This Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice recipe has authentic New Orleans flavor, and is made with red beans, spicy andouille sausage, and leftover ham bone or ham hock, served over white rice. An easy red beans recipe with simple ingredients, it has great flavor! [Stovetop and Instant Pot Instructions]
This easy pressure cooker red beans with ham hock recipe tastes like you’ve cooked it for hours on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
This recipe is adapted from an authentic Louisiana red beans and rice recipe. The individual ingredients are simple, but they combine to make the most flavorful and comforting one-pot dish.
Red beans, ham, and andouille are pressure-cooked and served over white rice or brown rice for a hearty meal. This is, hands-down, one of my family’s favorite recipes that you can make in the pressure cooker!
You don’t need to use an Instant Pot. You’ll find directions in the recipe card for making it on the stovetop too!
🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need for Red Beans and Ham Hocks
- Red beans are not kidney beans. The beans in this recipe are small red beans.
- Chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water can be used.
- Ham hock or ham bone tastes best.
- Onion, celery, and bell pepper make up the holy trinity of Creole and Cajun cuisine.
- Andouille is a spicy sausage that’s a staple of Louisiana cuisine.
- Cayenne, black pepper, thyme, and salt can be substituted with Creole seasoning.
- Cooked white rice – you can make jasmine rice, basmati pot in pot rice, brown jasmine, or brown basmati.
Quantities and details are provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
- Quick soak beans – If you forget to pre-soak the beans overnight, use the Quick Soak method for dried beans.
- Use ham hocks or a ham bone – Smoked ham hock or ham shank adds a delicious smoky flavor. It should be available in your grocery store meat case and is worth seeking out. Use leftover ham bone from your Easter or Christmas dinner to make red beans and rice.
- Smoked sausage – Andouille is a spicy sausage. You can find it raw or smoked – you need to buy the smoked kind. If you can’t find smoked andouille, substitute any smoked sausage such as Spanish chorizo or Polish kielbasa.
- Spices – You have a couple of choices for the spices. The recipe calls for cayenne pepper and salt, but you can substitute a Creole or Cajun seasoning for the cayenne and salt. I like to use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. You could also omit the spice and serve hot sauce on the side.
- Red beans – This red beans and rice with ham hock recipe are small red beans, preferably Camellia brand. These are different from red kidney beans. If you can’t find them in the dry red beans aisle of your grocery store, try the Hispanic food section e.g. Goya small red beans. If you still can’t locate them, use red kidney beans or black beans in this recipe.
- Cooking time—This beans and rice recipe cooks perfectly with the given pressure cooking time. If you want the beans cooked extra soft, add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time. If you prefer firm beans, reduce the cooking time by 5-10 minutes.
- Make it ahead -Although this recipe tastes great the day you make it, it tastes even better the next day. I prefer to make it a day ahead.
- Rice – This recipe is typically served over long grain white rice. I like to use jasmine rice, but you can use brown rice too.
❓ FAQS
Yes, you can slow cook in a traditional slow cooker for 10 hours on low heat or 6 hours on high heat. Make sure there’s enough liquid.
You can double the recipe with no changes to cooking time.
You can use canned beans. You won’t need to pressure cook the recipe for as long. 10 to 15 minutes at high pressure should be fine.
If you don’t want to presoak the beans before cooking, put in the (rinsed) dried beans directly and pressure cook the beans for an additional 15 to 20 minutes (more if you like the beans to be very soft).
To make vegetarian red beans and rice, omit the ham and sausage. Everything else can stay the same, including cook time.
📝 How to Make Ham Hock Red Beans and Ham Hock in the Instant Pot
- Soak the beans, saute the sausage and vegetables, add spices
- Add the beans and ham
- Pressure cook the beans
- Shred ham and mash beans, heat through
Soak the Beans, Saute Sausage and Vegetables with Spices
- Soak the beans overnight or use the Quick Soak Beans Method.
- Saute the andouille sausage till browned (about 5 to 8 minutes). If it browns to quickly or starts burning, deglaze with some broth as needed.
- Transfer the sausage to a bowl and reserve.
- Add onion, bell pepper (green or red), celery, and garlic to the inner pot. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. The liquid released from the vegetables should be enough to deglaze the pan. If it’s not, add a few tablespoons of broth to deglaze. Add thyme, cayenne, salt, and black pepper and stir to coat for about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup of broth to deglaze, scraping up all brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add Beans and Ham Hock
- Add the broth.
- Drain the beans and add them in.
- Add in the ham hock and bay leaves and stir to combine.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure
- Close the lid.
- Program the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 30:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a natural pressure release. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
Shred Ham and Mash Beans
- Remove the ham hock and chop it into bite-size pieces. If using a ham bone, get as much meat as possible from the bone and chop it. Discard bone.
- Transfer 1 cup of beans to a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher.
- Return the ham, beans, and sausage to the pot.
- Stir everything and cook in Saute mode, allowing the stew to thicken to desired consistency, about 5 minutes. Cook the rice separately and serve the beans over the hot cooked rice and garnish with chopped green onions and parsley.
♨️ Stovetop Instructions
- Soak rinsed beans overnight in a large pot of water.
- Sauté sausage and reserve.
- Sauté onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in oil.
- Rinse the beans. Combine beans, vegetables, seasonings, ham, and broth and simmer for 2 ½ hours
- Shred the ham and return to the pot.
- Remove a cup of beans, mash, and return to the pot.
- Stir sausage into beans, and continue to simmer for 20 to 30 more minutes.
- Cook the rice and serve red beans over rice and garnish.
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
More Easy Instant Pot Cajun and Creole recipes…
- Gumbo is a hearty Creole dish filled with a variety of meats, vegetables, and spices, all simmered to perfection in a thick, savory broth.
- Instant Pot Shrimp Etouffee is a mouthwatering dish of tender shrimp smothered in a rich and creamy roux-based sauce, served over a bed of fluffy rice.
- Instant Pot Jambalaya is a spicy and satisfying combination of shrimp, spicy sausage, and chicken in a hearty rice dish, perfectly seasoned with a blend of Cajun spices and served steaming hot.
Authentic Ham Hock Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 lb Andouille sausage cut into slices
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper powder or to taste
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth or water (more for stovetop version)
- 2 bay leaves (large) or 3 small
- 1 lb small red beans soaked overnight or quick-soaked, drained
- 1 leftover ham bone or smoked ham hock
- 4 green onions chopped
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- Cooked rice to serve (about 4 cups)
- hot sauce to serve on the side
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Select Saute mode and allow the Instant Pot to heat up.
- Add oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add andouille sausage, and cook until browned, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and stir to coat, about 30 seconds.
- Add a few tablespoons of broth to deglaze the inner pot, so there’s nothing stuck to the bottom.
- Stir in remaining broth, bay leaves, red beans, and ham hock.
- Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes.
- Allow for a natural pressure release (NPR) and open the Instant Pot. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Remove the ham, chop the meat into bite-size pieces and set aside.
- Remove 1 cup of beans, and mash with a fork.
- Return ham pieces, mashed beans and reserved sausage to the inner pot, and stir well.
- Select Saute mode and allow the dish to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Make the rice while the red beans are cooking. Serve red beans over rice and garnish with green onions and parsley.
- Serve hot sauce on the side (optional).
Stovetop Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Saute sausage until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in oil, till the onion is translucent.
- Add thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and stir to coat for about 30 seconds.
- Add beans and enough water or broth to cover the beans (about 6 to 8 cups). Stir in bay leaves and ham.
- Cover the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. (Old beans can take longer to cook.)
- Remove ham, chop the meat into small pieces and return to the pot.
- Remove a cup of beans, mash with a fork and return to the pot.
- Continue to cook with the cover off, stirring occasionally, until the red beans appear thick and creamy, about 20 to 30 minutes. At any point, if the pot appears to be too dry, add some more water and continue to cook.
- Serve over rice, with hot sauce on the side. Garnish with green onions and parsley.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, sliced sausage, etc.
- Substitute cayenne pepper and salt with Creole or Cajun seasoning, to taste.
- Andouille is a spicy smoked Cajun sausage. If you don’t have access to it, substitute it with a smoked sausage and add some extra spice to compensate.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Melanie L. says
I am saving a few of your recipes to try next week when I am off. I see you mention Tony Chachere’s seasonings. I have the creole or Cajun one that is a no salt version. Works great for the recipes where there are other salty things in it. I wouldn’t cook without Tony Chachere’s seasonings!!! Will definitely tag you on Instagram when I try these recipes. My boyfriend and I love gumbo and red beans and rice. Thank you for the easy to follow directions.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hey Melanie – thanks for sharing. I didn’t know of the no-salt version 🙂 I’d love to hear from you on Instagram!
Colleen says
I loved it! I had some in New Orleans and this was right up there. Couldn’t find the Andouille sausage here so I substituted but everything else as directed. The ham hock was wonderful! I’m glad I took the time to find one. Thank you for posting such tasty recipes!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
You’re welcome, Colleen. I too just love the flavor ham hocks bring to this dish. Increasing the quantity of ham hock is perfectly acceptable 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
Sarah Gadd says
I loved this and am on my last frozen portion! I can’t stop thinking about it but want to make it again with my black soya beans to lower the carb content! Will it be the same cooking process do you know? I going to try it as soon as I get your advice! Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sarah, I’m so happy to hear that you like the recipe as much as I do! I’ve heard that soy beans take much longer to cook than other beans, so I think you’ll have to increase the cook time. I would be guessing but maybe add 15 to 20 more minutes? Do let me know what you find out. Thanks for commenting!
Pamela R. says
I made this tonight and it was a huge success! This is the most complete and flavorful red beans and rice recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried many out there. Didn’t need to alter a single thing, and my family loved every bite! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that. I LOVE this recipe too! Seems like a boring thing when you hear “beans and rice”, but it’s so much more!
Madeline says
We doubled the recipe. Soaked half the beans over night, half were quick soaked (I realized I needed to feed more people, so that’s why I had to quick soak half of them). I used dried bullion + water in place of broth. I also used Tony’s instead of salt/cayenne/black pepper then I added a little more salt and onion powder myself. Increased the cook time by 7 mins (so 37 mins on pressure cook) then did a 13 min natural release then quick released it (we were hungry and impatient lol) but they were so soft and flavorful! Absolutely perfect! My family kept complimenting the meal. Will make again! 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Madeline – I know the feeling. My family loves this recipe too especially in the cold weather! Thanks for the comments and explanation.
Lee says
This recipe is SPOT ON!!! I made it for my family today and everyone loved it. I didn’t have a hamhock available, but the dish still tasted great. I also successfully used the Quick Soak Method before cooking and the beans came out with the perfect consistency after cooking. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Lee! I’m happy to hear that the recipe worked for you and that your family enjoyed it. Yes, the quick soak method is now my go-to way of soaking beans too!
Jackie says
I’m making this recipe for the third time tonight. It’s currently coming to pressure in my IP. I just wanted to pop in and say thank you!
I use cajun/creolle seasoning and omit the ham hock, because I’m lazy. I’m sure it’s better with, but I’d have to hit the butcher to get one and it’s too much work! heh. I use your method to pre-soak the beans (which I had never done before and will always do with my bean recipes going forward! so much more consistent!) and the cook time is spot on. I pull out about a cup-cup and a half of the beans and mash them with a fork before adding the sausage back in and let it simmer per the instructions and it results in the perfect consistency. I’ve made it once with Goya Small red beans and once with Camilia beans I bought online. Both came out equally delicious.
My husband and I travelled to NOLA 7 or 8 years ago and this tastes exactly as I remember it tasting there.
Thanks for the spot-on recipe and simple, clear instructions.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow, Jackie – I love getting comments like yours! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and the additional details of how you made the recipe. I so appreciate it.
Sonya says
Very good and easy to make. My first time making red beans and rice after visiting NOLA. I didn’t have bell pepper on hand but didn’t miss it. Used smoked Cajun conecuh sausage because that’s what I had and smoked ham hocks. Cook time was spot on, soaked beans overnight, made with sweet cornbread muffins to balance the heat. Great recipe, thanks for sharing.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Sonya, I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was a success! Thank you so much for commenting!
Lisa says
Thank you for adapting such a great tasting recipe. I’m thinking I should have leftovers for breakfast, it was that good. 😉
Paint the Kitchen Red says
You’re welcome, Lisa and I know what you mean about wanting to it for breakfast! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Scott says
What is the serving size? It just says calories. I want to know how much to portion out. I tried to double the recipe and I ended up with way too much liquid at the end. Do you have any idea how much I could reduce of the broth to prevent this from happening?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Scott, thanks for your comment. I haven’t measured out an exact cup quantity but it would be 1/8 of the total quantity; in your case 1/16. Regarding doubling, I’ve never doubled the recipe so you might need to experiment a bit. I would try and reduce the liquid by 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Just so your Instant Pot comes to pressure. Let me know what you find out.
MeowBoops says
I didn’t have a ham hock so I omitted that. The andouille sausage was just under a pound so I was probably short a few pieces of that as well. I also used 1 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning in place of the cayenne and salt. I followed the cooking times, instructions, and other ingredients exactly as written. It is very good. Next time, I’d probably add a little less black pepper (it’s so spicy to me lol, low tolerance) and not omit the ham hock as that probably adds amazing flavor and meat to the dish. I’m definitely making this again. Don’t forget to soak the beans! Thanks for a great recipe!
MeowBoops says
Also meant to add that I used a 6QTDUO and no burn notice or problems. Worked out great.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for the comment and review! I’m really glad you liked the recipe. Do try it with ham hock next time – adds phenomenal flavor!
Nicole says
OMG. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe. I’m still in the thickening stage of the recipe, but I’m jumping around my house in excitement because this recipe IS EVERYTHING. Definitely a new go to. Seriously people, make this ASAP!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Nicole, your comment brightened this rainy dreary day and brought a smile to my face 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to comment and am so happy you liked the recipe!
KL Gaylin says
Excellent, hearty and satisfying. Kielbasa works as a good substitute for andouille. Moreover, I love his website for the detailed instructions provided for those who have the duo or the ultra models. My Instant Pot sat in its box for two months before I watched your video on how to get started. Now I use the appliance regularly. In fact, I have directed friends who don’t know how to use the Instant Pot to this website. Thank you Neena!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, thank you – I so appreciate it when readers spread the word about my recipes! I’m so happy when I receive comments like yours because I love that I am able to help out new users of the Instant Pot. Hope you continue to enjoy cooking with it.
Katy says
Oh my goodness! This is delicious. The ham hock taste is amazing! I used a little Moroccan spice in mine, which adds a little cumin and cinnamon sweetness. Thank you for posting the video, and photos. I am a visual person, and the Instapot can be intimidating. The photos were a great help.
Tomorrow is the Mardi Gras potluck. I’m excited to have this sit overnight, so the flavors really meld, and to serve it tomorrow.
I’m giddy to try more of your Instapot your recipes. Thank you so much!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Katy, for your comment! Yesss, overnight it gets even better! Enjoy your Mardi Gras get-together. If you like Moroccan spice, you’ll like my Instant Pot Vegetarian Moroccan Stew. You could add meat, but I promise you won’t miss it!
Katy says
Right on! I am a huge fan of the Moroccan spice blend. Most of my family are vegetarians, so I’ll definitely try it out.
The overall response to the red beans and rice was pure joy! The flavor was incredible after melding overnight.
Thank you so much for sharing your AWESOME knowledge and recipes!
Blaire says
This was outstanding! We only had dried kidney beans so I used your IP quick soak @ 8 min. Then instead of S&P I subbed 2tsp of creole seasoning. Otherwise followed your recipe to a t, and it was awesome. Thank you!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Blaire! I love to sprinkle creole seasoning in there too!
Tallulah says
Disaster! Beans were still hard after 30 mins so I added more liquid and processed for another 30. Beans still hard…liquid all absorbed. Scorched on the bottom. What a waste. I’ll stick to the stove top.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Tallulah, I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I’ve made this recipe so many times as have many readers with no issues. Could the beans have been old? Old beans have a hard time cooking all the way. Did you soak the beans? Did you substitute any ingredients or change the recipe in any way? Was your Instant Pot sealed properly? These are just some possible issues.
JOHN BEAUGEZ says
Amazing!!!! I am from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and this is a taste of home.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi John, that’s a great comment. I’m always happy to get positive press from the Gulf Coast 🙂
Jordan says
I just got an instant pot and wanted to make red beans and rice. Your recipe sounded good, so I figured I would give it a shot. Not even kidding you, this is literally the most delicious thing I have ever made myself, and I typically consider myself a good cook.
WOW. Will make a thousand times again. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Jordan – that’s such a wonderful comment! I do love this recipe too.
Ross says
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
It was easy to make and delicious. I made it exactly the way you laid out the recipe.
This will be going into my rotation of recipes now.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Ross. One of my favorites too!
Stacy Fisher says
Thanks for recipe. I do recommend you add that the you set it to high pressure. I had to scroll through to find your pictures and see what you did. There is more than one option for pressure and can make a difference in cooking. Other than that, it is awesome!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Stacy, I do mention the high pressure in my ‘About’ page but I think it’s time to state it on the recipes. I will put it on my to-do list to change my recipe cards when I’m updating the recipes. I’d never gotten that comment before but recently you’re not the first to suggest that. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!