Make lovely cumin-scented, Cuban inspired Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice in a fraction of the time of traditional methods! One of the best black bean recipes you'll make in your Instant Pot.
What Makes This Pressure Cooker Black Beans and Rice Recipe Incredible?
- Quick. This dish is a spin on a Cuban Moros y Cristianos recipe done in a fraction of the time. It's simplified for #ruthlessefficiency, but still comes out with all the flavors you'd expect from the dish.
- Flavor. This is one of those dishes that literally explodes with flavors in your mouth. You can't have Cuban-inspired cooking without crazy good flavors!
- Simple. Besides soaking the beans and a quick one-minute saute, this is a very simple pour and cook recipe. Perfect for any day of the week.
- Vegetarian. Meatless Monday? Vegetarian family member coming to visit? This recipe is perfect. It's meat-free, but still packs plenty of protein from the black beans and will leave your guests full. If you want to add meat to this, you could always serve it with my Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas for a little Cuban/Mexican fusion!
How Do You Make Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice?
- Heat. Turn the Instapot on SAUTÉ HIGH. Add oil.
- Saute. When the oil heats, add onions, garlic, green pepper, and jalapeño. Sauté for 1 minute to soften vegetables.
- Spices. Add cumin, oregano salt, tomato paste, and bay leaves.
- Rice and Beans. Add brown rice, black beans, and water and stir.
- Pressure Cook. Press CANCEL to turn off Sauté. Press PRESSURE COOK and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 35 minutes.
- Finish. Garnish with cilantro, if using, and serve.
Why Does This Beans and Rice Recipe Use Brown Rice?
A traditional Cuban Black Beans and Rice recipe actually cooks the rice and the beans separately so that the rice is white and the beans are black. But since I can be a bit of a lazy cook, I adapted the recipe with brown rice.
- Cooking time. To cook black bean recipes properly in this Instant Pot recipe, you need at least thirty minutes. White rice only takes about four minutes at high pressure to cook, so it would be impossible to cook them together at the same time.
- Less steps. I wanted to cook this in one step instead of two, I mixed them together in my Instant Pot, used brown rice instead of white, and came up with this lovely Cuban black beans recipe that's my signature lazy/efficient way of cooking.
Tips and Tricks For Cooking Instant Pot Black Beans
Soaking. Soak these beans in hot water for an hour before cooking to get them done quickly.
Pressure Cooking. Using the Instant Pot cuts down on HOURS of cooking time versus traditional stovetop cooking methods.
Liquid. Having the right ratio of liquid helps these cook correctly in a fraction of the time without being under-cooked or over-cooked.
Absolutely! I love cooking beans and even rice in my Instant Pot. Cooking beans or lentils at high pressure infuses flavor like no other cooking style can, and cooks at a fraction of the time.
Check out this post on how to make lentils and beans in a pressure cooker.
It depends on the type of bean, and how much you're cooking at once. Every bean cooks differently and needs different ratios and cook times for the Instant Pot.
Tips and Tricks for Making Pressure Cooker Black Beans and Rice
- Scared of the heat? Eliminate the jalapeno, or reduce the amount used for less spice.
- If you don't have time to soak the black beans overnight, simply soak them for an hour in hot water before cooking.
- Don't forget to remove the bay leaves at the end of pressure cooking. They're good for infusing flavor, but not so much for eating.
Want more Instant Pot Beans Recipes?
- Instant Pot Pinto Beans - the easiest recipe you will LOVE.
- Pressure Cooker Baked Beans - if you've never made your own, you need to start!
- Instant Pot Refried Beans - so easy to make and SO much better than canned.
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice - make these at the same time in your pressure cooker and you'll never make it another way again.
Whether you're new to Cuban-inspired food, or this is your first time, you're going to fall in love with this Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice recipe! It's the perfect side dish, or meatless main course. Don't forget to pin it on Pinterest or share it on Facebook so you don't lose the recipe.
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below! Just click on the stars in the recipe card to rate. Don't forget to pin this recipe for later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup Onion, chopped
- 1 cup Bell Peppers, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoons Ground Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight, or for an hour in hot water
- 1 cup Brown Rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 3/4 cups Water
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on SAUTÉ HIGH. Add oil.
- When the oil heats, add onions, garlic, green pepper, and jalapeño. Sauté for 1 minute to soften vegetables.
- Add cumin, oregano salt, tomato paste, and bay leaves.
- Add brown rice, beans, and water and stir.
- Press CANCEL to turn off Sauté. Press PRESSURE COOK and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 35 minutes.
- Allow the pot to release pressure naturally. Do not rush this as you need time for the beans and rice to absorb any remaining water.
- Garnish with cilantro, if using, and serve.
Watch The Video
- Scared of the heat? Eliminate the jalapeno, or reduce the amount used for less spice.
- If you don't have time to soak the black beans overnight, simply soak them for an hour in hot water before cooking.
- Don't forget to remove the bay leaves at the end of pressure cooking. They're good for infusing flavor, but not so much for eating.
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Nutrition
Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!
Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.
Emily
This recipe is completely inedible. I should have trusted my gut. I knew there was no way rice and beans could possibly cook with so little water. It's not even enough water to cook just the beans. I saw that the recipe had multiple 5 star ratings, so I thought I'd give it a go. The result is black burnt crust. Now I have to soak my pressure cooker and scrub the bottom to try and remove all this wasted burnt food. Big waste of my ingredients and my time.
Julia
You must have done something wrong. I make this about once a week and my family loves it.
URVASHI PITRE
Thank you. We also made it a lot and I think the only reason it wouldn’t work is if the pressure cooker didn’t seal properly
Arleen Kearns
Hi, I have two questions, 1) can I use canned black beans and two I am feeding a very large crowd, how many times can I double the recipe? Any tips for large cooking will be appreciated. Thanks!
Anna
Could I try this with red kidney beans? I don't have dried black beans.
URVASHI PITRE
Yes you can!
Geri
This looks delicious. But my husband can’t have rice. However I’ll make my own rice separately. For this recipe without rice, I think I should reduce the liquid, but by how much? Any other changes you would suggest? By the way, he LOVES your Butter Chicken. Thanks for any advice.
Jan Connors
The online recipe doesn't have jalapeno pepper(s) in the ingredient list. I made this delicious dish using just one jalapeno, but we both thought it needed a second one. The black beans were soaked about 8 hours and they were perfectly tender at the end of the 35 minutes. I served it with fresh cilantro as suggested and a lot of diced avocado. I take insulin and shy away from real high carbohydrate meals as a rule, but this dish has a lot of fiber to help offset the carbs. I thought this dish was terrific.
URVASHI PITRE
Yay! So glad to hear.
Editoria
Will it work to cut this recipe (and others on your site and in your cookbooks) in half to make it in the 3-qt. Instant Pot Mini? Thanks! Everything looks so good.
URVASHI PITRE
So almost all my recipes work in a 3
Quart as will this one. But you can’t cut this one in half because of the minimal water in it. Any soups etc can always be cir in half. Anything dry like rice etc needs experimenting. As long as it under 2 cups or beans, under 4 cups of rice and under 2 lbs of meat or so, it all fits in a 3 quart with no problems.
Maria E Crosson
Hi Urvashi:
This looks delicious and nutritious. I am unable to find uncooked black beans anywhere right now, but have secured some canned black beans. I would prefer to still use brown rice still. Any thoughts on how I might cook this? Thank you so much.
Maria
meticulosity
Oops... looks like you missed jalapeno on the ingredients list. I'm thinking 1-2?
URVASHI PITRE
Ah thanks for letting me know. Yes 1 spicy one will to the trick
meticulosity
Looking forward to trying this! If I were to do it with canned black beans and white rice, how many 15-16oz cans would you say is equivalent to 1 cup of dried beans? Thanks in advance!