Bless Her Heart

Red beans and rice is a traditional Cajun food that makes the most of smoked sausage and spices…not to mention both time and money. 

Cajun cooks traditionally cooked red beans and rice on Mondays. 

Mondays were laundry days 

Red beans and rice was the perfect meal to make on laundry days. 

Whenever the cook was busy with the laundry and other chores, she could simply leave the beans to simmer without having to constantly check them. 

Red beans and rice also gave households a chance to use whatever meats might be left over from the weekly Sunday family feasts. 

After all, the Cajun people were known for making the most out of whatever resources were available. 

My family’s recipe for red beans and rice combines Andouille sausage, garden-fresh vegetables, long grain rice and zesty spices to make a hearty, flavorful meal. 

Ingredients 

The following list is a basic list of ingredients for Red Beans and Rice…what my family typically uses. But every cook’s recipe will be a little different. Feel free to experiment. 

Red beans and rice was traditionally made with whatever meat was already cooked, usually for Sunday dinner the day before. Feel free to use bacon, ham hocks or salt pork instead of the andouille sausage. 

Although red beans and red kidney beans are the same color, they’re completely different types of legumes.  

Red beans are small and round. They have a faintly nutty taste.  

Red kidney beans are larger and have a slightly richer color. They also have a thicker skin. 

Feel free to use either of these, but you might be better off using dried beans. They typically are better at maintaining their shape while being cooked. 

• Andouille sausage: ½#, thinly sliced 

• Bay Leaves: 2 

• Dried red beans: 1# dried…or 3@15oz cans drained and rinsed small red beans or kidney beans (note: you’d probably would be better off using dried beans for making red beans and rice. They retain their shape much better while cooking.) 

• Garlic cloves: 3 minced 

• Olive Oil: ¼C 

• Sliced green onions: enough for garnish 

• Spices: ½tsp cayenne pepper, 1Tbsp dried parsley, ¼tsp dried sage, 1tsp dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste 

• Vegetables: 1 diced green bell pepper, 1 diced sweet onion, 3 diced celery ribs 

• Water: 5C 

• Optional: 2Tbsp tomato paste, 1tsp Tobasco 

Directions 

Soak your beans: Obviously, if you are using canned beans in the first place, you don’t have to do this. Just drain and then rinse your beans. 

If using dried beans, first rinse the beans. Put them in a large stockpot. Cover them with twice their volume in water. Cover. Let set overnight. 

You could also “quick soak” them. BrBring wawateer a andd dried beans to a boil.. RRemove from heat.. AAllow the beans to coolcool anywhere anywhere fromom one to four hours,, until they’re easy to to squeezed. 

Saute: Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  

Add sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about four minutes. Set aside. 

Add bell pepper, celery, garlic and onion to the same now-empty Dutch oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about four minutes. 

Season: Add the cooked vegetables back to the Dutch oven. Add the beans. Now add the bay leaves, tomato paste and whatever other spices you may be using. 

Simmer: Bring the bean mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Let simmer for two hours.  

Sausage: Add Andouille sausage or whatever meat you’re using to the beans. Cook for an additional half-hour.  

Serve: Take about one cup of beans out of the Dutch oven. Use a wooden spoon to mash the beans until slightly thickened. Add back to the Dutch oven. 

These mashed beans will give the red bean mixture a thick and velvety texture. 

Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over rice. 

Remember to have the Tobasco sauce nearby. 

To make vegetarian: Substitute plant-based sausage for the andouille sausage, and vegetable stock for the chicken stock. 

To make in slow cooker: Place ingredients in slow cooker. Cook, covered, at high for 7 hours or until beans are tender.  

To store: Store rice separate from the beans. Otherwise, the mixture will turn into pure moosh. Place both components in sealed containers. Refrigerate for up to a week.  

To freeze: Freeze in individual freezer bags without the rice. The rice would make the mixture too mushy. You can buy cups of microwavable rice later, if you want. 

Thaw overnight. Reheat on the stovetop. Serve with freshly cooked rice.