Instant Pot Enchilada Rice is one of those dishes that my family relishes a lot. It is my family's favorite weekend lunch recipe. It is made by layering veggies with black beans, enchilada sauce, rice, and cheese.
You can eat Enchilada Rice as it is or with a side of your choice. I like it with some roasted asparagus or street-style corns, or in fact with any roasted vegetable. Like Enchilada, this rice recipe is full of flavors and is the kid's favorite meal. Although I add some additional sauce like Trader Joe's Jalapeno Sauce and sometimes Sriracha.
As we all know, making food in Instant Pot is so convenient and easy. But let me tell you, this is one of the easiest recipes you can make in an instant pot. Just dump all the ingredients and let the Instant Pot do its magic.
This recipe of cheesy enchilada rice is gluten-free, and it is enjoyed by everyone. You can make a one-pot meal in the pressure cooker or an Instant Pot. Though cooking time will depend on the grain, you will use in the recipe. The brown rice will take more time to pressure cook than white rice.
The post contains Helpful Tips & Tricks to make the most delicious Enchilada Rice Bowl. But if you're in a hurry, you can also click "Jump to Recipe' under the Heading to go directly to the Recipe Card.
Jump to:
💭Why will you like this Recipe?
I absolutely love a big bowl of Instant Pot Enchilada Rice any day. And I'm sure you're gonna love it too because:
- It's a one-pot recipe made in Instant Pot
- Easy & Quick
- It is made under 30 minutes
- Filled with flavors
- It is filling and tastes incredible
- Great option for lunch or dinner
- Party pleaser
- Kid-friendly
🧾INGREDIENTS
- RICE: I have used Basmati Rice, but any long-grain rice or brown rice will work for the recipe. For cooking white rice you need 1:1 rice and water proportion water and for brown rice, you can use 1:2.25 ratio.
- ENCHILADA SAUCE: No Enchilada Rice is complete without a good enchilada sauce. I have added Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce; you can use your favorite one for the recipe or make your own at home.
- VEGGIES: I have used onions, red and green bell peppers, corns, beans, and jalapenos in the dish. You can use your favorite colorful veggies.
- SPICES: I have used cumin powder and taco seasoning. Though these are not required, they give a nice flavor.
- CHEESE: I have added Mexican Cheese, but you can also add Vegan Cheese or any other cheese you feel like adding.
- BEANS: All Mexican dishes have black beans in them. But you can also use chickpeas instead. You can also add any other source of protein.
See the recipe card for quantities.
♨️PREPARATION
Check the recipe card below for the full recipe, but you can refer here for step-by-step photo instructions.
Step 1- Saute: The first step for making instant pot enchilada rice is to saute the veggies (onions & bell peppers) until they are soft and tender and not brown in color. The color of these veggies should not be changed.
Step 2- Add all the Ingredients: The next step in making the enchilada rice recipe is to add the rest of the ingredients one by one, and the key is not to mix them. As sometimes, if you combine ingredients, you might get Burn notice. Add rice, water, enchilada sauce, black beans, sweet corn, taco seasoning, cumin powder, and salt.
Step 3 - Pressure Cook: Once you have added all the ingredients except cheese, close the lid, press the pressure cook button, and pressure cook. Pressure cook time depends on the rice you are using for this recipe. For white rice, you just need 5 minutes of cook time.
Step 4 - Cheese: Open the lid once the pressure is released. Add cheese on top of the cooked rice and close the lid for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the cheese will be melted.
Step 5 - Adjust & Serve: Stir the cheese with rice, adjust the spices, and then serve immediately with some veggies and chips.
💭TIPS & TRICKS
- Don't Mix the Ingredients: After adding water, add all the ingredients to Instant Pot. But don't mix/stir them. Sometimes if you mix the ingredients when quantity is more, instant pot may give burn notice. So to avoid this, I recommend just dump everything in the instant pot and not to mix them.
- First Saute finely chopped onions and bell peppers, and then add the rest of the ingredients to cook. Make sure the veggies are tender and not soft.
- You can add different ingredients as per your liking. I have added corn, black beans, jalapenos, etc. Add as many colorful veggies to the recipe as you wish. It will make this dish more vibrant.
- Usually, some people add Red & Green Enchilada Sauce to Mexican Enchilada Rice. There are many options available. My personal favorite is Trader Joe's Red Enchilada Sauce. It's very flavorful, and you don't even need to add a lot of it because it's so rich in flavor that a cup of it is sufficient.
- When the timer beeps and the valve goes down, open the lid. Add Cheese and close the lid for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- You can pressure release naturally,` or you can also quick release after 10 minutes of NPR by turning the vent to the venting position.
🧂SUBSTITUTIONS
- VEGAN: This is a vegetarian recipe but you easily make it vegan. Just either add Vegan Cheese or Vegan Cheese Sauce instead of regular shredded cheese.
- HIGH-PROTEIN: You can make it protein-rich by adding plant-based sausages or chickpeas or grilled tofu. I love the taste of plant-based sausages.
- HEALTHY: Though I love the enchilada rice bowl better with white rice. To make this helathier, you can also add brown rice. Though cooking time may differ.
📖FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Enchilada rice is incomplete without its special enchilada sauce. You can use homemade enchilada sauce or red enchilada sauce, or green enchilada sauce to make this easy recipe of instant pot enchilada rice. You can find a variety of sauces in any store like target, amazon, etc. But my personal favorite is Trader Joe's Red Enchilada Sauce. Nothing beats trader joe's sauce.
You can serve the rice with some of your roasted veggies as a side. Or you can also serve them in an enchilada rice bowl topped with some lettuce, avocados, jalapeno, and sour cream. These instant pot enchilada rice also goes excellent in burritos as well as with some tortilla chips.
If you have some leftover rice in the refrigerator from the previous night. Then you can use that to make enchilada rice casserole. First, saute onions and bell pepper in oil until tender. Then add black beans, enchilada sauce, corns, taco seasoning, garlic, cumin powder, and salt. Saute for 3-5 minutes until well combined. Then add leftover rice and cook at low for 3 minutes. Finally, adjust the seasoning and garnish with cilantro, avocado, and lettuce.
You can store it in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Or you can also keep them in freezer-safe bags like Ziplocs or in containers for 1-2 months. Then, when reusing, defrost the rice overnight in the refrigerator and heat it as needed. You can also serve leftover rice with some tortilla chips, and that combination tastes amazing.
You can make this recipe vegan by replacing the regular cheese with some Vegan Cheese. Or you can also add some Vegan Cheese Sauce using cashews, potatoes, and nutritional yeast as the main ingredient.
🥗SIMILAR RECIPES
- BURRITO BOWL
- CARIBBEAN JERK VEGGIES
- CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
- KIMCHI FRIED RICE
- MEXICAN STREET-STYLE CORNS
- JALAPENO POPPERS
- SHISHITO PEPPERS
Rate it by clicking the stars below if you liked the recipe. However, if you want to check what is new in my kitchen, check out my Instagram & Facebook.
📖 RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Enchilada Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice
- 1 can Black Beans
- 2 Jalapenos de-seeded & sliced
- 1 Red Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 cup Sweet Corns
- 2 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon Taco Seasoning chopped
- 1 cup Enchilada sauce
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ½ cup Mexican Cheese or any other cheese
- 1 Avocado sliced
- ¼ cup Cilantro (to garnish)
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 2 cups Water
Instructions
- Add oil to Instant Pot and press the Saute. When oil is hot, add onion and red bell pepper. Let it saute for 1-2 mins till they turn soft and tender.
- Add rinsed rice and water to the pot.
- Add rest of the ingredients (including black beans, sweet corns, sliced jalapenos, garlic, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, salt, cumin powder) except cheese.(Note: Remember: not to mix anything)
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot and press manual or pressure cook button and set a timer for 5 mins, with pressure valve in sealing position.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 5 mins and then do a quick release by turning the pressure valve to the venting position.
- When the pressure is released and it is safe to open the lid, lift the lid and sprinkle Cheese to it. Cover the pot with the lid and let the cheese melt when the pot is still hot. The cheese will melt in about 5 minutes.
- Open the lid and stir the melted cheese with the cooked rice and garnish with cilantro.
- Serve with Sliced Avocado or some guacamole. You can also enjoy them with some tortillas.
Leave a Reply