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    Recipes » Main Dish

    Red Beans and Rice

    Published: Jan 26, 2015 · Updated: Jan 21, 2020 · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Red Beans and Rice, a customary Monday evening meal, is a delicious, spicy, and filling frugal feast. This whole recipe costs about $10 and will feed you for days.

    Red Beans and Rice from Living Well Kitchen

    Why you should make this budget friendly dish

    Happy Monday Red Beans and Rice Day!

    Red Beans and Rice, a quintessential New Orleans dish, is usually served on Mondays.

    On Mondays, or wash day, people would take their leftover bones from Sunday supper and throw them in a pot with some beans to cook all day long. The beans would simmer nice and slow for hours while the women were washing clothes.

    Red Beans and Rice with parsley and pot of red beans

    Even though it's no longer customary to spend Mondays washing clothes, Red Beans and Rice is still a popular dish. It's spicy, comforting, and oh so filling. Plus, it's easy on the wallet.

    Beans, especially dried beans, are extremely budget friendly. For one pound of dry red beans you'll spend $2 and get about 90g protein. For one pound of ground sirloin, you'll spend about $6 and get around 95g protein. Meaning beans are 2/3 of the cost for almost the same amount of protein! Yay for saving money.

    You can always make your Red Beans and Rice vegetarian, but I personally prefer to have a little sausage in there. That's how we ate it growing up, and that's how I'd like it to stay.

    However, if I'm going to eat sausage I'm going to get the good stuff but just not have as much. I bought 12 ounces of andouille sausage {made without preservatives, artificial ingredients, or added nitrates or nitrites} for $6.

    Red Beans and Rice sprinkled with parsley on a gray plate with silver and white napkin

    How to Make Red Beans and Rice

    The very first thing you need to do is soak your beans. This couldn't be easier. Just dump the dry beans in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight or at least 8 hours. You don't want to skip this. Beans that aren't done are so upsetting and unpleasant.

    Once you've soaked the beans, you need to give yourself a good three hours to make this. But these three hours require very little work, and the reward is well-worth the time.

    To start, you'll cook the sausage in a soup pot or Dutch oven and transfer to some paper towels to drain off excess fat. In the same soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Stir in the garlic and spices. Pour in the water, your soaked & drained red beans, cooked sausage, and a few bay leaves. Then you just let this simmer and thicken for hours. Literally, hours.

    These hours matter. This is not a quick dish. It's not a hard dish, but it isn't a 30 minute meal. It's slow cooked, and there's just no rushing it. Correction: I'm sure you could figure out a way to make this "quick" -- maybe by using canned beans and already cooked rice or something. But just no. No. Please don't do that. Please.

    plate with Red Beans and Rice and parsley

    Final thoughts on this recipe

    Unlike the original recipe from The Plantation Cookbook {from the Junior League of New Orleans}, I only used andouille sausage {well, I used a cajun style andouille sausage}.

    I also bagged the ham and the ham bone because I just don't have ham hanging around my house. Plus, I don't find it necessary as this is extremely flavorful and delicious without it. You'd never even know it's without.

    It's spicy & warming but not overpowering... thick & creamy but not mushy... hearty & filling but not ridiculously unhealthy... perfect.

    bowl of Red Beans and Rice with parsley

    Red Beans and Rice

    Red Beans and Rice, a customary Monday evening meal, is a delicious, spicy, and filling frugal feast.
    No ratings yet
    Print Rate
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Soaking Time: 8 hours
    Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Author: Meme

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound dry red beans
    • 12 ounce sausage sliced {preferably andouille}
    • 2 medium onions diced {about 2 cups}
    • 1 medium green bell pepper diced {about 1 1/4 cup}
    • 4 stalks celery diced {about 1 cup}
    • 6 cloves garlic minced {about 4 tsp}
    • 4 cups water + more as needed
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup brown rice uncooked
    • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Soak red beans in water for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.
    • In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté sausage until browned about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to absorb excess grease.
    • Sauté onions, bell peppers, and celery for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic.
    • Pour in water, and add red beans, sausage, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. 
    • Simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are cooked and mixture is thick and creamy. Feel free to add extra water if needed {add about 1/4 cup water at a time}.
    • Add salt, and taste to adjust seasoning as needed. Remove bay leaves.
    • About 30 minutes before serving, prepare rice. [I use this method and it works perfectly every single time!]
    • Serve red beans over rice, and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy!

    Notes

    *You can use regular paprika in place of the smoked paprika.
    *My red beans took just about 3 hours to get to my perfect consistency. You can mash some of the beans to make this creamier if desired.
    *Makes 8-9 cups.
    Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

    [showhide type="post" more_text="Click here for Nutrition Facts" less_text="Clear Nutrition Facts"]
    *

    Nutrition Facts
    Red Beans and Rice
    Serving Size
     
    1 cup
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    384
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    7
    g
    11
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    1
    g
    6
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    30
    mg
    10
    %
    Sodium
     
    551
    mg
    24
    %
    Potassium
     
    980
    mg
    28
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    59
    g
    20
    %
    Fiber
     
    10
    g
    42
    %
    Sugar
     
    3
    g
    3
    %
    Protein
     
    21
    g
    42
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    540
    IU
    11
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    21.1
    mg
    26
    %
    Calcium
     
    81
    mg
    8
    %
    Iron
     
    5
    mg
    28
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    *
    [/showhide]

    What to use in this recipe:


    Meme

    Doesn't this recipe look good?! You should probably pin it for later:

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    Comments

    1. Alanna says

      January 26, 2015 at 12:18 pm

      I missed having red bean & rice Mondays so much that I made John Besh's recipe last week. Although, I tried too much to healthify it that it missed a lot of amazing flavor. Will definitely be giving your recipe a try! Love how creamy they are.

      Reply
      • Meme says

        January 28, 2015 at 10:11 pm

        I love that you tried to recreate them! Great minds think alike 🙂
        You will enjoy these -- I'm still eating them {it makes a big batch!}

        Reply
    2. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      January 26, 2015 at 1:07 pm

      Love beans and rice! Such a nutrient packed, cheap, healthy meal!

      Reply
      • Meme says

        January 31, 2015 at 10:03 am

        Beans & rice are the best healthy frugal meal! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Lauren @ Eating with a Purpose says

      January 26, 2015 at 8:42 pm

      Thank you for posting this. This is my favorite local dish- I have been looking for a good recipe. Sadly my only attempt thus far has been from a Zatarain's package- I know, crazy! Can't wait to try.

      Reply
      • Meme says

        January 31, 2015 at 11:41 am

        Haha love it Lauren! Y'all will love these. So easy and tasty. I've been eating my big batch all week 🙂 xo

        Reply
    4. Sonali- The Foodie Physician says

      January 27, 2015 at 3:25 pm

      This is such a great, classic dish! And like your caramelized onions, the little extra time that it takes to make really pays off in such big ways!

      Reply
      • Meme says

        January 31, 2015 at 11:47 am

        Thanks Sonali 🙂 Sometimes, that extra time in the kitchen is worth more than double that in taste!

        Reply

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    Meme (a brunette female) is holding umbrella and spinning around in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing a denim jacket, skirt, and blue shoesHi, I'm Meme -- a thirty-something girl from Alabama living in San Diego! Join me as I prove that living a guilt-free, healthy lifestyle can be budget friendly, delicious & fun!
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