Years ago, my son and I had Red Beans and Rice in New Orleans. If you’ve had that experience, you know how those flavors can haunt you; you’ll think about it, taste it again in your mind, and not be satisfied until you have a plateful in front of you. Luckily, it’s only food or I’d sound like some kind of crazy stalker…
Red Beans & Rice
From a frugal standpoint, you really can’t get any better than beans and rice, both of which are dirt cheap, and when paired together, form a complete protein. It’s almost cliche. But when a recipe takes a handful of ingredients and transforms them into a world-class dish with little effort and not much more than time, it’s a lesson to be learned.
About Red Beans & Rice:
Red Beans and Rice have always been a budget food and are one of those recipes that still are!
- Traditionally, housewives in New Orleans made Red Beans and Rice on Mondays, taking advantage of the long-simmering recipe to bubble away as they toiled at their weekly laundry.
- If you’d like to explore deeper into the history, be sure to check out this fascinating write-up.
Making the Recipe:
When you review the recipe below, you’ll notice that this dish relies on traditional flavors of onion, celery, and green bell pepper —a combination referred to as the “Holy Trinity” of Louisiana cooking.
That trinity is sauteed in bacon fat (you’ll reserve the bacon to add back in at the end of the cooking), with a good amount of garlic, along with a few herbs. Once that garlic is fragrant, toss in the combo of broth and water to simmer the beans until tender and the liquid has thickened.
The best beans to use for Red Beans and Rice are small red beans, not the standard kidney beans. If you have access to Camellia Small Reds, they’re often said to be the best.
As far as heat, you will only see a touch of cayenne; the rest of the heat is provided by the Andouille sausage added in after the beans are tender. You can jazz things up more, but usually, the dish is served as is, and hot sauce is passed for “doctoring” individual servings to taste.
Do make sure to stir, especially towards the end of the cooking time, when you’ll see it becoming thicker. Do not scorch it!
Red Beans & Rice
What to Serve with Red Beans & Rice:
Of course, you are going to be serving Rice with Red Beans & Rice with rice, and I want to drop the recipe for my Perfect Instant Pot Rice here. If I’m not using my IP, I just follow the package directions.
I think it’s a must to serve greens. I like to make my IP Collard Beans or this fresher recipe for Braised Turnip Greens. And of course, don’t forget the hot sauce!!
Years ago, you’d find this dish served often with a chunky chili sauce or chili relish. It came in a small, round glass jar, like a little glass pot. I haven’t seen it in years, but if anyone can help me out with the brand, drop a comment. In the meantime, my Garden Chii Sauce comes close.
Storing and Reheating the Red Beans & Rice:
I hafta drop a story here! Once, my son tried to undermine me at a school conference and blurted out we had “no food” in the house! He meant junk food, being jealous of his friends with freezers full of Hot Pockets and pizza rolls.
The teacher, knowing me and my love of cooking, just looked him up and down and said, “Well, it’s not like you’re eating beans and rice.” We both started laughing because that was exactly what we had the night before, and were planning on eating that night.
Leftover Beans and Rice are even better than the first night. Here’s what you need to know:
When storing a heavy, dense dish like this, store it in reasonably sized containers and add it to the fridge after it has cooled just a bit. Don’t cover it or only cover it very loosely until it is chilled. It will cool down faster that way.
When removing to reheat, you’ll notice that it will be stiff and thick. If it is served like that, it will not go far. Instead, add to a larger dish (if heating in the microwave) or a saucepan with some room (if heating on the stove) and water as needed to bring it back to its original consistency.
Either way, whether reheating on the stove or in the microwave, do be careful to cover and stir as needed to avoid sputtering.
Saving Money on Groceries:
These days, it pays to shop around and compare prices. Buyer’s clubs are great if you have a membership. Discount groceries like Aldi or Lidl are even better if available, although some of these items may not be available there.
Wherever you shop, remember that when you shop is important, too. The biggest sales are before holidays, so check out my post Win at the Grocer’s with links to what you might find on sale before any given holiday.
- Bacon: Watch for store specials (especially around holidays) and pick it up on the cheap. Bacon freezes well, so stash extra away when you see rock bottom pricing..
- Onions, Celery & Bell Pepper: The discount stores have best pricing. Usually, onions and celery will not be on sale, but watch for sales on the peppers and buy extra. They’ll last a week or two in the fridge.
- Chicken Stock: Here’s my recipe for the Best Turkey or Chicken Stock. It’s easy, but takes time.
- Beans: Dried beans are so inexpensive to start with that they are seldom on “sale,” but check after any holiday that features Ham; sometimes they’re marked down. It’s worthwhile to check Aldi or Lidl as well as any ethnic market.
- Sausage: Sausage goes on sale regularly. If you are up north, you might find better pricing on kielbasa or smoked sausage.
- Rice: Look for the best pricing on rice around Holidays and check your store in the pasta/rice aisle as well as the Ethnic aisles. Consider the discount stores or Ethnic Markets.
Red Beans & Rice
Red Beans & Rice
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 1/2 hours
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: main dish
- Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 7 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 pound red beans, rinsed (I like the small beans, not kidney, if available)
- 1/2 pound andouille sausage, smoked sausage or kielbasa
- salt to taste
- 6 cups cooked rice for serving
- hot sauce or garden chili sauce for serving
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, preferably a heavy cast iron or enameled cast iron, cook bacon till lightly browned but still bendy. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat and reserve the bacon. Add onion, celery, and green bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds longer, stirring, or until fragrant.
Add the chicken broth and water, then oregano, thyme, cayenne, and bay leaves. Stir. Add the beans and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a vigorous simmer (should be steaming and several bubbles breaking the surface) and cook, uncovered, stirring now and then till the beans are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 2 1/2 hours.
Stir in sausage and cook till liquid is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Turn the heat down if necessary. Chop the bacon and stir into the pot. Add salt to taste.
Serve over rice, and accompany with hot sauce and garden chili sauce.
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