Go Back
–+ servings
How to make red beans and rice
Print Recipe
5 from 17 votes

The Best Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

I normally wouldn't tag anything as "the best ever", however, I spent years refining this red beans and rice recipe and I have yet to taste a better version. I think you'll agree, it is the best ever!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 10 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Creole
Servings: 8
Calories: 662kcal
Author: Fox Valley Foodie

Equipment

Ingredients

Red beans:

  • 2 tablespoons bacon grease (or cooking oil)
  • 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
  • 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
  • 3 ribs celery (chopped)
  • kosher salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 5 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon Lousiana-style hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 quarts chicken stock (8 cups)
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
  • 1 pound dry red beans (rinsed and picked of debris)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 14 ounces Andouille sausage (Chopped into beans sized chunks)

Rice:

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups long-grain white rice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 ½ tablespoons butter

Instructions

Red Beans

  • Sautee onion, bell pepper, celery, salt and black pepper in the pot with oil (or bacon grease). Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and celery are semi-translucent and the peppers are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, stock, Worcestershire Sauce, oregano, paprika, and beans to the pot and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 2 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
  • In a separate skillet brown sausage while the beans are cooking, deglaze the pan with liquid from the bean pot (or ¼ cup water, then add deglazing liquid back to the pot along with sausage and cayenne pepper.
  • Increase the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook for another 30 to 40 minutes or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking. If you prefer an even creamier texture, mash some of the beans with a potato masher at this time.
  • Add butter prior to serving.

Rice

  • Prepare rice during the last 30 minutes of cooking the beans.
  • Rinse rice by placing in a bowl and filling up, and promptly draining, three baths of cold water to remove excess starch which will prevent rice from sticking and becoming mushy. Water should run clear.
  • Sauté rice in 1 ½ tablespoons of butter on medium heat for three minutes prior to boiling.
  • Add water and bring rice to a boil and briefly stir to ensure rice is not sticking to bottom. Reduce heat to low and simmer until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, about 15-30 minutes for white rice.
  • Keep lid on as much as possible and refrain from stirring. Stirring releases starches which will cause the rice to become mushy.
  • To test doneness, squeeze rice between thumb and index finger. Rice should be soft all of the way through.

Serving

  • Serve red beans on a plate on top of a mound of rice.

Notes

To deglaze, simply add ¼ cup of liquid into a hot skillet and stir/scrape briskly to remove all burnt on brown bits from bottom of the pan. Once these bits has been incorporated into the liquid it can be added to the beans for more robust flavor.
Optional: Garnish with chopped green onions.

Nutrition

Calories: 662kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 1176mg | Potassium: 1321mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 825IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 6mg