One of the best things about traveling is tasting different cuisines from all over the world. We were introduced to cajun and creole food when we moved to Texas by a true Louisiana native. We fell in love with the rich and zippy flavors immediately!
Red beans and rice is one of those foods that quickly became a family favorite. My boys ask for this all the time! It’s relatively easy, but does take time. Just like all good things!
Beans
This recipe calls for small red beans. I prefer dry beans that I can soak in seasoned water overnight because I’m always making a huge portion to feed a crew. You can use canned beans if time is not on your side and you really need this recipe to be done quickly.
A tip for getting your beans soft faster without giving up flavor would be to boil the water before covering your beans and leaving them covered in hot water. This will give you soaked overnight bean results in a few hours. It would be even faster if you put them over very low heat for an hour. You don’t want them to be totally soft at this point!! If you do that, you’ll have very soupy red beans and rice because the beans don’t soak up any of the chicken broth!
Rice
We serve our red beans over steamed white rice. It’s very easy to do rice. It’s always 2 parts water to one part rice. So for one cup of rice, you will need to get 2 cups of lightly salted water boiling. Pour the rice in, lower the temp, cover and steam for 20 minutes. Perfect steamed rice every time!
Red Beans & Rice
Equipment
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 pound dry small red beans
- 4 quarts water
- 12 ounces bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 5 stalks celery, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
- 8 ounce smoked Tasso, chunked
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
Instructions
Pre-soak
- Place beans into a container (I use my crock pot) and cover with water. Add salt and allow beans to soak overnight, at least 8 hours up to 24 hours.1 Tablespoon salt, 1 pound dry small red beans, 4 quarts water
- If time is short, combine beans, water, salt into a stock pot, bring to a boil, simmer an hour, turn off heat and allow to sit for a couple hours.
Making Red Beans
- Drain and rinse the water off your beans using a colander. Let the water fully drain. Let them sit in the colander.
- Please a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon to the heated dutch oven. Stir occasionally until nearly rendered to brown (5-8 minutes). Add the onion, green pepper, and celery. Cook till veggies are soft (6-7 minutes)12 ounces bacon, diced, 1 medium onion, diced, 1 medium green bell pepper, diced, 5 stalks celery, chopped
- Once veggies are soft, add garlic, thyme, paprika, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, creole seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir and cook till fragrant, about a minute.5 cloves garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon dried thyme, 1 Tablespoon sweet paprika, 3 bay leaves, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 Tablespoons Creole seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Add the drained beans, broth, and bring to a boil. After it is boiling, reduce the heat to simmer, cover the dutch oven and cook 45m to an hour, stirring occasionally. We want the beans to soften and the liquid to thicken.6 cups chicken broth
- Once beans are soft and liquid thickened, toss in your sausage, Tasso, red wine vinegar. Leave the lid off while you stir these in and continue cooking (apx 30 minutes). Taste a little to see if you need more salt and pepper.8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced, 8 ounce smoked Tasso, chunked, 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Serve over rice and top with scallions.3 cups cooked rice, 1 bunch scallions, chopped