Mexican Rice Casserole {Instant Pot}

By Maria Lichty

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This Mexican Rice Casserole is a family favorite dinner and is perfect for busy weeknights because it is made in the Instant Pot. You will love this one pot meatless meal! 

Mexican Rice Casserole

This post is sponsored by USA Pulses & Pulse Canada.

Who got an Instant Pot for Christmas and needs Instant Pot recipes? If your hand is raised, it is your lucky day because we are sharing one of our very favorite Instant Pot meals. You are going to LOVE this Mexican Rice Casserole. It is made in the pressure cooker and is a huge hit with the entire family, including our boys. It is vegetarian, gluten-free and SO good!

And if you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you are going to want one after you see this easy dinner recipe:)

Instant Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

How to Make Instant Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

  • This Mexican Rice Casserole has all of our favorite ingredients in ONE pot! I love the Instant Pot because you can sauté right in the Instant Pot. This is a great one pot meal!
  • We combine brown rice, black beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, green chiles, red bell pepper, garlic, onion, lime juice, lots of spices, and vegetable broth in the Instant Pot and let it do it’s magic.
  • When the Instant Pot is done, we stir in corn, shredded cheese, cilantro, and green onion. The cheese melts into the rice and black beans creating the perfect cheesy rice and bean casserole!
  • We serve the casserole in bowls and top with avocado slices. The boys like to eat their casserole with tortilla chips. They are all about dipping!
  • This easy rice casserole reheats well, making great leftovers for lunch or dinner all week. It also freezes well. I love keeping a container in the freezer for busy weeknights. Defrost and heat up in the microwave!

Easy Mexican Rice Casserole

We are always trying to add more pulses (delicious, protein-packed, sustainable foods such as dry peas, chickpeas, lentils and beans) to our recipes and this Mexican Rice Casserole has TWO kinds of beans, black peans and pinto beans. Looking for simple ways to eat healthier in the New Year? Just add pulses! Sign up for the Half-Cup Habit, and see how easy it can be to add ½ cup serving of pulses to your diet just 3x per week for added nutrients.

Get out your Instant Pot and make this Mexican Rice Casserole. It is an easy dinner winner! It is packed with protein and a great easy, kid friendly meal! Our boys ask to have this casserole for dinner almost every single week.

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our favorites:

Mexican Rice Casserole Recipe

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Instant Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

This easy Mexican Casserole is made in the Instant Pot and a family favorite weeknight meal! The leftovers also freeze well.
4.43 from 28 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 medium red bell pepper seeds removed and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • Juice of 1 large lime
  • 1 cup long grain brown rice
  • 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 1 large avocado sliced
  • Tortilla chips for serving, optional

Instructions
 

  • Put the olive oil in the Instant Pot and select Browning/Sauté. When the oil is hot, add the onion and red bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the diced tomatoes, green chiles, vegetable broth, lime juice, brown rice, black beans, pinto beans, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined. Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, select high pressure, and set to 22 minutes cook time.
  • After the 22 minutes, turn off the Instant Pot and let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, carefully turn the vent to a quick pressure release.
  • Stir in the corn, shredded cheese, cilantro, and green onions. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
  • Serve with sliced avocados and tortilla chips, if desired.

Have you tried this recipe?

Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod

Instant Pot Mexican Rice Casserole is a weeknight dinner favorite! You will love this cheesy black bean and rice casserole! It is easy to make and freezes well too! #dinner #easyrecipes #vegetarian #glutenfree #InstantPot #casserole
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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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4.43 from 28 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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Comments

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  1. Santa did not bring me an Instant Pot. Guess I’ll have to buy my own! Lol. This dish looks amazing! Love how protein packed it is with all those beans!

    1. This turned out perfect! We put it on a bed of lettuce, topped with drop of sour cream and sprinkled some cheddar on top and also tortilla chips! We went to town. Excellent instructions. I have never been much of a cook so for this to turn out as well as it did two thumbs up .

    2. 2 stars
      I got a burn notice twice with this. I’ve made dips and other dishes with similar ingredients so the flavor is fine….but the burn notice happened twice.

    1. Saute some flavorful sausage or brown some chicken to add even more flavor if desired

  2. 5 stars
    Loved it!  My kids liked it too. It reminds me a little of you black bean quinoa enchilada casserole, which is one of our all time favorites. This will be great  for those nights when I’m in a hurry. 

  3. I got an Instant Pot for Christmas and this was my second meal made in it. Delicious! I’m going to send the recipe to my vegetarian daughter, who also got an Instant Pot for Christmas.

  4. 5 stars
    My meat-loving family loved it! I don’t have a crock pot, so made it in on the stove and made the rice in the rice cooker. The flavor is excellent and the brown rice provides the nuttiness and crunchiness that is very satisfying.

  5. 3 stars
    I just made this. It tasted great, but I was disappointed with the finished texture. It was more like a stew than a casserole. I was bummed because I had been looking forward to scooping it out some cool, crispy, shredded romaine but it was way too soupy for that. If I make it again, I would reduce the suggested amount of liquid in the recipe.

  6. Yeah, I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. And looking for recipes to cook with it. Do you have other Instant Pot recipes?

    1. 5 stars
      If you did you would have to change the cooking time, white rice cooks faster than brown rice.

  7. 4 stars
    Y’all, this was DELICIOUS. I’ve never had a recipe come out almost exactly like the image on the website, so absolute props for that!

    For what it’s worth, I wasn’t able to find green chiles, but I did have two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis mixed in, so I used those instead. (A-OK!) I was a little worried because it came out looking soupy, but it firmed right up after I left it alone for a few minutes. Might use the previous commenter’s suggestion and shove this on a plate of romaine, because that sounds deliiiish.

  8. 1 star
    This recipe has way too much liquid for one cup of rice. I followed directions and it was more like a thick soup. Is there a misprint? Otherwise I think it would be tasty.

  9. Just wondering if this can be done in the crock pot instead? I’ve not done a rice based casserole in the crock pot before so not sure how long to cook it for. Thanks!

  10. Could you do this in a crock pot? If so, how long would you recommend? We haven’t made the jump to instant pot yet. 🙂

  11. ☹️ I just got my first “burn” error on my Instant Pot with this recipe, which I’ve followed exactly. ?? 

    1. I get a burn message everytime I make this recipe! I have to open up the pot, stir it, scrape the bottom, and then it’s fine! I have no idea why it happens, but the recipe turns out fantastic anyways 🙂 Possibly a difference in instant pot sizes??

  12. 4 stars
    Yum! I don’t have an IP, so used my slow-cooker and it turned out great! I turned it on high and “sauteed” the onions, peppers, and garlic (I just have a classic CP, not one that has an actual browning function) while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I threw everything in and turned back to low/cooked for about 5 hours (i think). We waited to add the corn until we were about 10 minutes away from eating. Topped with cheese, avocado, cilantro, etc.
    Thanks!

  13. 4 stars
    Yum! I don’t have an IP, so used my slow-cooker and it turned out great! I turned it on high and “sauteed” the onions, peppers, and garlic (I just have a classic CP, not one that has an actual browning function) while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I threw everything in and turned back to low/cooked for about 5 hours (i think). We waited to add the corn until we were about 10 minutes away from eating. Topped with cheese, avocado, cilantro, etc.
    Thanks!

  14. Could you please address the numerous comments avout the recipe coming out too soupy? I want to try this but there’s a lot of consistent issues with soupy results and their questions remain unanswered.

    1. Make sure you are using brown rice. It has never been soupy for us. I would hate to suggest to cut back on the liquid because it needs it to cook the rice. You can always add more beans if you want it thicker. Or let it cook for a little longer.

  15. Does the question of soupy-ness come because there are no instructions as to whether the liquid should be drained from the diced tomatoes or not? Maybe that’s where some confusion might lie. I’m just about to make it and wasn’t sure myself what I should do about that.

  16. 5 stars
    This was my first IP recipe I tried. Just got the IP for Christmas and was pleased to see how easy this recipe is. It turned out perfectly. The flavour is wonderful and a great addition to our week night meals. My son (who is very picky) LOVED this meal! Gobbled it all up without a single complaint. Thanks for such a fantastic recipe.

  17. I am glad to see that others had a burn warning too. I had to open it and scrape the bottom and am hoping it turns out ok. I am also using white rice because I ran out of brown so I am thinking I need to adjust the time a little?

  18. 5 stars
    This was my first instant pot recipe and it turned out great, though it did have a burn warning that went away after a few minutes. I would love to see more vegetarian instant pot recipes on your website!

  19. 5 stars
    No burn warning for me! I used brown rice as called for, and did not drain my canned diced tomatoes. It is thick enough to eat with a fork, but it also can be scooped with tortilla chips. This is quick, easy and delicious! Thank you!

  20. 5 stars
    I love this recipe and have cooked it several times but the last time the whole of the bottom burnt to the pan – I don’t understand why? Any thoughts?

  21. 5 stars
    This recipe is so easy and so delicious! I left out the shredded cheese, but did garnish with a generous amount of avocado. I will definitely be making again. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!