There are hundreds of recipes for red beans and rice, many of which take hours to cook. My Red Beans and Rice is easy to make and does not require hours of cooking but has all the delicious flavor as if it cooked all day. Here’s how to make it:
Start by cooking the rice and prepping all of the ingredients such as chopping all the vegetables, slicing up the sausage, bacon, and rinsing and draining the beans. Measure out the chicken stock, spices, and flour which will make it easier to put the meal together. Once everything is ready, cook the bacon in a large nonstick pan over medium heat until crispy and then place in a bowl or plate making sure to reserve all of the bacon grease.
Brown the sliced andouille sausage in the reserved bacon grease and then place in the bowl or plate with the bacon again, reserving the grease left in the pan.
Next, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic, thyme, and sage.
Stir the garlic and spices into the vegetables and cook just until fragrant and then sprinkle 1 heaping tablespoon of flour over the vegetables.
Mix the flour into the vegetables until well combined, and continue to cook over medium heat until flour disappears.
Once the flour is well combined, add 2 cups of chicken stock and stir well while bringing the mixture to a boil to thicken the sauce.
Once the sauce has thicken, add the bacon, andouille, and the drained and rinsed red beans to the pan.
Mix all of the ingredients until well combined. Bring it all to a boil, cover the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes of simmering, remove the lid and crank up the heat and boil gently for an additional 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Note* At this point, check to see if you need additional salt and pepper. Because the sausage and bacon already have salt, you may not need any more. Serve over cooked white or brown rice and garnish with freshly chopped parsley. Andouille sausage is spicy but some people like to add additional hot sauce. Enjoy and happy cooking!
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 45 min total
You will need: A large nonstick pan
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
6 slices of smoked uncured bacon chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (reserve the drippings after cooking)
1 lb. smoked andouille sausage 1/4 slices on the bias (Uncured if you can find it)
1 lg. onion chopped
1 lg. bell pepper chopped
4 stalks of celery w/leaves chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sage
1 heaping tablespoon of flour
2 cups chicken stock
2-15oz. cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
salt & pepper to taste (Note* wait until the end to add salt & pepper since the bacon and andouille already have salt)
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
hot sauce (optional)