Red Beans and Rice
by Chungah
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Louisiana red beans and rice! With smoky andouille sausage, the holy trinity, and the creamiest red beans, topped with white rice.
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Why you’ll love this red beans and rice recipe
- Comfort food goodness. Firstly, this dish is quintessential comfort food, consisting of thick, creamy, tender beans, smoky andouille sausage, and Cajun seasoning.
- Budget-friendly. Red beans and rice is not only budget-friendly, but also incredibly filling, making it an economical, high protein, and high fiber dinner for the entire family to enjoy.
- Versatile and flexible. This recipe can easily be customized with different proteins or made vegetarian-friendly!
- Makes for the best leftovers. The flavors meld even more overnight, making for the most perfect leftovers and meal prep.
What is red beans and rice?
Red beans and rice 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 dish 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 rice, garnished with parsley, and served alongside some cornbread.
what to serve with red beans and rice
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.
Traditionally red beans and rice is prepared with spicy andouille sausage but kielbasa is also a solid option.
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, 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, thaw overnight, and 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 rice and a side of cornbread, a quintessential pairing.
Did you make this recipe?
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This was super delicious. Thank you!
This was so simple and delicious! Hubby approved!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe with so many 5 star ratings until now, and now I know why. This recipe made flat-out the best red beans & rice dish that I’ve ever eaten. Per helpful suggestions here, I used 2 cups of broth instead of 3, upped the hot sauce to 1 tbsp., the Cajun seasoning up to 2 tsps., and added the 1/2 cup of Goya red bean juice that I had strained from the beans before rinsing them. Thanks again, Chungah and team!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! It’s now on our regular rotation of meals! Filling and so easy to make!
This has become a staple at our house. It’s such a delicious meal and so much lower maintenance than some other read beans and rice dishes.
In the photo, is that cojita cheese on top? And how about stirring the rice into the finished bean dish?
It’s rice.
Does this freeze well?
Freezes very well
This is sooo good. I’ve made different recipes before, but this is the best one by far. I forgot to add the hot sauce, but I didn’t realize it, so it’s great without it. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
This recipe is the best red beans and rice ever! It has the perfect amount of seasoning and I plan on making it again and again.
what type of sausages do you guys use?
Smoked andouille sausage as recommended here.
Making this right now. Awesome recipe! Have been making it at least once a month for a few months now. Boyfriend doesn’t like spicy so omitted hot sauce and used turkey kielbasa. Didn’t tell him that I added a little extra Cajun seasoning. My culinary skills aren’t very expert but this easy dinner makes me look like I know my way around a kitchen! Thank you for an uncomplicated recipe that is delicious!
Great flavors for a recipe that is fast and easy to prepare. This is a keeper!
You really did it !!!! Mmmm!!!
Easy, delicious, and brings me back to New Orleans vacations every time. This has definitely become a favourite, thank you for this recipe!
This is amazing. Fits the craving.i never thought I could make delicious red beans and rice first try. I made my own seasoning and used louisiana hot links!
This was soooooo good, even our children liked it. Thank you for a delicious and easy recipe.
This recipe is delicious, and I am not a Southerner. Try it, you’ll like it!
This was incredible!! Most red bean and rice recipies take hours but this came together relatively quickly and was packed with flavor!! Definitely adding it to the winter rotation!
This was delicious. I veganized the recipe by substituting vegetable broth and Beyond Meat brat sausages. So yummy!
Very delicious! Even better the next day and freezes great. I add a cornstarch slurry to it to make it thicker but otherwise, I follow the recipe exactly. A family favorite!
AMAZING recipe! Takes a lot of forethought to time everything correctly but worth the work. For example, you don’t really need to start cooking rice until the base recipe is ready to come to a boil. Otherwise the rice sits for like 30+min. Recipe itself is hearty, a little spicy, and very nutritious.