In The Kitchen With Kat-Instant Pot Beans And Rice

Sometimes I just crave something simple, quick, and easy to make. And for some reason this past week I had a hankering for beans and rice. But with the hubs gone, me soloing everything, and it being the height of spring farm chaos, I really didn't have the inkling (or time and energy) to craft a multi-step, drawn out meal.

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So I got out the Instant Pot.

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Now, I am not one who has a bunch of kitchen gadgets, but I have to admit I enjoy the Pot of Instantaneous, especially in the summer when it's hot outside and I have burned more calories that an entire contingent of 9-5 office workers in one potato hilling sesh.

And it was in that vein that I removed the 8 quart beast from my gadgetry armoire and wandered around the house grabbing ingredients.

One pot recipes are my jam, er pot! I love throwing things into one cooking vessel and ending up with something delicious. Less clean up is a divine thing.

To start things off, I hit the SAUTE function on the pot of instant and heated some oil before adding some chopped onion for a bit of a caramelizing saute. Next, I threw in a drained can of green chilis and a respectable amount of minced garlic.

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After a bit of a cook, I poured in four cups of chicken stock, splashed in rinsed rice, and dumped in a can of taco beans (pintos in red sauce) and a can of rinsed pintos.

Things were starting to look good. But I wanted more than good, I wanted it to be spicy. So I walked to medieval spice cupboard and took out some of my
homemade taco seasoning and added some of that along with salt, pepper, and tomato paste.

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Then came the best part: It only took seven minutes to cook! SEVEN WHOLE MINUTES!! AHHH!

Okay, to be fair, I let the pressure release naturally for about five minutes after the seven minutes of pressure cooking, and then it did take a couple minutes to build pressure, but truly, this dish start to finish took about twenty minutes to craft.

And OH YUM, was it ever good! And it made a ton, I ate on that pot of beans and rice for days!

My favorite way to eat beans and rice is to crunch some tortilla chips on top, add a dollop sour cream, a sprinkling of green onions, a smattering of hot sauce, and nom nom time commences!!

And there is a ingredient note that must be shared about this dish, it's designed for white rice and canned beans. If you want to use dried beans or brown rice cooking times change. I was going for quick and easy and reasonably healthy. Once you start changing ingredients you have to start messing about with cooking times for doneness. All I can say about this recipe is that it makes the most creamy, fluffy, decadent beans and rice, but that is because the beans are canned and the rice is white. Just an FYI in case you want to use brown rice or dried beans, etc! You'll have to experiment!

And there you have it! A super easy to throw together, quick to get down, inexpensive, healthy meal of super yumminess! I love it!

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Instant Pot Beans And Rice

2 cups white rice
1 15oz can taco beans (pintos in red sauce)
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (can be omitted if you don't like lots of beans)
2 TBSP taco seasoning (I used my homemade kind, a pkt would work just fine)
4 cups chicken broth
1 4oz can diced green chilis
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 onion chopped (I used red cause it was taunting me from the mesh basket that my onions and garlic lurk about in)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 TBSP vegetable oil (I used olive)
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse rice until water runs clear

Using the Instant Pot's saute function, saute onion until translucent, then add the green chilis and minced garlic, saute another minute or two

Deglaze pan with chicken stock, add rice, beans, taco seasoning, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.

Pressure cook for 7 minutes, let pressure vent naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release if you are impatient to eat (I was)

Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, hot sauce, and tortilla chips! Enjoy!

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And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's always spicy iPhone.