My husband had been requesting this meal for quite a long time and I finally decided to give it a try and make it from scratch. Even when I love Cajun flavors I didn’t have much experience with Red Beans and Rice so after doing some research, I rolled up my sleeves, put on my apron and started working. The smell coming out of my kitchen was incredible. Why did it take me so long to make red beans and rice?! They are so easy to make! I made a big batch…or what I thought was a big batch, because I wanted to freeze the left overs and have them ready for whenever we wanted to eat it again. Well, we ate so much there were not much left overs. I served the red beans and rice with a side of basmati rice and lemons. Do you put lemons in red beans and rice? or Is it a Mexican thing to put limones on everything? My husbands thinks I am crazy but I thing it’s delicious.
Find the recipe below!
Notes
Season the red beans and sausage until the very end and only IF needed. Most Cajun seasonings are very high in sodium, you probably won’t need much salt at all.
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 Cups red beans (dry)
- 1/2 onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 12 oz andouille sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 oz tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with water, about 1″ above the beans. Soak over night or if you are making this for dinner you can start soaking the beans early in the morning.
- Drain the beans and add them into a heavy bottom pot cover with 8 cups of water. Add the onion, bay leaf and garlic cloves. Bring the beans to a boil, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until very tender. Once the beans a done, lightly season with salt and reserve 2 cups of cooked beans for this recipe. Storage the rest of the beans in the refrigerator.
- Add the oil in to a large pot and heat it up on medium high heat. Add the sliced sausage and cook until brown stirring occasionally about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, celery, onion and minced garlic. Sautee until the veggies are tender about 5 more minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, Cajun seasoning, chicken stock, bay leaf and the 2 cups of red beans. Stir everything together and cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- While the beans and sausage are cooking, make the rice according to package instructions.
- Once the beans are done, taste them and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Serve with a side of rice and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!
