Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans made with dried black beans and brown rice. This set and forget recipe comes together easily and effortlessly, and the result is a mega flavorful meal, perfect on its own or rolled into a burrito!
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authentic mexican rice and beans recipe beginnings
Rice and Beans is the story of my life. Growing up, we ate this combo E-v-e-r-y-d-a-y! We would have pasta or lasagna on an occasional Sunday but we never went too long without rice and beans.
I can still remember the loud whistle of my Mother’s pressure cooker interfering with my TV program. The longer the beans cooked, the louder was the whistle and the more I adjusted the volume. It was a fight that always ended with a tasty fresh meal on my plate and to-date I still believe all things should settle with a meal 🙂
However, if you decided that pressure cookers aren’t for you that totally okay and you can still make delicious beans without it. I mean, just take a look at this stove top pinto beans recipe and this oven baked black eyed peas recipe. Amazing, right?!
instant pot mexican rice and beans
Today, my ‘pressure cooker’ a.k.a INSTANT POT is quieter, safer and it seems to accomplish a lot more than just beans. I can cook beans AND rice all at once, for instance, something that my mother never did 🙂
This Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans recipe is made from dried black beans and brown rice. This set and forget recipe comes together easily and effortlessly, and the result is a mega flavorful meal, perfect on its own, or rolled into a burrito or empanada.
how to make mexican rice and beans together using instant pot
The key is to pair up the rice and beans that require the same amount of cooking time. To demonstrate what a successful combination would look like, I’ll answer a few common questions.
Can I use white rice instead?
No. White rice cooks much faster than brown rice, so you will either get cooked rice and undercooked beans or cooked beans and overcooked soggy rice. Also brown rice is much healthier because white rice has been stripped out of all nutrients during the ‘bleaching’ process.
Can I use canned beans instead?
That’s also a no. Canned beans are already cooked, therefore additional cooking time will turn them super soggy and mushy. Plus dried beans are cheaper!
Can I use a different type of beans?
It depends. Different beans have different cooking times. For instance pinto beans cooks in 20 minutes while northern white beans and kidney beans takes 30 minutes to cook. Black beans and brown rice have the same cooking time which makes them a perfect instant pot combo!
You can play around with the different types of rice and beans, as there are sooooo many of them out there. Find a good pair and give it a go!
For more information on cooking times visit Green Healthy Cooking for a thorough fail-proof guide to instant pot beans!
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these readers favorite recipes:
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Brown Rice
Instant Pot Mexican Refried Beans
Ranchero Beans Breakfast Burrito
Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup
If you make this Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans recipe be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thanks a bunch!
Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans
Equipment
- Instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black beans (not soaked)
- 1 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1 1/2 cup salsa (I used medium chunky)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 whole red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 whole white onion, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup cilantro (stem and leaves, minced)
Spices and Seasoning
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Add beans, rice and vegetable broth to the instant pot and stir to combine.
- Next add the salsa, corn, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and spices BUT DO NOT STIR.
- Cover the instant pot and seal the vent. Cook on HP for 26 minutes. When done allow for 10 minutes of NPR, then quickly release any remaining pressure.
- Open the pot and give it a good mix. If there is more liquid in the pot than you wish, turn on sauté mode for an additonal 10 minutes. This will eliminate some of the liquid*
Notes
This recipe looks so good! Makes me hungry looking at the pictures. Having said that, I do not own an instant pot. Since the black beans and brown rice have similar cook times, according to what you were talking about (maybe only in an instant pot?), I wonder if I could do the same thing, just in the crockpot and have them get done at the same time, as well? In any case, I could cook the rice separately from the beans and everything else and combine at the end.
Thanks so much Deborah!!! I have not tested on slow cooker, so it’s hard to say… but my thought is that it will work, I am just not sure how long to cook them on slow cooker. If you do end up trying it, please let me know how it comes out
I mixed it all together by mistake!!!! Is it ruined?
it’s not. Enjoy it! 🙂
This was really good. I made it with dried black eyed peas instead of black beans, because that is what I had on hand. It was really good way to use up salsa from taco night. Leftovers made a tasty office lunch, even at room temp. I’ll definitely make this again. Do you ever post Brazilian recipes?
That’s great to hear! I have a handful of Brazilian recipes on the blog. Is that anything in particular that you are looking for?
Should it once the brown rice before adding it to the pot?
Sorry for the previous post…. it should have been… “does the rice need to be rinsed before adding to pot?”
No it doesn’t but if you prefer to wash your rice, that will be fine too, just be sure to drain it well.
This was very tasty. The problem I had was my brown rice didn’t fully cook. I followed the recipe times exactly. It was edible, but the grains were still a little hard. Did anyone else have that problem? My IP is an 8 quart; would that have anything to do with it?
Sorry to hear that! Did you try to add the additional 10 mins of sautéing time afterwards to cook it a bit further. This should have taken care of the rice. Mine cooked perfectly in my 6qt instant pot. Hope this helps
This looks delicious! I usually saute the onions first. Do you think that would work too? I prefer a more subtle onion taste. Thank you for this recipe!
I also like to sauté my onions but you really don’t need to in this recipe.
What size instant pot dit you use?
I have a 6qt which is what I use for all the recipes here on my blog
Excellent! Such an easy and tasty recipe. Thanks!
Thank so much Jeanne, happy you liked it!
I have a three quart instant pot so I would need to cut the recipe in half I assume
I have a 6qt and have almost double the recipe once. I think if you reduce the ingredients by a 1/4 or a 1/3 you should be fine. For instance you can use 3/4 c of beans and 1 c of rice instead. Same of the other ingredients, reduce them by 1/4.
Is there a way to add some chicken?
Hi Julie! If you want to add chicken to this recipe, I would recommend that you first sauté the chicken with some basic seasoning until it is no longer pink. Then you proceed to add the rice, beans and broth following the recipe instructions from here on. You don’t need to add on cooking time, however if your rice and/or beans aren’t completely cooked when it’s done, turn on sauté mode and let it cook this way for a bit longer, until you are satisfied. But I don’t believe this will happen. Hope this helps
Made this last night and will become an instant staple. So easy and so flavorful. Both rice and beans were not perfectly cooked. Definitely a winner. Thank you so much.
Sorry auto correct. Both rice and beans were absolutely cooked perfectly!
That’s wonderful, so happy to hear!
Loved it so much we made it two weeks in a row. Leftovers are good anytime and so many ways. Even cold out of a bowl. Thanks for the keeper recipe.
That’s awesome, I am so happy to hear! 🙂
Is the rice regular or instant
its brown rice
I have instant brown rice. No?
Yes, you will be making instant pot brown rice (and beans) together
My beans weren’t done all the way. I didn’t have frozen corn so I omitted it and used a very large onion. Would this have kept a the brand from cooking all the way?
I am sorry to heat that. What I know about beans is that sometimes if they are too old at the supermarket, it will take longer to cook. But of course it is hard to tell. I always buy the same beans and always get the same results. in fact, I made this recipe again this week and came out perfect (26 minutes + 10 NPR). In any regard, you can turn the IP on sautéed and let it continue to cook. If needed any more broth too. Or even add up to 5 more minutes under high pressure. I hope this helps
Can you use already cooked beans and then follow the recipe?
Hi Linda! This recipe is for dried uncooked beans. If you use cooked beans they will get super mushy.
Could you use chicken broth instead of vegetable?
Absolutely!
I have brown rice that is already cooked! How would you go about making this recipe with the cooked rice?
If your rice is already cooked I would just cook the beans with remaining ingredients for the same amount of time. When you open the pot, add in your cooked rice and stir. If needed turn on sauté mode to allow the rice to incorporate into the dish. Hope this helps
Don’t own an Instant Pot. Any conversions/ suggestions you might have. Recipe sounds so delicious.
Hi Karen, that’s totally possible but very much time consuming. If you want to cook the beans from scratch, follow this recipe https://gardeninthekitchen.com/brazilian-pinto-beans/ and incorporate the remaining ingredients later on. The beans will take much longer to cook than anything else. About an hour left to cook, I would add the rice and other ingredients. You will likely need to adjust the liquids (water) but you can add as needed. The other option is if you use canned beans. In this case you will cook everything together and as soon as the rice is cooked, you are all set because the canned beans is already cooked. Hope this helps. I don’t have any more specifics such as timing and amount of liquid, keep a close eye on the stove, be conservative with the liquid and add as needed
Great recipe Perfect for meal prep for the week. I made some modifications as I’m Brazilian an I can’t do any recipe without sauteing my veggies first. Added the rice and the beans to the sauté then added the veggie broth stirring well making sure nothing was stuck to the bottom of the pot, then added the salsa without stirring. Everything cooked perfectly. Maybe slightly creamier than I wished but very tasty. Loved your recipes and I’m following you now. 😊
Obrigada Valeria! I am also Brazilian, so nice to meet you! and I am glad you liked my IP rice and beans recipe, hopefully you will find lots of recipes to enjoy 🙂 xoxo
My family loves this! I have made it multiple times as written. Today I didn’t have everything, so I used dry navy beans, no corn, frozen pepper/onion mix, a can of tomatoes, and 1/2 c salsa (little one thinks everything is too spicy!). I even snuck some frozen riced cauliflower in but don’t tell the family😉. I don’t ever measure spices but also added some nutritional yeast and a mushroom umami blend. Amazing as always, you really can’t go wrong. Thank you for a great, easy, quick recipe that the whole family loves!
Hi Paige! First of all, it’s so clever of you to sneak in some cauliflower, in a recipe like this full of flavor and texture, they will never know (I use this trick too!) Second, I love how you took the recipe as “base” and made it your own with what you had in hand, adjusted the level of spiciness and made a great meal for your family. Lastly, THANK YOU for taking the time to share this, made me happy to hear 🙂 your feedback means the world to me! xoxo
Do you think I could reduce the rice by 1/2 cup and increase the beans 1/2 cup?
Yes! I have done that before 🙂
I increased the beans and decreased rice. Only other change I made was to add 2 diced jalapeños. YUM!
That’s great, I am so happy to hear! Thanks for your feedback also Cara, it’s always very helpful!
This was so quick, easy and delicious! Thank your for sharing. It turned out perfectly for me exactly as written and got my meat ore this week started off with a win. Pairing it with some grilled chicken this week & it almost makes me look forward to going to work Monday!
This was super easy, quick and delicious. I followed the recipe as written and it was perfect. Thanks for sharing it & getting this week’s meal prep off to a great start.
I really love the taste of this recipe. I was wondering if I could soak my black beans overnight for more tender beans?
Thank you Elle, that’s great to hear. Yes, you can soak the beans overnight (I often do!) just know they will be more tender, creamier but I actually prefer like that. Hope this helps 🙂