Red Beans and Rice
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Easy and quick red beans and rice! An authentic Louisiana recipe with smoky andouille sausage, the holy trinity, and the creamiest beans!
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Why you’ll love red beans and rice
- Comfort food goodness. Firstly, this dish is quintessential comfort food, consisting of thick, creamy, tender beans, smoky andouille sausage, and Cajun seasoning. The best part? The recipe uses canned beans for the speediest weeknight meal.
- Budget-friendly. Not only is this budget-friendly but it is also incredibly filling, making it an economical, high protein, and high fiber dinner for the entire family to enjoy.
- Versatile and flexible. This is an incredibly flexible and forgiving dish. It can easily be customized and adapted with different proteins, various beans and rice types, or even made completely vegetarian. You can also make it mild, make it hot, or make it fiery!
- Makes for the best leftovers. The flavors get a chance to meld and marry even more overnight, making for the most exceptional choice for leftovers and meal prep, packed with fiber and protein.
What is red beans and rice?
This is a classic Louisiana dish made with red beans, sausage, and the “holy trinity” (onions, bell pepper, and celery), typically served over white rice alongside cornbread and hot sauce.
Monday tradition
This was served on Mondays known as the “wash day” tradition, a day devoted to laundry. Cooking a pot of red beans, a slow cooked, no-fuss meal, allowed more time for chores to be completed.
How to make red beans and rice
- Cook the rice. Cook the rice to package instructions. Long grain white rice (ex. jasmine) is generally the gold standard for red beans and rice.
- Brown the sausage. While the rice is cooking, brown the sausage in batches until lightly browned; set aside.
- Add the holy trinity. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, and celery until tender.
- Cook the aromatics. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and Cajun seasoning until fragrant.
- Simmer. Add the red beans, chicken stock, hot sauce, bay leaf, and cooked sausage, simmering for 15 minutes covered, and then an additional 15 minutes uncovered.
- Mash the beans. Using a wooden spoon, mash the beans for a creamier consistency.
- Serve. Top with the cooked white rice, garnished with parsley, and served alongside some cornbread.
what to serve with red beans and rice
Tools For This Recipe
Red Beans and Rice: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! There is no need for an overnight or quick soak here. This is a super quick recipe using canned red beans, perfect for when you just don’t have the time to soak dry beans.
I recommend using small red beans or kidney beans.
Kielbasa is an excellent substitute.
The spice level can be adjusted to mild by using mild andouille sausage and omitting the hot sauce.
Absolutely! Similar to lasagna, red beans and rice taste better the very next day, really allowing the flavors to meld and intensify overnight.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the rice (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight and gently reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked rice when serving.
Red Beans and Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun seasoning, salt-free
- 3 (15-ounce) cans small red beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes; set aside.
- Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic and Cajun seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in red beans, chicken stock, hot sauce, bay leaf and sausage; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover; continue to simmer until reduced, an additional 15 minutes.
- Using a wooden spoon, mash beans until slightly thickened, if desired; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, topped with rice and garnished with parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Serve with long grain white rice. Use long grain, basmati or jasmine rice – all light and fluffy to absorb and soak up the creamy, saucy beans. Avoid short grain, sushi rice or instant rice.
- Tomato paste adds so much flavor. Tomato paste adds body and richness in small amounts without adding too much liquid. Opt for tomato paste in a tube, using up only what you need at a time without having to open up a whole can.
- Use small red beans or kidney beans. Soaking dry beans is not required here. Canned red beans (or kidney beans) allows this recipe to come together so fast, making it a true weeknight hero.
- Mash the beans. Add the finishing touches by mashing up about 1 cup of the softened beans off to the side of the pot – this is what makes the red beans and rice so thick and velvety creamy.
- Make it vegetarian. For our vegetarian friends, substitute plant-based sausage for the andouille sausage, and vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
- Pair with cornbread. Serve with a scoop of white rice and a side of cornbread, a quintessential pairing!
Did you make this recipe?
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This is easy and delicious. My husband just said he could eat it everyday. I agree.
This dish has become a staple in our house because it’s sooooo delicious! Highly recommend!
My market was out of andouille so I had to use soy chorizo. It was still great though!
Is it best to use dry beans or canned? And if you don’t soak the dry beans does it give one a gassy stomach? Help please! I really want to make this!
This is my go-to recipe for this dish. Well done!
I have been using this recipe for years, I use an andouille sausage and a boneless ham steak. Absolutely love it!! It can handle adjustments well too if I am out of something or have extra of something to add in!
The only red beans and rice i cook!!
I wish I could give this more than 5 stars. I’ve tried so many rice and bean recipes that call for too many ingredients and are over complicated with sub par results. This is so simple, loaded with flavor and not too salty. This will be on our monthly family menu! Thank you!
Made it and it was Susan delicious we’ve had it on the rotation I’d like to incorporate the dry red beans ito it
Delicious and easy to follow recipe! Thank you!
This is a dish they stays on rotation in my house. Always hits and so versatile.
I just made it and it is fantastic. I made it exactly as listed in the recipe! I will be making it again in the future!!!
This was so good! I didn’t change a thing. Definitely will be making again.
Wow so good and flavorful! And it was quick to put together!! Thank you!
I had never eaten nor made red beans and rice. I must say that this recipe is DELICIOUS!!! I read several other recipes, but most of them start with a pound of dry beans, and at my age (73) I just don’t feel up to all that rigmarole. Plus, those recipes made enough for a small army, and it is just hubby and me. We will eat it twice and have enough to freeze for one more meal. I found mashing the beans against the side of the pan quite tedious, so I spooned out about a cup and blended them with an immersion blender. Done. (Maybe you can tell I’m kind of sick of cooking after 61 years?) LOL! I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes! If they are as good as this one, maybe you will have inspired me to sprint to the finish line!
Cathy, your comments made my day!!! If you ever write a book, I will buy it ☺
Very happy with this recipe I make it different every time this time I added ground smoked Chipotle for heat and I had a little smoke pulled pork that I added with the andouille sausage. Always comes out great
See previous comment from me. Chambers, not Cjambers.
I have made your Red Beans and rice too many times to count! Always delicious and never get tired of it! A KEEPER, INDEED!
We are so happy to hear it, Shari! Thank you for leaving such a lovely review.
I have made this Red Beans and Recipe too many times to count, and it is always as “delicious” as the first time! I love Damn Delicious recipes–always the best! Chungah, you are the best!!!
I make this on a regular basis and it is one of our family faves! Thanks for the recipe.