Red beans and rice flavored with sausages, veggies, and a set of spices. This is a wholesome dinner meal that you can prepare in one-pot easily from scratch.
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with Spices and Herbs
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TL;DR
Red beans and rice is mostly known thanks to the South in the US. New Orleans in Louisiana calls this Cajun comfort dish its own!
Historically this dish was prepared on mondays.
Yet, Caribbean island nations also love their own creole red beans and rice. Cubans, Jamaicans, and Puerto Ricans made it a staple in their homes.
The red beans and rice dish from the Americas usually contains pork meat, such as sausages, ham, or bacon. The meat lends the dish all the flavors.
This is why red beans and rice shouldn't be confused with the Indian rajma dal, which is a kidney bean curry from North India. It is served with rice as well.
Ingredient Notes
Here is what you will need to make this spiced stew-like beans with rice:
- Rice — Try to get toro long grain rice which is native to the South
- Red Beans or Kidney Beans — Preferably canned to speed up this dish in one pot. Dried beans take time to soak.
- Onion and Garlic
- Bell Pepper
- Celery
- Sausages — Preferably pork and smoked for extra flavor. Andouilles or Kielbasas are great; I like Franks.
- Olive Oil
- Seasoning — thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and oregano. The more cayenne pepper, the hotter it gets! You can also use cajun seasoning.
- Tomato Sauce
- Broth — vegetable broth preferably
Process Overview
The rice is cooked on its own For the red beans, you will start out by cutting the vegetables small, and then comes the cooking process.
Step 1
Cook the rice through with water and salt. Strain when done and keep aside.
Prep and cut your fresh produce and the sausage small.
Step 2
Heat up a larger cooking vessel with oil and sauté vegetables and sausage.
Add in beans, broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
Step 3
Cook the red beans until it all thickens and it has reduced. The flavors will develop in time.
📖 Recipe
Red Beans and Rice with Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
For the Rice
- 2 Cups Uncooked Rice *see Notes
- Water
- Salt
For the Red Beans
- 2 Cans Red Beans 30 oz
- 1 Piece Onion
- ½ Piece Bell Pepper
- 2 Stalks Celery Stalks
- 2 Piece Sausages *see Notes
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Thyme
- 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Ground
- Salt to taste
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- 1 Piece Bay Leaf
- 2 Pieces Garlic Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried
- ½ Cup Tomato Sauce
- 2 Cup Broth vegetable broth
Instructions
For the Rice
- Boil the rice with salt and water until cooked through. Double the amount of water to the rice. Cook until done, strain, and keep aside.2 Cups Uncooked Rice, Water, Salt
For the Red Beans
- Prep your fresh ingredients. Peel and slice the onion, chop the garlic, slice the celery stalks, and bell pepper. Keep aside.1 Piece Onion, 2 Stalks Celery Stalks, 2 Pieces Garlic Cloves, ½ Piece Bell Pepper
- Slice sausage to the desired size. Keep to the side.2 Piece Sausages
- Heat up a cooking vessel with the olive oil and saute onions and garlic first until soft.1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Then add the sausage slices to that and stir-cook over a higher heat setting for a minute or two.
- Reduce heat and stir in cut celery and bell pepper.
- Stir cook over high heat for a minute or two.
- Reduce heat once again and stir in the remaining ingredients, the beans, the tomato sauce, broth, thyme, oregano, the cayenne pepper, and basil leaf. Don't season with salt and black pepper yet, this is reserved for the end (*see Notes).2 Cans Red Beans, 1 Teaspoon Thyme, Salt, 1 Piece Bay Leaf, 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried, ½ Cup Tomato Sauce, 2 Cup Broth, 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Ground
- Mix it all well and keep over a medium heat setting. Cook your red beans covered for about 10 minutes or so.
- Remove the cover and continue to simmer stirring occasionally over a lower heat setting. Just make sure nothing sticks at the bottom. The dish will reduce and thicken.
- When you are satisfied with the flavors and consistency, take out the bay leaf and discard. Season with salt and black pepper. Combine well.¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- Serve up your red beans hot with cooked rice at the side in a bowl or shallow plate.
- Garnish with parsley or cut fresh green chives.
Notes
- Try to get Louisianna long grain rice. OR Basmati will do too.
- You can use your choice of sausage. Andouilles are the traditional choice for this dish. I used smoked pork franks. I think what matters is that you use pork sausages because that's what gives the dish the flavor.
- Always add salt and black pepper at the end when you cook beans and lentils. This is because they cook better through without those two seasonings.
Equipment
- 8" Chef Knife
Nutrition
Serving
The obvious answer here is the beans come with the rice in a bowl. It's that simple.
Yet, you can choose to serve up your red beans without rice too. In that case, it's nice to have the beans with bread.
I also love a tangy and light green salad with my beans and rice.
Garnish with chopped fresh chives or parsley.
Storing
Try to keep the rice and beans separate.
You can store leftovers in airtight containers for up to 5 days in your fridge.
Heat them up again over the stovetop or in a microwave-safe container in the microwave for a few minutes.
You can freeze batches of the red beans in smaller containers. To thaw, keep in the fridge overnight and reheat as per earlier instructions.
I don't recommend freezing cooked rice because it gets all mushy. Just cook up a batch while the beans are getting hot.
FAQs
I prefer canned beans because they have been soaking already, and they don't need extra cooking, so they are sot as is. Dried beans are cheaper on the other hand, but they require more dedication. Pick out stones if there are any, rinse, soak, and cook your beans in a pressure cooker until soft.
Peel and quarter a raw potato and drop the potato quarters in the dish. This will soak up excess salt. Taste, and your red beans should be moderately salty now.
The recipe calls for canned red beans, and those are already soft, so when you cook them with the other ingredients into a delicious stew, you are sure to get a thickened red bean dish. Furthermore, the addition of tomato sauce helps in thickening the beans, and of course, cooking it all down over slow heating.
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