely and would make again
Melissa B
1cup beans to 3 cup water was 1/2 serving. Cook at least 50 min
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