Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 3 cans Kidney beans, canned no-salt-added, two drained, one with liquid
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 2 Yellow onion, diced
• 4 stalks Celery, diced
• 1 Green bell pepper, diced
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Smoked paprika
• 1 ½ tsp Dried thyme
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
• 3 Bay leaves
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups Brown rice (dry)
• 5 Scallions (green onions), sliced
• 2 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce

Method

1. Cook the trinity — onion, celery, bell pepper — in the oil over medium for 12 minutes until completely soft and starting to gold. Louisiana cooks give this longer than seems necessary.
2. Add the garlic and all the dried spices, 1 minute.
3. Add the beans, broth, bay leaves and salt. Simmer uncovered 60-75 minutes, stirring every 15, until the liquid has reduced and gone creamy.
4. In the last 20 minutes, mash a third of the beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. That, not flour, is what makes red beans creamy.
5. Cook the rice. Fish out the bay leaves, taste for salt, and serve the beans over rice with scallions and hot sauce.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

The mash. A third of the beans crushed into the pot is what separates New Orleans red beans from bean soup.

🧒 For the kids

Halve the cayenne and put the hot sauce on the table. Beans over rice with a lot of gravy is a friendly plate.

🥡 Leftovers

Famously better on day two — the reason it was a Monday dish is that it simmered while the laundry was done. Keeps 5 days, freezes 3 months.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.