Instant Pot Popeye’s Cajun Rice

Instant Pot Popeye’s Cajun Rice–ground beef, green pepper and rice with Cajun seasonings. An easy copycat recipe that you can make at home in your Instant Pot.

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Instant Pot Popeye’s Cajun Rice

This copycat recipe of Popeye’s cajun rice is hearty enough to be served as a main dish. It’s got rice, beef, chicken, bell pepper and more. It’s got lots of flavor from the cajun seasoning but it wasn’t spicy. If you love heat you can always add in more cayenne pepper. My family all enjoyed this rice dish and I think you will too!

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Ground beef–or ground turkey
• Minced dried onion–or 1/2 cup diced onion
• Garlic powder
• Celery seed
• Cajun seasoning–I used the Smith’s store brand. All cajun seasonings have a different blend. Some have more heat some have more salt. So you may need to adjust other seasonings accordingly.
• Cayenne pepper–use more for more heat
• Black pepper
• Water
• Better than Bouillon Beef–or Chicken Base
• Converted rice–or long grain white rice. Converted rice is also called parboiled rice. Don’t confuse parboiled rice with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. I also sometimes buy it in the bulk section at Winco.
• Green bell pepper–or red bell pepper
• Chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken–this is optional but tasty. The original recipe used chicken gizzards but I chose to go another route.
• Kosher salt–to taste

Steps

1. Brown the beef: Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up*. Add in the onion. Brown the beef for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. 
2. Season the beef: Stir in the garlic powder, celery seed, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper and black pepper to coat the beef. 
3. Deglaze the pot: Pour in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Stir in the Better than Bouillon.
4. Add ingredients: Sprinkle in the rice and the bell pepper. Don’t stir. This will help prevent the burn error message.
5. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid. 
6. Serve: Stir in the chicken, if using. Test taste the rice and add in salt to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips

• Can I make this with brown rice? Yes you can. Pressure cook for 22 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
• This is hearty enough to be a main dish but also makes a great side dish.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• This recipe is gluten-free, check labels on your cajun seasoning to be sure it is gluten free. This recipe is dairy free.
• Other recipes you can make with cajun seasoning are Instant Pot Cajun Sausage, Potatoes And Green Beans and Instant Pot Chilis Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta.

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More Instant Pot Rice Dinner Recipes…

• A Cowboy’s Jambalaya (Instant Pot)
  
• Instant Pot Amish Shipwreck Casserole
  
• Instant Pot Crispy Cowboy Casserole
  
• Instant Pot Hibachi Fried Rice
  

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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