If you’re in the mood for some inexpensive, hearty comfort food this winter, then here is your answer! This red beans and rice recipe takes a little time to simmer on the stove, but it’s so worth it in the end. Just a few dollars worth of dried beans and brown rice can go a long way, and while you are taking the time to cook a batch, why not double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for a rainy day? You’ll thank yourself later. :)
Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans and Rice is a classic recipe that's both hearty and freezer-friendly. Add a little cajun seasoning and top it with some hot sauce for a truly New Orleans-inspired dish.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound red kidney beans, covered with 2 inches of water and soaked 8 hours to overnight
- 4 ounces bacon, 1/2 of an 8 ounce pack
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, change this to 1/8 teaspoon if you aren't a pepper fan
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 servings brown rice, cooked according to package directions
- green onions, diced (optional garnish)
Instructions
-
Ensure the dried red kidney beans have been soaked in water for a minimum of 8 hours before starting this recipe. Be sure to drain them before using.
- Cook bacon over medium heat in a large pot. When both sides are done, take out the bacon, crumble, and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.
-
Add the onion, green bell pepper, celery, salt, black pepper, and red pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the soaked and drained beans, crumbled bacon, 4 cups of water, and the bay leaves to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Turn the bean mixture down to simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour.
- After the beans have softened, use a broad spoon to mash about 1/2 of the red beans into the side of the pot to thicken the mixture. Put the lid back on and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes.
- Ladle into bowls over brown rice and top with diced green onions if desired (remove the two bay leaves before serving). The leftover red beans can be frozen.
Recipe Notes
Tip: substituting water for chicken stock adds depth of flavor to the dish.
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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I made this and it was very good. We had some kielbasa with it. I knew my husband would be happier with some meat added with the dish. I thought it was very flavorful even without the sausage. I will make this again! Thank you.
I’ve noticed that looots of the recipes on this site call for cayenne pepper. I don’t have that, but I have chili powder. Can they be used interchangeably?
Cayenne is about 8x stronger (hotter) than chilli powder so keep that in mind if subbing.
It looks so delicious. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing it!
Re: question about how to cook brown rice. I struggled with the same issues of either too soupy, or dry and not quite done. This technique has never failed me. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add rice and cook, uncovered for 30 min, stirring occasionally. Then pour contents of pot into strainer, wait a few seconds and immediately pour back into pan. There will be some liquids in the rice, which you need to complete cooking. Cover pot and cook on low heat for 15 more minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Perfectly cooked brown rice!
I would love advice on brown rice! I want to start using it more instead of white rice, but it seems to either end up dry/crunchy or soupy.
I’ve had brown rice prepared by others and love it, so I know it doesn’t have to be this way!
What varieties do you really like? What ratio do you use in rice cooker? (Or do you have another favorite cooking method?)
Hi there. These might help: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-brown-rice-113856 and http://www.saveur.com/perfect-brown-rice-recipe.
I doubled the recipe to have some to freeze, but it’s way too watery. More like bean soup, even after mashing. I’m boiling off the water now to salvage it, but if doubling, I recommend cutting the water back quite a bit. It may be because I soaked the beans too long, however (overnight and all day).
Yum! This was so good! I did not make enough! I will admit to adding sausage to it, as my 3 carnivore little dudes are not huge on beans, but the flavor was excellent! Great!
What about using the slow cooker?? How long do you think ? Because I’d love to make it today, Since I didn’t soak the beans :)
You totally don’t need to soak beans to cook them in a slow cooker!! It’s a game-changer, for sure. Navy beans take about 8 hours on low (I wouldn’t try it on high without soaking)….kidney are slightly larger, maybe 9?
Hi Kelly. You might use this as a guide for slow cooking time: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/slow-cooker-red-beans-and-rice-recipe.html.
Yummy!
This was my first time making red beans and rice. Delish! Meat and potatoes hubby was only partially convinced. I made a double batch using 6 cups of water and used my immersion blender to mix it up. Threw a little cheese on top and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt…and plenty to freeze for future meals.
You don’t need to messy-up a blender to get it pasty – just cook it longer on lower heat until the beans naturally lose form and there’s even no need to mash them.
This recipe is nearly identical to my own, though I use some ingredient additions and technique variation: much more veggie-seasoning (over double for this recipe in onion, celery, YRG peppers, parsley), and a bay leaf per cup of beans. I’ll sear/saute’ half of the veggies and let the rest cook in the pot. I additionally combine 2 tsp ‘powdered’ thyme with the dry-seasoning prior to soak – which helps convey dat New Orleans cajun flavor.
Depending on my pot, I’ll either have soaked the dry beans overnight or I’d simmer-soak them with dry seasoning until the beans start to split. Then I combine the veggie-seasoning blend and meat. I may also add chicken or beef stock for the beans to soak up. To that end, I always rinse/wash the beans prior to any soak so I can eliminate throwing out liquids/flavour.
(If using a deep pot, then I simmer-soak; if a shallower pan, then unheated overnight soaking works better for me. )
I also use hickory-smoked cajun sausage AND cajun andouille sausage to add flavor variety by first slicing to inch or more thick and then searing their exposed sides all in the pot.. I also use half a package of hickory-smoked bacon and let it dissolve during the cook. I nearly always sear with olive oil and garlic, though real butter is a good substitute for the oil.
Don’t be too afraid of using more water as needed, as you can always ‘cook it down’ to remove excess. The batch should be thick, but relatively easy to stir. It shouldn’t be an actual paste, nor a sauce, but somewhere in between. Always, constantly stir so nothing starts to clump up on the bottom of the pot, adding water as needed. I set a timer for 15 – 20 minutes between stirs for 4 – 6 hours on an electric stove burner that’s throttled just at or below 1. I always bring the temperature up to a boil for the very first 7-10 mins upon adding to the split beans (kills germs), and then set to simmer and let it cook (with stirring!).
It’s really difficult to ‘overcook’ red beans, though it can easily be scorched on higher temps (this really does little to the flavor unless the scorched stuff is mixed into the rest of the batch, but it makes cleaning a real pain). Red beans are also easily reconstituted with water as they are easily dehydrated when ignored on the stove; so even if a batch dries out, water will bring it back to life.
The seasonings mentioned above (and the searing of meat) are fair staples applied to all of my cajun recipes. For jambalaya its nearly the same, just no beans and no bacon, and there’s a lot more thyme added. The meat side sees jumbo shrimp (cooks really fast!), and chicken added, where the meat is first cooked, and removed until the main part with the rice is nearly cooked-down.
Whatever the case, one just has to remember the most important ingredient/technique – heart.
– just my two scents (the scents of ‘flavor’ and ‘anticipation’) on my technique, from NOLA.
~phil
Any recommendations for the time when using canned beans?
Hi Kelly. I’ve used canned beans that I felt were done in about half the cooking time. Just give them taste to be sure the flavor has developed enough to your liking.:)
Made this last night. So amazingly flavorful! It was delicious! I made a double batch and followed others’ recommendations to use only 6 cups of liquid. Consistency was perfect.
Just a heads up as I was looking at the red beans and rice recipe I noticed on the last page of comments a comment that says adult movie download. I did not click on it but wanted to let you know as you have either been spammed or it was posted in error. It just doesn’t sound like it belongs on your site. Again, just FYI. Have a good day.
Thank you, Shannon. Sometimes some weird stuff gets passed the filters. :) I’ll look for it.
Love this recipe! I used Jacob’s Cattle beans (because that’s what I had) and instead of soaking them I boiled them for about 45 minutes (until they started to soften) before starting this recipe, then used the broth as part of the water. I doubled the recipe but only used six cups of broth/water (and four oz. of bacon, because that’s what I had)… It was still a bit soupy so next time I’ll go with four cups. Thickened up nicely after it sat for a while though!
hmmm thinking about doing this with black beans, or pinto beans because that’s what I bought at our last trip to the store. Sounds yummy!! Thanks for the great idea :)
One suggestion – DOUBLE this :) It’s amazing and you will want leftovers. Aaannnnddd you won’t need to waste any veggies or beans.
I was trying out red rice recipes too! Would love to know what you think about what I did here http://healthylivying.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/meal-prep-red-fried-rice-broccoli-pork-adobo/
My sister-in-law shared her recipe for Red Beans and Rice (she’s from Louisiana too, Brandi G) when we first visited her a few years ago. I have modified it a bit, to use a pork sholder bone and pork scraps after cooking it in a crock pot. Soaking the beans in this pork stock gives them such a great flavor!! A go-too recipe in our house now!!
I’m new to your recipes and blog and have been working on cutting out processed foods. Your recipes are wonderful. I just wanted to say that I’m from south Louisiana and red beans and rice are a staple here. I always cook my beans in a slow cooker. As long as they soak the night before, they can then be rinsed and cooked in slow cooker while I’m at work.
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I made these last night. I mashed half the beans and left the lid off the last 20 minutes and it was still soupy. The flavor was great though! Thank you!