Stovetop Red Beans and Rice
Stovetop Red Beans and Rice
Red beans and rice is a tasty, traditional southern meal. It can be modified according to your family’s tastes, using any kind of sausage. This recipe uses the “quick method” for soaking beans, but they could also be soaked overnight.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried red kidney beans
- 1/2 pound andouille smoked chicken sausage
- 3 ribs celery
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 6 cups cooked rice
- Garnish: sliced green onions
Instructions
- Sort beans and pick out any debris.
- Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute; cover, remove from heat, and soak 1 hour. Drain.
- Thinly slice sausage. Wash and chop celery and bell pepper. Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Sauté sausage, celery, bell pepper and onion in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add beans, Creole seasoning and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.
- Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Serve with red bean mixture. Garnish, if desired with green onions.
Notes
Smart Shopping Tips
- Andouille sausage is already cooked. Chicken sausage has less unhealthy saturated fat than the kind made with pork. Any variety of smoked chicken or turkey sausage may be used.
- Canned beans can be substituted for dry. One cup of dry beans is equal to about 2 to 2 1/2 cups canned.
- Sort beans before soaking to pick out any shriveled beans or bits of debris.
- Make your own Creole seasoning and store in an airtight jar. This mix comes from Emerils.com:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme