Classic Red Beans and Rice with a boost of flavor from Andouille sausage.
My hubby is a southern boy and southern boys do love their beans. Cajun Red Beans and Rice is his “new favorite” – until his next new favorite.
Starting with 1 pound or dry, red beans, sort through them, tossing out any bad beans or stones.
Put the beans in a colander/strainer and wash them with water and set aside.
Cut up 1/2 pound of turkey or beef bacon, and 1 pound of Andouille sausage, into about 1/2 inch pieces. (Use a beef or chicken Andouille.)
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the meat with about 1 Tablespoon olive oil until the bacon is cooked but not quite crispy.
While it is cooking, dice up an onion, a green bell pepper and a stalk of celery.
As well as 6 cloves of garlic.
Add those to the pot and cook until the onions are tender.
Now comes the seasoning…Add in 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons thyme, 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce, and a Tablespoon of parsley.
You are also going to stir in 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
And now some Cajun seasoning. If you have a tried and true Cajun seasoning that you like use 3 teaspoons of it.
Finally add in 11 cups of water and your beans.
Give this all a stir and then bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a low-medium and place a lid, slightly ajar, on the pot. This will cook 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Stir it every half hour or so.
When they are done, ladle 3 cups of the mixture into a food processor.
Puree it…
And add it back to the pot. Cook it a couple more minutes, and then serve with hot rice.
Enjoy!
Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry red beans
- ½ lb beef bacon, or turkey
- 1 lb Andouille sausage, chicken or beef
- 1 Tb olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 11 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tb Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tb parsley
- 2 teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 3 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ¼ c apple cider vinegar
- hot, cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Sort the beans, tossing any bad beans or rocks, and rinse with cold water. Drain, and set aside.
- Chop the sausage and bacon into ½ inch pieces.
- In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and add meats.
- Cook until the beef bacon is mostly cooked, but not quite crispy.
- Add the onion, pepper, celery, and garlic.
- Cook until onions are tender.
- Add in seasonings, water, vinegar, and beans.
- Stir all together and bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce heat to a medium low, place the lid on slightly ajar, and cook 2 ½ – 3 hours, stirring every half hour or so.
- When beans are cooked and tender, spoon about 3 cups of the soup into a food processor.
- Puree the beans and add it back to the pot. Cook just a couple more minutes.
- Serve with hot, cooked rice.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Made this for my family tonight. Delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing it!!
Glad you liked it!
I haven't made red beans & rice in years … nothing beats a pot a beans that's been slowly simmering with smoky bacon and sausage. Nothing. Why have I waited so long? I need to make these this week!
I love red beans and rice, but I have never made it myself. I've gotta give this a try!