A classic New Orleans recipe for Red Beans and Rice made with red beans, spicy sausage, onions, garlic and green bell peppers. One of my family’s favorite meals!
New Orleans Style Red Beans And Rice
- Yield: 6 servings
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cooking Time: 2 hr 30 min
Ingredients
- 1 pound of red beans, rinsed and sorted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- ¾ cup chopped bell pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 pound of pork sausage, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups water
- ½ stick butter (4 tablespoons)
Preparation
- Either soak the beans overnight in a pot of water or quick soak the beans by placing them in a large pot and cover the beans with water by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove and place a lid on the pot. Let beans sit for 1 hour. Rinse and drain the beans and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium high heat. Add the onions, celery and bell pepper to the pot and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes more.
- Add the chopped sausage to the pot and cook along with the vegetables for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the beans and 8 cups of water to the pot. Add in the bay leaves, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and thyme. Stir well.
- Bring the beans to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- After the 2 hours and when the beans are tender, stir in the butter and add salt and pepper to taste.
- If the beans become too thick and dry, add a little water.
- Using the back of a heavy spoon, mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot. Remove from heat, take out the bay leaves and serve over rice.
Recipe Tags
ZagLeft is where I share my enthusiasm for cooking in addition to my love for wines and my constant desire to explore….all while taking the road less traveled. You can read more at ZagLeft.
I was fortunate to have grown up in New Orleans. When I tell people that I’m originally from New Orleans, they always ask me what it was like to live there.
It was pretty awesome, actually.
There is no other place like it in the world. From the music, to the food, to the wonderful people, New Orleans is a place like no other. But like so many things, we tend to appreciate them more when we are no longer around them. That’s certainly the case here.
Living in New Orleans, life was like one big party. It seemed like every month, we were celebrating something. We really didn’t even need a reason to celebrate, it just happened naturally.
One of my favorite celebrations is Mardi Gras. In addition to the parades during the Mardi Gras season, New Orleans even celebrates with parades on St. Patrick’s Day where instead of beads, the riders on the floats “throw” cabbages and also on St. Joseph’s Day where “lucky” fava beans are handed out.
When my family and I moved to Texas, my kids couldn’t believe the kids in Texas didn’t have Mardi Gras Day off. It took a few years for them to adjust to that.
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