I’ve had my Instant Pot almost two years now! My love grows exponentially with every use.

If you’ve been reading for some time you know I like to bulk prepare food every so often. It makes life easier and means you have healthier options on hand when you get hungry.

One of those bulk preps is 13 minute potatoes. I do this every couple of weeks so I have potatoes in the fridge, perfect for a snack or to throw in a lunch with other veggies.

Another is beans! Since I wrote my freezer bean post, I’ve been making beans in the Instant Pot and saving SO much time! They take a fraction of the time compared to the stove or crock pot, cost pennies, and last for months in the freezer. It’s a win win!

Recently I’ve been trying to expand my game into ready-to-go meals. A world I didn’t know how to enter at first. This week I tackled mashed potatoes.

And sometime last week I decided to try making something with uncooked rice along with seasonings and veggies to see if I could come up with a casserole-type dish.

Why yes. Yes I can. The rice turned out even better than I could have imagined. Flavorfully savory. The oaxaca ancho coffee rub adds a deep mole like flavor, but chili powder will do just the trick. The rice was perfectly fluffed out absorbing all of the seasonings. The olives add that umami salty flavor. Root vegetables like carrots cook evenly and don’t tend to overcook like broccoli would.

I used some hardy vegetables from our CSA, some already cooked peppers I had in the freezer, a can of diced tomatoes and seasonings to round out the Spanish/Puerto Rican dish I was going for.

This recipe falls into the ‘meal prep’ category. It made enough for several leftovers and became tastier as the days went on.

I served the rice alongside steamed zucchini and carrots drizzled with vegan worcestershire sauce. Easy.

Garnish with additional olives and fresh chopped cilantro.

Let us know when you make it! xo