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Home » 1,000 Foods To Eat Project

New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice

Mar 18, 2019Last Modified: March 23, 2022

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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice!

Red beans and rice in a white bowl, 2 bottles of Tabasco scorpion sauce, and salad in the background
Jump to:
  • Louisiana Creole Cuisine
  • Red Beans and Rice
  • Red Beans and Rice - Ingredients
  • 1,000 Foods to Eat Project
  • Camellia's Famous New Orleans-Style Red Beans

Louisiana Creole Cuisine

Creole cuisine is world famous and rightly so! This amazing cuisine combines French, Spanish, African, and Haitian influences.

Louisiana Creole has produced some of the most well known and delicious foods to include jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp creole, and this recipe, Red Beans and Rice.

Red Beans and Rice

Red beans and rice is known as a simple and humble peasant food. The red beans arrived via white French creoles who settled in New Orleans after fleeing a slave uprising in Haiti. The flavors are complex considering the few ingredients needed to prepare this dish.

In New Orleans, it was an old tradition to cook red beans and rice on Mondays, which was also a traditional laundry day. I can surmise that the simple preparation, combined with hands off time on the stove, freed up time for people to tackle this chore.

Louis Armstrong, jazz musician and native of New Orleans, loved red beans and rice! It was his favorite meal, and he would sign letters: "Red Beans and Ricely Yours, Louis Armstrong."

Red Beans and Rice - Ingredients

This dish contains "the Holy Trinity" of Creole cuisine which is green pepper, onion, and celery. Other than that you will need only a few more ingredients to make this delicious dish.

green bell pepper, onion, and celery on a wooden board
Camellia Red Kidney Beans Slap Ya Mama Andouille Sausage

Red Kidney beans, of course, are an essential. The recipe I followed (tweaked slightly) comes from the back of a packet of Camellia Red Kidneys. Camellia brand has been around since 1923, and are a New Orleans favorite.

The recipe also calls for addition of smoked sausage. I used Andouille sausage, which is a smoked pork sausage closely associated with Creole cuisine.

I added Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning to taste to give some extra Creole/Cajun spice to this dish. You can order this great Cajun seasoning here on Amazon.

New Orleans Style Red Beans in a bowl
Red beans and rice in a white bowl and salad in the background

1,000 Foods to Eat Project

Red Beans and Rice is also one of the 1,000 Foods to Eat listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. It is #8 on my quest to prepare and eat each of the foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die.

For a list of the foods tried so far, please visit my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page.

New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice in a bowl with green onions scattered

I hope you will take the time to prepare and enjoy this dish soon, and bring a taste of New Orleans to your dinner table!

New Orleans Style Red Beans in a bowl

Camellia's Famous New Orleans-Style Red Beans

Camellia Brand
Bring a taste of New Orleans to your table!  Red beans and rice is one of the best known and loved Creole dishes.  Budget friendly and delicious, it is definitely food for the soul.  
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 3854 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb Camellia Red Kidney Beans
  • 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced I used Andouille sausage
  • 1 celery stalk chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 1 med onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ stick butter optional
  • 8-9 cups water or chicken broth use chicken broth for extra flavor
  • 1 ham hock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 green onions sliced for garnish
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 ts Cajun or Creole seasoning plus more to taste - I used Slap Ya Mama

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and sort beans.  In a large heavy pot, cook sausage for 5-10 minutes until browned.  
    Red Beans
  • Add vegetables and garlic to sausage, along with butter, and continue to cook until onions turn soft and clear.
    sausage, minced garlic, diced onion, green bell pepper and celery in a large stock pot
  • Add beans, water, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and 1 ts of Creole/Cajun seasoning.   Add ham hock, cover and simmer for 1-1.5 hrs, stirring occasionally until beans are desired tenderness.  
    Sausage and Holy Trinity
  • Add salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning to taste.  For creamier consistency, press some beans into the side of the pot with a spoon and stir.
    Red beans and rice in a white bowl, 2 bottles of Tabasco scorpion sauce, and salad in the background

Notes

Serve over hot cooked rice, and garnish with a bunch of green onions!  The addition of a ham hock during the cooking process will add depth of flavor to this dish and is recommended.  

Nutrition

Calories: 3854kcalCarbohydrates: 333gProtein: 246gFat: 176gSaturated Fat: 60gPolyunsaturated Fat: 22gMonounsaturated Fat: 79gCholesterol: 507mgSodium: 4913mgPotassium: 9837mgFiber: 75gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 1960IUVitamin C: 134mgCalcium: 605mgIron: 43mg
Keyword Creole
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sheenam | thetwincookingproject

    May 11, 2019 at 5:41 am

    Looks really easy to make. YUM

    Reply
    • Grace

      May 11, 2019 at 8:56 am

      It's super easy ...a little prep and then mostly hands off. I hope you might try it and thank you so very much for your commenting!! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jim

    January 28, 2021 at 10:37 am

    Red beans are not kidney beans

    Reply
    • Grace

      January 28, 2021 at 11:14 pm

      Hi Jim, thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate you pointing this out and will revise my post to make that clear to the reader. Thanks again and I wish you a very Happy New Year! Grace

      Reply
  3. Errol James

    March 23, 2022 at 10:13 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe and will be cooking it sometime tomorrow because I have some of the recipe but not all of it but the recipe is a sure winner to the soul when you are hungry and to make it complete with a pan of zatarain’s honey cornbread. Can you dig it

    Reply
    • Grace

      March 23, 2022 at 11:20 pm

      Hey Errol! Thanks for your comments! I MUST try this with Zatarain's honey cornbread...I've never had it! Definitely this is food for the soul! Enjoy it Errol!!

      Reply

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About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

Toby Chief Taste Tester

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