Red Beans & Rice
Quick, easy, affordable! This high protein meal couldn’t be any easier. Full of flavor! Easily adaptable to vegan and vegetarian.
A tried and true recipe. This is on a regular rotation in our house. Red beans and rice is a true comfort food but is secretly super healthy. It’s packed with protein and fiber, and is easily adaptable if vegetarian or vegan, of if you are just not in the mood for meat! This recipe is budget friendly and perfect for meal prepping!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
Rice - Choose a long-grain white rice.
Vegetable Broth - Use an unsalted vegetable broth for this recipe. Use chicken broth as an alternative if that is all you have in the pantry. If you have homemade broth on hand, even better!
Kidney Beans - Canned beans are the quickest option for this recipe. Choose an unsalted canned variety. However, dried beans are also a cheap option if you have some extra time to soak and boil.
Carrots, Onion, Celery, Bell Pepper - Diced veggies are an essential base for this recipe.
Garlic - Start with one clove, but adjust to your liking.
Olive Oil - Use a high quality extra virgin olive oil.
Vinegar - Apple cider vinegar is best for this recipe.
Bay Leaf
Cajun Seasoning - Choose your favorite. However, be aware of the salt contend.
Thyme - Don’t skip dried thyme for this recipe!
Salt and pepper - Season to taste.
Optional: Andouille sausage - Omit if vegan or vegetarian.
How to Make
As always, this recipe is simple and easy to make, using whole ingredients. Here’s where to start:
Using a large dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onions, carrots, celery, and bell peppers and cook until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Optional: If adding sausage, add to pot and sauté until browned and cooked through. Drain any fat. If omitting sausage, skip this step.
Add rinsed and drained kidney beans to the pot, along with seasonings (cajun seasoning, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper), cooking for another minute or two. Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 15 minutes. The longer the better!
In the meantime, prepare the rice as directed on the package.
Back to the beans - I like to smash some of the beans with the back of a spatula, making it creamy. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer rice and beans into serving bowls. Add fresh herbs as garnish.
Cool and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Note: it’s best to separate the rice from the beans when storing in the fridge.
It’s that easy! Enjoy!
How to Serve
Enjoy rice and beans on its own as a full meal!
RECIPE
Red Beans & Rice
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8
GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, VEGETARIAN, VEGAN
INGREDIENTS
2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans
4 cups vegetable broth, unsalted
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven or saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. (Omit butter if dairy-free).
Add diced carrots, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until soft.
Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds.
Optional: If adding sausage, add to pot and sauté until browned and cooked through. Drain any fat. If omitting sausage, skip this step.
Add rinsed and drained kidney beans to the pot, along with seasonings (cajun seasoning, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper), cooking for another minute or two.
Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Note: if starting with dried beans, cooking time will need to be adjusted (see note below).
Once cooked, smash some of the beans with the back of a spatula, making it creamy.
Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Remove bay leaves.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste
In a separate saucepan, prepare the rice as directed on the package.
Transfer to serving bowls. Add fresh herbs as garnish.
NOTES
Cool and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store rice separately from beans.
Note on using dried beans: If using dried beans, start with 1 cup of dried kidney beans. Soak overnight or at least 8 hours. To soak, add beans to a bowl and add water so that beans are submerged. There should be about 2 inches of water above the beans. Cover and store in refrigerator overnight. When following recipe above, cooking time will need to be adjusted. Prepare according to the recipe above, except step #6 - will need to simmer for at least 1 hour, up to 2 hours. It will depend on your beans. Start to test beans at 1 hour mark by mashing between your fingers. Beans should be the consistency of mashed potatoes.