If you don’t live in Louisiana, you might not know that we’ve got a big carnival going on right now. Parades, marching bands, crazy costumes, and (of course) beads are daily sightings for the two weeks preceding Mardi Gras. It’s all gotten me in the mood for some classic New Orleans food—Red Beans and Rice!
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I made a classic version of Red Beans and Rice way back when this was just a baby blog, so I thought it was time to revisit this deliciously filling and inexpensive dish. While I absolutely looove pork products, I thought it would be fun to try a vegan version. To make up for the loss of andouille sausage’s smoky flavor, I added a heaping dose of smoked paprika (that stuff is magic!). Making sure there was a healthy amount of herbs and spices also helped keep the batch flavorful. A sprinkle of fresh green onions on top adds a final oomph of flavor and then I’m in red bean heaven. It’s so filling, so flavorful, and so real. The recipe is simple and requires only good, simple ingredients. That’s the way I like to eat.
Keep in mind that this is not a fast dish. The longer you cook it the better it gets. I cooked mine for 3 hours, but you don’t want to go any less than 2 hours, or else your beans won’t be soft. Also, I soaked my beans over night, so you’ll want to plan this at least a day ahead. It’s worth it. Promise.
As an afterthought, I stirred a spoonful of coconut oil into one of my bowls and it added that lovely, velvety, rich flavor that you can only get from saturated fat (usually provided by the pork). So, if you still feel like you’re missing that pork derived richness, try adding a lil’ coconut oil.
Vegan Red Beans and Rice
Servings 6 to 8 servings (about 10 cups total)Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.52)
- 1 medium bell pepper ($0.97)
- 4 stalks celery ($0.50)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 lb dry red beans ($1.59)
- 6 cups vegetable broth* ($0.78)
- 1 tsp thyme ($0.10)
- 1 tsp oregano ($0.10)
- 1 whole bay leaf ($0.15)
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.15)
- Freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill) ($0.05)
- pinch cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 6 cups cooked rice ($1.04)
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced ($0.79)
Instructions
- The night before, Place your beans in a large pot and fill with enough cool water to cover the beans by a few inches. Place the beans in the refrigerator to soak over night.
- When you’re ready to cook, finely dice the celery, bell pepper, and onion, and mince the garlic. Cook the celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large pot with the olive oil over medium heat until softened (5-7 minutes).
- Drain the soaked beans in a colander and rinse with fresh, cool water. Add the rinsed beans to the pot with the vegetables. Also add the vegetable broth, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, smoked paprika, some freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a full boil over high heat. After it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the pot to simmer for at least two hours. Make sure the pot is simmering the entire time, increasing the heat if needed. Stir the pot occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Keep the lid in place the entire time to keep the beans from drying out.
- After two hours (or longer if desired) the beans should be soft and tender. Mash some of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. This will thicken the pot and make the classic, creamy texture of the dish. Remove the bay leaf and allow the pot to simmer for about 30 minutes more (after smashing) to help it thicken.
- To serve, add a scoop of red beans to a bowl and top with a scoop warm, cooked rice. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top and add a dash of hot sauce if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Vegan Red Beans and Rice – Step by Step Photos
The night before, soak one pound of red beans in the refrigerator. Add the beans to a large pot and then add enough cool water to cover the beans by about a few inches (they’ll absorb water as they soak, so make sure to enough water to keep them covered as they expand). If you didn’t presoak your beans, you can use the “quick soak” method, but that still takes at least an hour.
When you’re ready to begin, finely dice four stalks of celery, one bell pepper, one onion, and mince four cloves of garlic.
Sauté the vegetables in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until they are soft (about 5-7 minutes).
Drain the soaked beans in a colander and rinse with fresh water. Add the rinsed beans to the pot with the vegetables.
Also add 6 cups of vegetable broth, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 whole bay leaf, some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a mill), and a pinch of cayenne (I like it a little more spicy, so I added 1/4 tsp). Give the pot a good stir, then place a lid on top and bring it up to a full boil over high heat. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for at least two hours (with lid), stirring occasionally. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time, turning the heat up slightly if necessary.
After a minimum of two hours, the beans should be soft enough to smash with the back of a large spoon. Smash a good portion of the beans until they begin to take on a thick, creamy consistency. You could use an immersion blender instead, but just make sure not to purée the entire pot. You want some whole beans in there. Let the pot simmer for another 30 minutes or so after smashing the beans to let it thicken a little more.
Serve the beans with a scoop of warm, cooked rice over top and a sprinkle of fresh, sliced green onion. A splash of hot sauce is also a nice touch – the vinegar in the hot sauce helps bright everything up and gives a kick of flavor.
This recipe was amazing! Thanks so much!
This was great! My kids and husband loved it too, and are not vegan, so its great for a variety of tastes. I cooked it for 4 or 5 hours, and the flavors just got better.
will this work with a instant pot
I tried this recipe tonight; was up long before the birds this morning so could soak the beans quite easily for 9 good hours and still have this on the table for dinner.
When I went for the smoked paprika, I was disappointed that the amount I had left didn’t quite fill my 1/2 Tbsp – it was only about 3/4 full. I was hoping that wouldn’t make a difference.
And…YUM. Just double yum. This is SO good. You seriously don’t even miss the meat – you don’t know it’s not there!!
I love that it makes a ton and I can now eat on it all week for lunch. Without the rice it is pretty salty (I find the recommended bouillon quite salty) but gosh it’s still tasty, and the rice takes it down to utterly perfect.
NOM NOM NOM.
Great recipe, I have been wanting to eat red beans and rice for ages now, but haven’t because of having a vegetarian family. Lovely texture. I put in an extra green pepper and not enough beans so the colour was a little off. But it was yum yum yum
Mine is still cooking but I’ve already found that 6 cups wasn’t nearly enough liquid. I’ve added 3+ extra cups of water so far. If I hadn’t, the pot would have burned.
Looking forward to tasting the final product!
Can this recipe be cooked in my ninja foodi? If so, do I follow the same instructions like the recipe with the smoked meat?
I’m sorry, I’ve never used a Ninja Foodi, so I’m not sure.
How is this so good? Honestly was surprised how much flavor was packed into these little beans. I was short on time so decided to try this in the slow cooker. I also forgot to soak my beans 🤦♀️ but I was using small red beans and NOT kidney beans so that worked out. I sauteed the veggies and put them in the slow cooker with the seasonings and broth and beans and cooked on high for 6 hours. Pulsed a bit with an immersion blender and it was amazing! I know the recipe is red beans AND rice but personally I would say rice is optional with this recipe if you want to stretch it a bit more. I really preferred the beans by themselves because they had such a great flavor and were so filling! I made half the amount of rice as the recipe calls for and still had 6 good size portions.
This was delicious and easy to make!
Very Tasty! I did add a bit of celery salt though. Bravo!
Has anyone tried this in the instant pot?
Hi, I’d like to make this in the crockpot. What modifications would you suggest? Thanks.
I’d need to test that before offering suggestions, unfortunately. Also, you need to make sure you don’t use kidney beans if using a slow cooker. Kidney beans contain a high level of a natural toxin that needs to be boiled heavily for at least 10 minutes to break down, and slow cookers often don’t get them quite hot enough to accomplish this.
Canned bean workaround: Use four cans of kidney beans (drained) with four cups of broth. Let simmer uncovered for about half an hour.
The whole family loves this!
I made this just yesterday and as an adaptation to try and recreate the traditional dish but still vegan I used plant based chorizo (couldn’t find plant based andouille at the local store), and it turned out amazing. A great way to still get the protein in and have it as close to traditional as possible while remaining vegan. Will definitely be making this again soon!!