Red Beans and Rice

This easy one pot dinner is delicious! In Louisiana, red beans and rice became a traditional dish served on Mondays so that the leftover ham bone from Sunday dinner could be used. Additionally, it was laundry day, and the beans could be left on the stove all day while the laundry was washed and dried. We don’t have to wait until Monday to enjoy this delicious meal.

Aside from the red beans, Andouille sausage is a must for this recipe. The spices and smokiness in the sausage help to flavor the overall dish. You want to brown your sausage before adding it to the pot to simmer with the beans. Browning the sausage adds more flavor to the sausage. Brown equals flavor in cooking.

What makes this dish so easy is that it uses canned red beans. Which is great if you don’t have time to have a pot of beans cooking all day, or maybe you decide on what to make for dinner last minute. If you do have time, you can make a pot of beans and continue on with the recipe. Either way, it will be good!

The thick creaminess of this dish comes from allowing it to simmer for 30 minutes and smashing some of the beans against the side of the pot. That thick, rich sauce is great to soak up with Cornbread. It’s amazing how so much flavor can come from such a simple dish. My oldest child recently informed me that red beans and rice is his second favorite dish, Beef Stroganoff being his first!

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5 from 1 vote

Red Beans and Rice

This easy dish is a great recipe to add to your book.  The Andouille Sausage has just a little heat and smokiness that compliments the rich and creamy sauce from the beans.  Served over white rice.  It is delicious!

Author: Sky Pilgreen Cooking Method: Sautéing, Simmering Categories: Dinner, Lunch Recipe Keys: R red beans R rice

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Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 1 hr Total Time 1 hr 10 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 6

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 cup white rice
• 14 oz andouille sausage (sliced thin)
• As Needed drizzle olive oil
• 1 Large green bell pepper (small diced)
• 3 Ribs celery (small diced)
• 1 Medium onion (small diced)
• 2.5 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 clove garlic (minced)
• 2-3 tsp cajun seasoning
• To Taste salt
• To Taste pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) can red beans (drained)
• 2 cup chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. In a medium pot cook your rice with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt.

   In a dutch oven, or large pot, over medium heat start browning your sausage.  Cooking in batches to promote even browning.  Set aside to drain off the grease.

   In the same pot add in your peppers, celery and onions.  Sautée until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

   Add in your garlic and sautée for 30 seconds.  Next add in your tomato paste and cook for an additional 30 seconds. 

   Now add in all of the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get off all of the fond (brown bits).

     

   Mark as complete

2. Next add in the beans, bay leaf and cajun seasoing.  Bring to a simmer, cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove the lid and mash about 1/3 of the beans against the side of the pot.  Season with salt and pepper, add in the sausage and allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes to thicken up.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

   Mark as complete

Note

You can serve the red beans and rice with a hot sauce for drizzling.

If you do not have Andouille you can use regular smoked sausage.  You may need to add additional cajun seasoning for flavor.