New Orleans is famous for many types of food, Red Beans & Rice isn’t one of them. But, they are everywhere in Louisiana for good reason. They are cheap, easy to prepare, and delicious. At about $1.50/serving they are a great way to stretch your food budget.
Ingredients
The ingredients don’t sound exciting. Kidney beans cooked with a couple of common vegetables and spices with a little smoked meat. But, they demonstrate how great the classic Louisiana combination of onions, celery and green peppers with garlic, oregano, thyme, bay leaves and cayenne pepper are.
Most sausage is high in saturated fat and salt, but you can find fairly nutritious sausage that tastes good. I like Open Nature Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic Chicken Sausage.
Nutrition
Based on recipe using Open Nature Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic Chicken Sausage, and quinoa. It’s pretty impressive 30 g protein, 11 g fiber, 5 g saturated fat, 12 g monounsaturated fat, 4 g polyunsaturated fat, and it’s loaded with micros.
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1/8 recipe) | % Daily Value* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 498 kcal | — |
| Protein | 30.4 g | 61% |
| Carbohydrates | 38.9 g | 14% |
| Dietary Fiber | 11.1 g | 40% |
| Total Sugars | 2.1 g | — |
| Total Fat | 25.0 g | 32% |
| Saturated Fat | 5.4 g | 27% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 11.6 g | — |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 4.3 g | — |
| Cholesterol | 72 mg | 24% |
| Sodium† | 738 mg | 32% |
| Potassium | 956 mg | 20% |
| Calcium | 124 mg | 10% |
| Iron | 5.8 mg | 32% |
| Magnesium | 125 mg | 30% |
| Phosphorus | 430 mg | 34% |
| Zinc | 4.0 mg | 36% |
| Copper | 0.53 mg | 59% |
| Manganese | 1.1 mg | 48% |
| Folate | 205 mcg DFE | 51% |
| Vitamin A | 96 mcg RAE | 11% |
| Vitamin C | 32 mg | 36% |
| Vitamin K | 30 mcg | 25% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.43 mg | 36% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.42 mg | 32% |
| Niacin (B3) | 7.2 mg | 45% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.75 mg | 44% |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.3 mcg | 54% |
New Orleans Style Red Beans & Rice
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 pound kidney beans
- 1 pound smoked sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 4 stalka celery
- 4 clovea garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or more if you like it hot
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoon thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- vinegary hot sauce such as Crystal, to taste
- vinegar to taste (cider, malt or wine)
- black pepper freshly ground
- cooked rice or quinoa for serving
Instructions
Soak Beans
- Place beans in a large bowl and cover with 6 cups (1.5L) cold water. Add 2 tablespoons (30g) kosher salt and stir until dissolved. Set aside at room temperature for 8 to 16 hours.
Prepare
- Heat a large Dutch over medium-high heat.
Chop Ingredients
- Slice 1 pound smoked sausage into 1/8″ thick slices
- Stem and seed 1 green bell pepper
- Finely chop green pepper, 1 large onion, and 4 celery stalks.
- Mince 4 medium cloves garlic.
Sauté
- Sauté sausage over medium high heat stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Add onion, celery, and green pepper.
- Season with salt and pepper, and cook stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened and are starting to brown around the edges, about 8 minutes.
- Add 4 garlic, cayene pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano, 4 bay leaves, and a good dose of black pepper.
- Cook stirring until fragrant (30 seconds)
Simmer
- Drain, and rinse the beans, then add them to the pot with enough water to cover the beans by a an inch.
- Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to low simmer and cover until the beans are tender 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if it's getting dry.
- Remove lid and continue to simmer until creamy and thick enough to eat with a fork.
- Adjust seasoning. Add vinegary hot sauce, such as Crystal, or vinegar to brighten the flavor. Add smoked paprika or ancho chili powder to increase smokiness.
Serve
- Serve with cooked rice or quinoa, topped with finely chopped green onion, and hot sauce.