Instant Pot Cajun Pork and Beans - tender pieces of pork shoulder in a delicious spicy cajun sauce with pinto beans.
The inspiration for dinner tonight was a container of dried pinto beans in my pantry that I wanted to use up. Combining with a small piece pork shoulder I had in the fridge, some vegetables and that perfect homemade cajun seasoning. I knew it was going to be a dinner that the entire family could dig into and enjoy.
All that was left to decide then was the sides. Kids love my Chips, so I figured some crispy potato cubes using the same method and some green vegetables would be perfect.
The kids, especially my youngest, has been a bit fussy about her veggies lately, so I knew if I could hide some in the sauce, all would be perfect.
She didn't even know this contained some zucchini (courgette) which is a vegetable she is not too keen on. So it's a perfect recipe for any fussy eaters in the household and of course blending the vegetable for a sauce, means it was deliciously thick and rich.
Usually, you should soak any dried beans overnight before using in a recipe, but with the Instant Pot, there is no soaking needed for this delicious Cajun Pork and Beans recipe.
Wait!! What’s an Instant Pot?, I hear you say.
Instant Pot is a brand of multi-function pressure cooker. It’s one of my favourite cooking appliances. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute’s, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).
Wondering what else you can cook in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker? Check out some of these recipes:
- FIRECRACKER CHICKEN MEATBALLS
- BOMBAY BEEF CURRY
- BALSAMIC BRAISED BEEF
- SPICY GINGER CHICKEN
- BRAISED BEEF
- PINEAPPLE MEXICAN PORK CARNITAS
- SPICY CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP
- INSTANT POT HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN
- HAM AND SPINACH EGG BITES
- TARKA DHAL
- INSTANT POT CHOCOLATE CHILLI
- THAI CHICKEN RICE SOUP
or head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX with over 850 delicious Slimming Recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients etc
HOW CAN I ADD A ⅓ vegetableS TO THIS INSTANT POT CAJUN PORK AND BEANS
There are some yummy hidden vegetables in the sauce to this Cajun Pork and Beans, but you can also add in some diced peppers to increase the vegetables even further.
We enjoyed this with some Roasted French beans. I just add the beans to a tray lined with foil or parchment, season well with salt and black pepper. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves over the top, then pour over 120ml of chicken or vegetable broth, toss to coat and then spray over the top with cooking oil spray. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes at 200c/400f. They really are yummy and a great vegetable side to this dish.
KITCHEN ITEMS I USED FOR THIS INSTANT POT CAJUN PORK AND BEANS:
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
- Chopping Board
- Measuring Jug or cups
- Santoku Knife
- Blender
- Coliander
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Recipe Card
Instant Pot Cajun Pork and Beans
Instant Pot Cajun Pork and Beans - tender pieces of pork shoulder in a delicious spicy cajun sauce with pinto beans.
Ingredients
- 455g (1lb) of dried pinto beans, rinsed well
- 5 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 335g of butternut squash, cubed
- 150g of zucchini, cubed
- 1 cup (240ml) of chicken stock
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 600g of pork shoulder - sliced into pieces, visible fat removed
- ¾ cup (180ml) of crushed tomatoes (or passata)
- 2 tbs of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tbs of maple syrup
- 1.5 cups (360ml) of chicken stock
- 4 tbs of tomato paste
- cooking oil spray
for the cajun seasoning
- 1 tbs of sweet paprika (not smoked)
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- ½ teaspoon of oregano
- ½ teaspoon of thyme
- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (adjust for your desired spice level)
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Add the butternut squash, courgette and the 1 cup of stock to the instant pot
- Add lid and close valve (if not self sealing)
- Set for 4 minutes (manual) high pressure.
- Once finished cooking, quick release the pressure.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Set aside
- Add the beans, 5 cups of water and salt to the instant pot.
- Add lid and close valve (if not self sealing)
- Set for 20 minutes (manual) high pressure.
- Quick release pressure
- Drain beans and set aside.
- Set instant pot to saute mode and spray with cooking oil spray
- Once it displays hot, add the onion and fry until softened.
- Fully deglaze pan with a little of the stock. To ensure none is stuck to the bottom.
- Add back in the beans, pork shoulder, garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cajun seasoning, maple syrup, and the 1.5 cups of stock.
- Add lid and close valve (if not self sealing)
- Set for 20 minutes (manual) high pressure
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Reduce any remaining pressure
- Set instant pot to saute mode and stir in the pureed vegetables, heat until sauce thickens.
- Sprinkle with chopped spring onions
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 389Total Fat 3.7gSaturated Fat 1.2gCholesterol 65mgSodium 410mgCarbohydrates 62gFiber 13.8gSugar 10.8gProtein 38.3g
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information.
Margaret says
Could you do this in a slow cooker
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
I haven't tested this in the slow cooker yet.
Margaret says
Thank you for getting back to me. Going to try it in slow cooker tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes
Shelly says
How would I cook this on the stove?
Lisca says
I have made this today in my brand new Instant Pot. It is delicious! I followed the recipe to the letter and found it easy to do in spite of the long list of ingredients. The Cajun spice mix is perfect, and I will use that over and over again I’m sure. The pinto beans were cooked to perfection.
Here (in Spain) maple syrup is very expensive, but I’m sure I can substitute it with honey next time I make this.
I now know I have made the right decision in buying an Instant Pot.
Thank you so much,
Lisca