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This Red Beans and Rice Recipe has tender red beans, smoky sausage, and plenty of savory Creole flavor in a thick, creamy gravy. Spoon it over fluffy white rice for a warm, filling dinner that doesn’t need much else.
I usually serve this red beans and rice with sausage with Homemade Cornbread or Cornbread Muffins so there’s something to dip into the extra gravy. If you want a vegetable too, add Pressure Cooker Collard Greens or keep it simplier with Sautéed Green Beans.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Thick and creamy without cream: Mashing some of the tender beans naturally thickens the gravy while leaving plenty of whole beans in every bowl.
- Lots of smoky, savory flavor: Browning the sausage first leaves all of those flavorful drippings and browned bits behind for the vegetables.
- Filling enough for dinner: With beans, sausage, and rice together, you may only want a piece of cornbread alongside it.
Ingredients Needed
- Dried red kidney beans: Start with dried beans and soak them overnight before cooking.
- Smoked sausage: I use a fully cooked smoked sausage. If you want more heat, use andouille instead. Be sure to choose a smoked sausage that you enjoy because it gives the final dish so much of its flavor.
- Yellow onion, celery, and green bell pepper: This combination is often called the holy trinity in Creole cooking. Cook the vegetables in the same pot so they pick up the flavor left behind by the sausage.
- Garlic: Add it after the vegetables soften so it doesn’t spend too long over the heat.
- Creole seasoning: I use my homemade blend to season the beans. If you pick up an option from the store, you can start with less and season the finished beans to taste.
- Chicken broth: I use broth for both the beans and the rice for more flavor than water alone.
- Worcestershire sauce: A little adds more savory flavor to the cooking liquid.
- Bay leaves: Let them simmer with the beans, then pull them out before serving.
- Sea salt and hot sauce: Taste the beans at the end and adjust both for your family. I also add a little salt to the rice as it cooks.
- Long-grain white rice: Keep the rice simple and spoon plenty of beans and gravy over it.
- Butter: A little butter goes into the rice as it cooks.
How to Make Red Beans and Rice
The night before making this dish, I add my dried beans to a bowl and completely cover them in cold water. The next day, you’ll notice that they’ve doubled in size.
Brown the Sausage Well
Give the sausage enough time to get browned around the edges. When you take it out, leave the browned bits in the pot. You want the onion, celery, and bell pepper cooking right in all of that flavor.
Cook the Beans Until Completely Tender
The beans will plump up and the liquid will start looking richer as they cook. Taste beans from a few different spots in the pot. If you find one with a firm center, keep cooking.
Mash Some Beans to Thicken the Gravy
You only need to mash a small portion. Mash some with a fork and stir them back in, or press a potato masher into one small area of the pot. Leave most of the beans whole.
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Finish With a Thick, Creamy Gravy
Once the sausage goes back in, let the liquid reduce until it clings to the beans. If it still looks thin and brothy, give it a little more time.
Make the Rice While the Beans Finish
Cook the rice while the gravy is thickening so both are ready at the same time. Let the rice rest before fluffing it, then spoon the beans and plenty of gravy over the top.
Tips for Tender, Creamy Red Beans
- Check several beans: While making this, you’ll notice that some of the beans soften before others. So, I recommend that you taste a few beans from different areas of the pot so you know the whole batch is ready.
- Give them more time when they need it: Dried beans can vary. If the centers are still firm, keep simmering rather than moving on because the timer went off.
- Watch the liquid: The beans should stay just covered as they cook. Pour in a little hot water or broth if the level gets too low.
- Don’t mash too much: You want the mashed beans to thicken the gravy, but most of the beans should stay whole.
- Taste before adding more salt: The sausage, broth, Worcestershire sauce, and Creole seasoning all add salt. The hot sauce also adds flavor at the end. So, I wait until the beans are finished before deciding whether the pot needs more.
Swaps & Variations
- Want more heat? Use andouille sausage instead of regular smoked sausage.
- Have another smoked sausage? Kielbasa or another fully cooked smoked sausage can go right in its place.
- Serving different spice preferences? Keep the pot mild and put hot sauce on the table so everyone can add their own.
- Like more rice with your beans? Make a bigger batch of rice. You don’t need to change anything about the beans.
I wouldn’t use canned kidney beans as a direct substitute in this version. They’re already cooked, so you’d need to change both the liquid and the cooking time.
What to Serve With Red Beans and Rice
With red beans, smoked sausage, and rice in the bowl, this is already a filling dinner.
I usually serve Homemade Cornbread so we can dip it into the gravy. Cornbread Muffins give you the same thing in individual portions. If you want a vegetable with dinner, add Pressure Cooker Collard Greens.
You can also serve a smaller portion of red beans and rice alongside smothered pork chops, oven fried chicken wings, fried fish or chicken. That’s more like the kind of plate where I’d add Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Instant Pot Cabbage, and Southern Candied Yams too.
Red Beans and Rice FAQs
Not as a direct swap. Canned kidney beans are already cooked, so they need much less liquid and cooking time than the dried beans in this recipe.
For this recipe, yes. Soak the dried beans overnight before you cook them.
Keep cooking them. Beans in the same pot don’t always soften at exactly the same time, so taste several. They’re ready when you no longer find firm centers. If you are running out of liquid, add a half cup more and stir it into the pot.
Storage & Reheating
- Store: Keep the beans and rice in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. This keeps the rice from soaking up all of the gravy while it sits.
- Freeze: Freeze the cooled beans for up to 3 months. Freeze the rice separately or make fresh rice when you want the leftovers.
- Reheat: Warm the beans on the stovetop or in the microwave. If the gravy is thicker after chilling, stir in a splash of broth or water before serving it over reheated rice.
Red Beans and Rice
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Ingredients
Red Beans
- 1 lb Red Kidney Beans, dried
- 12 oz smoked sausage, sliced into ⅓-inch rounds
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil, or Avocado Oil
- 1 large Yellow Onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
- 2 stalks celery, diced (about ¾ cup)
- 1 green bell peppers, diced (about 1½ cups)
- 6 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Creole seasoning, click for my recipe
- 3 bay leaves
- 7 cups Chicken Broth, plus more as needed
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- hot sauce, to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Rice
- 1 cup White Rice, long-grain, rinsed
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 tbsp Butter
- ½ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
Instructions
Prepare the Red Beans
- Soak the beans: Add the beans to a large bowl and cover them with about 3 inches of cold water. Soak for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking.
- Brown the sausage: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage in a single layer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until browned. Work in two batches if needed. Transfer the sausage to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
- Cook the vegetables: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and sea salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the vegetables are softened and the onion is translucent.
- Add the seasonings: Stir in the garlic and Creole seasoning. Cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the beans: Stir in the drained beans, bay leaves, chicken broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Simmer the beans: Cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes and scraping the bottom of the pot. Add more broth or hot water if needed to keep the beans just covered.
- Check for doneness: Test several beans from different areas of the pot. They should be completely tender with no firm centers. Continue simmering if needed.
- Mash some of the beans: Mash a portion of the beans to thicken the cooking liquid. Transfer about 1 cup of beans to a small bowl and mash them with a fork, then stir them back into the pot. Or, use a potato masher to mash a small section of beans directly in the pot.
- Finish with the sausage: Return the sausage to the pot. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is heated through and the liquid has reduced into a thick, creamy gravy.
Prepare the Rice
- Make the rice: While the beans finish, add the rice, chicken broth, and butter to a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Season: Remove the bay leaves. Taste the beans and add more salt and hot sauce as desired.
- Serve: Spoon the beans into bowls and serve with the rice. Garnish with chopped parsley.
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Recipe Notes
- Salt: ¾ teaspoon gives you a starting point. Use less if you prefer, then taste the finished beans and add more as needed.
- Broth: Add additional broth or hot water during the simmer only if needed to keep the beans just covered.
- Sausage: If your smoked sausage comes in a 14-ounce package, you can use the entire package.
- Rice: 1 cup dry rice makes about 3 cups cooked, or roughly ½ cup per serving. Make more if you prefer more rice with your beans.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
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