One-Pot Red Beans And Rice Recipe

Red beans and rice is a staple comfort food dish of the South, especially in the historic city of New Orleans. This city's melting pot influences from French, Spanish, African, and Haitian culinary traditions is woven into the cuisine and into this humble and hearty dish. In New Orleans, Mondays were typically laundry day, so utilizing leftover Sunday dinner hambones to cook up a big pot of beans while doing the wash was both efficient and satisfying. In this one-pot red beans and rice recipe, courtesy of recipe developer Julie Kinnaird, you will learn how to make classic red beans and rice in a fraction of the time. Kinnaird uses canned red beans, as well as fully-cooked and smoked andouille sausage, and adds jasmine rice grains straight to the pot to cook along with the beans, sausage slices, and aromatic vegetables. The recipe is finished with sliced and pickled jalapeños, green onions, and a sprinkle of Italian parsley. The garnishes add some bright acidity, verdant color, and freshness for a vibrant new take on an old classic.

When purchasing beans for this recipe, look for actual red beans rather than the red kidney variety. Red beans are more diminutive than kidney beans and also have a more delicate and slightly sweet flavor. Red bean skins are also more tender than those of kidney beans, allowing the canned variety to add velvety texture to the dish. All that said, kidney beans are also sometimes used for making red beans and rice, so the preference really comes down to the cook. 

This recipe starts with a trio of aromatic vegetables: yellow onion, green bell pepper, and celery stalks. Once chopped, the aromatics are cooked in olive oil, then take on a blend of classic Cajun and Creole seasonings: fresh garlic, dried thyme and basil, rubbed sage, Spanish smoked paprika, cayenne, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Kinnaird says that cooking the spices in the oil with the vegetables brings out and intensifies their flavors. A long link of Andouille sausage is sliced up and quickly browned before we add well-rinsed canned red beans. Long-grain jasmine rice is sauteed with the sausage to lightly toast the grains before adding chicken stock. Once the red beans and rice are tender, they are served garnished with pickled jalapeño, sliced green onions, and chopped Italian parsley.

Cut the sausage into ¼-inch-thick slices and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened (about 5 minutes).

Add the garlic, thyme, basil, paprika, salt, sage, black pepper, and cayenne and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the sausage and cook until lightly browned (about 5 minutes).

Rinse the rice in a mesh strainer to remove extra starch.

Add the rice to the pot and saute for 1 minute.

Stir in the red beans and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for an additional 5 minutes with the cover on.

Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

Serve the red beans and rice topped with some of the green onions, pickled jalapeños, and parsley.

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Small red beans belong to the "common bean family" and were likely first cultivated around 8,000 years ago. Red beans are rounded and keep their shape quite well when cooked. They are thought to have been a reliable protein source for indigenous tribes in Central America and beyond. When combined with rice, red beans provide a complete protein source and impart a nutty and slightly sweet flavor.

Beyond Monday laundry day in New Orleans, variations on red beans and rice can be found in many cultures around the globe. Combining legumes with starch has proven effective for supporting and sustaining people throughout the ages. Even fine-dining establishments in the South have their versions of red beans and rice included in menus. Whether you choose to slowly simmer dried red beans with a leftover ham bone or opt for this easy canned-bean suggestion, red beans and rice will most likely make it into your recipe rotation.

Historically, red beans and rice was made with basic long-grain white rice. Unlike short-grain varieties, long-grain rice tends to be fluffier, and the grains are more separate once cooked. Kinnaird prefers the jasmine long-grain variety for the floral and nutty qualities that it adds to the dish, however any long-grain variety can be swapped in. If you want to use brown rice in this recipe (such as brown basmati), note that you will need to add a bit more liquid (chicken stock) and extend the cook time to accommodate the longer cooking time required for brown rice.

In terms of sausage, the smoky and spicy flavors of the Andouille are just right for this dish, but other sausages can certainly be introduced. Pork is the star of Andouille, so consider mixing in a smoked beef or even turkey sausage, if you want to lighten up the flavors. Just note that you want fully-cooked sausages for this recipe, rather than raw sausage in casings. Using sausage that is just in need of a crisping and reheating adds to the ease of preparation in this recipe.

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