Costa Vida/Cafe Rio Style Salad [Vegan, WFBP, Cheap, Easy, Instant Pot/Slow Cooker]

Life changed when I discovered the Cafe Rio Salad. Hearty, delicious and an amazing combination of fresh flavors, it’s got to be one of the most copycatted (is that a word?) recipes in the blogosphere. I love to make various versions myself, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly a quick and easy dinner nor is it exactly vegan/whole-foods, plant-based. Make your dressing, your rice, your beans, your meat, your guac and the list goes on. It’s one of those meals that is great for a potluck, but hardly seems worth it for a weeknight meal. Until now.

Remember that Instant Pot Experiment that wasn’t the most appealing meal but was surprisingly tasty? I decided it would work perfectly as a filling–inside burritos, salads, etc. With a few tweaks and the help of my faithful Blendtec, it made the perfect sweet and savory base for an amazing salad. Top it with my quick and easy whole-foods, plant-based cilantro lime dressing and you’ve got the perfect combination of nutrient-packed and filling salad.

It works in either the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and only requires about 5 minutes prep and 5-10 minutes after depending on the method you choose. While it cooks blend the dressing, grab some chips, greens, mango, salsa and guacamole/avocado if you desire and you have a company worthy meal that is packed with low-cost nutrition and can be easily pulled together on busy days.

I really liked to soak my beans and even my rice in advance. We have some sensitive digestive systems, and this makes for easier digestion and less gas. If I forget to soak overnight, I’ll do a quick soak with my beans for as long as I have (see notes below in recipe).

If you don’t soak your rice and beans, you will likely need more broth or water. This recipe is far better with a little too much liquid than not enough, so add an extra cup if you are unsure.

I’ve tried this several different ways, all are delicious. The method I’ve listed below is the most flavorful, but I’ve also included a few variations that speed things up.

This is easily enough for 8 salads, and don’t be afraid of leftovers, it tastes better the next day and keeps well in the fridge for up to a week.

Print Recipe

Cafe Rio/Costa Vida Style Salad

An amazingly simple and far healthier way to recreate a Cafe Rio/Costa Vida style salad at a fraction of the time and cost!

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Passive Time

45 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry black beans soaked
• 1 1/2 cup Brown Rice
• 1 qt vegetable broth more if using slow cooker
• 1 larger sweet potato peeled and cut into 1 1/2 chunks
• 1 C diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 TBSP avocado oil or reserve some veggie broth
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt optional
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup miso
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• Chipotle Tabasco to taste
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional or more to taste)

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Passive Time 45 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 1 cup dry black beans soaked 1 1/2 cup Brown Rice 1 qt vegetable broth more if using slow cooker 1 larger sweet potato peeled and cut into 1 1/2 chunks 1 C diced onion 4 garlic cloves 1 TBSP avocado oil or reserve some veggie broth 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt optional 1/4 cup coconut sugar 1/4 cup miso 2 TBSP soy sauce Chipotle Tabasco to taste 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional or more to taste)

Instructions

1. Placed soaked and rinsed black beans, rice, 1 quart broth and sweet potato in instant pot and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.
2. While beans and rice are cooking, saute onion in oil or broth until soft. Add garlic and spices and stir until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds and remove from heat.
3. Allow Instant Pot to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then do a manual release. Carefully scoop sweet potatoes into blender with any remaining broth. Avoid adding beans and rice to blender as much as possible. Add onion mixture, miso, soy sauce, coconut sugar, Tabasco and paprika and blend until smooth, adding additional broth or water if needed. Return mixture to beans and rice and stir to combine.

Recipe Notes

Slow Cooker Instructions: Add an additional 2 cups water/broth and cook on high for 4 hours. Check at 2 hours and add more water/broth if necessary. It is better to have too much liquid than not enough, so if you are unable to check part way through, just start with more, making sure liquid is at least 1 inch above beans & rice. Slow cookers vary.

You can save a pan and saute the onions, garlic and spices in the instant pot before cooking the beans and rice. You can either leave them in to cook with the beans and rice, or remove them and reserve for later. I am often getting it started too late in the day and need to get the beans and rice cooking, so being able to chop onion, etc. after that reduces my time until dinner. I also find that cooking the beans and rice in the seasonings mutes their flavor a little, but you can also add additional seasoning if desired.

To soak beans - either place beans in water overnight, or bring beans and water to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, then allow to sit for at least an hour. With either soak method, drain and rinse well prior to cooking.

I generally soak my beans and rice separately, but I expect it would work to do an overnight soak with both together. Did you try it? Let me know how it worked in the comments!