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You’re going to love this Spanish rice with sardines. The Instant Pot handles the rice—fluffy, tomato-y, and comforting—while the sardines add a hit of protein and omega-3s. This feels like more than just a side dish, and it goes with just about anything.
This post is sponsored by King Oscar | Opinions are my own.
Most sardine fanatics reach for a stack of crackers upon opening up a can of their beloved fish, but this Spanish rice with sardines really shakes things up (in the best way). Sardines are a great protein to add to rice, and the fillets I use in this recipe are hand-packed in a zesty tomato sauce, making them perfect for Spanish rice.
Want more ideas on how to bring sardines to the dinner table? Try my lemon pepper pasta with sardines, these seafood stuffed peppers, or my hearty Tex-Mex zucchini boats with sardines. You’ll also want to check out this collection of 25 canned sardine recipes.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This
- Ingredient Overview
- Step-by-Step: How to Make Instant Pot Spanish Rice With Sardines
- Substitutions & Variations
- Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- What to Serve With It
- Notes About King Oscar’s Wild-Caught Sardines In Zesty Tomato Sauce
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice With Sardines in Tomato Sauce Recipe
- More Ways to Eat Sardines for Dinner
Why You’ll Love This
- Comes together in 20 minutes
- The Instant Pot cooks the rice to a nice, creamy, fluffy texture
- You get a good serving of protein and omega-3s
- It tastes great leftover, which is good news for lunch prep
Ingredient Overview
A quick look at the essentials before we dive into the recipe card:
- Sardines: King Oscar’s brisling sardines in zesty tomato sauce are a perfect fit for this recipe, but if you can’t find them, you could use other variations—even plain sardines in oil.
- Rice: Long-grain white rice works really well with Instant Pot cooking because it’s less starchy than short-grain rice, which can get rather gluey.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Instant Pot Spanish Rice With Sardines
Step 1: Sauté the Veggies
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté Mode and let it heat up. Once hot, add the oil, onion, and bell pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
Step 2: Add the Rice
Transfer the uncooked rice to the pot and stir to coat with oil and to mix it in with the veggies. Transfer the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, chiles, and spices to the pot. Give it all a good stir.
Step 3: Pressure Cook
Turn off Sauté Mode by pressing the Keep Warm/Cancel button, then secure the lid onto your Instant Pot and lock it into place. Make sure the pressure knob is set to the “Sealing” position. Press the “Manual” button and set to cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, carefully move the pressure knob from “Sealing” to “Venting” for a quick release. Once the steam has fully released, remove the lid from the Instant Pot.
Step 4: Finishing Touches
Fluff the rice with a fork, then add the sardines to the Instant Pot with the tomato sauce they were packed in. Break the sardines down into chunks with a large spoon or spatula, and stir them into the rice.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve.
Substitutions & Variations
- Sardine Variations: If you can’t find sardines packed in tomato sauce, you could use sardines packed in oil, with jalapeño, or Mediterranean-style.
- High-Fiber Option: Add a can of black beans
- For More Veggies: You can include a cup of frozen corn and/or a cup of diced zucchini. Both can be added when sautéing the veggies.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- Fridge: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
- Cool it down first: Spread the hot rice in a thin layer on a baking sheet and let it come to room temperature (within about 2 hours).
- Portion it out: Divide into individual or family-sized servings.
- Seal it tight: Transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers, pressing out excess air (flatten bags for easy stacking).
- Label and freeze: Add the date, then stash it in the freezer.
- Reheat: Microwave in 25-second bursts until warmed through.
What to Serve With It
Notes About King Oscar’s Wild-Caught Sardines In Zesty Tomato Sauce
- They’re smoked over oak wood
- The fillets are hand-packed in tomato sauce made from tangy, sun-ripened tomatoes
- The sardines are sustainably caught from Norway’s fjords and coastal waters
Instant Pot Spanish Rice With Sardines in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3.75 oz King Oscar’s Brisling Sardines in Zesty Tomato Sauce, See notes
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 20 oz canned diced tomatoes with chilies, drained
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander (optional)
- Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté Mode and let it heat up. Once hot, add the oil, onion, and bell pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.1 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 onion, diced, 1 bell pepper, diced, 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Transfer the uncooked rice to the pot and stir to coat with oil and to mix it in with the veggies. Transfer the vegetable broth, canned diced tomatoes, and spices to the pot. Give it all a good stir.1 cup long grain white rice, 20 oz canned diced tomatoes with chilies, drained, 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth), 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp ground coriander (optional)
- Turn off Sauté Mode by pressing the Keep Warm/Cancel button, then secure the lid onto your Instant Pot and lock it into place. Make sure the pressure knob is set to the “Sealing” position. Press the “Manual” button and set to cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, carefully move the pressure knob from “Sealing” to “Venting” for a quick release. Once the steam has fully released, remove the lid from the Instant Pot.
- Fluff the rice with a fork, then add the sardines to the Instant Pot with the tomato sauce they were packed in. Break the sardines down into chunks with a large spoon or spatula, and stir them into the rice.3.75 oz King Oscar’s Brisling Sardines in Zesty Tomato Sauce
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
More Ways to Eat Sardines for Dinner
Fish and Seafood
Lemon Pepper Pasta with Sardines
Appetizers
Spicy Tostadas with King Oscar Sardines
Fish and Seafood
Seafood Stuffed Peppers with King Oscar Sardines in Tomato Sauce
Fish and Seafood
I’d love to know how to make this without an instant pot. I’m not even sure what that is. I have a Ninja Speedi, if that’s similar?
Hi Grainne, an InstantPot is a pressure cooker. You could definitely make Spanish rice without an Instant Pot by cooking it in broth and tomatoes as per the directions on the package and adding the other ingredients later.
I don’t often use my instant pot, but this recipe looked so good that I had to pull it out and try. Did not disappoint! So glad I tried it out. Thank you for your awesome recipes as always!
Delicious!!! First time I’ve eaten sardines. I wanted to be brave at the age of 56 😆 Very good recipe. Thank you!
Oh you are SO welcome, Beck! Sardines aren’t so bad after all, huh? Haha. I find King Oscar’s can’t be beat.
Sounds so easy and delicious!
What would be the cooking time if I used brown rice instead of white?
I’d say you’d be good for the same amount of time. Let me know how it goes!
This recipe is awesome! We didn’t have bell pepper or canned dicedtomatoes with chilies, and we didn’t have an instant pot either. I substituted a teaspoon of garlic siracha chili sauce to add heat. We cooked the dish in a non-stick sautee pan and even though it took longer, it turned out beautifully. The dish tasted like a poor-man’s paella. I had my doubts but it’s definitely a keeper!
We have been looking for sardine recipes that the kids will eat and this was a hit. Thanks!
Awesome! I’ll have to try this to get MY kiddo to eat sardines. Though he’s 2.5 and literally has an opinion about everything so I might have to wait a few years ;)
Epic fail! I followed recipe as directed. Had a feeling I should have added more liquid. I’ve only had a burn warning 1 other time before. Now is the second. Transfered what wasn’t burned to the stove top hopefully to save dinner as it’s to late to cook something else. Does the size of the instant pot matter? I have an 8 qt.
Hi Rachael! I have a 6 qt. For a 6 qt, 1 cup of liquid is typically needed. For an 8 qt, they call for 2 cups. That could definitely be the reason for the burn notice. I hope you were able to save dinner!