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.
Love this recipe! (Should say love the “idea” of this recipe since I haven’t made it yet!) Making the fiance go and grab celery and peppers ASAP while I let the beans soak for tomorrow nights vegan feast. A little late to the Mardi Gras party but this way I can pick up the beads left behind :-)
Hooray! My findings are in. I only had 1/2LB of dry beans, so made a half batch. Beans soaked for 4hrs while I shopped for veggies (and made a large lunch of Spanish rice and vegan taco salad (appetiser, see)). I followed the recipe exactly, dividing in half, but I used 3.5 cups stock, the extra to make up for the shorter soaking time. I brought the beans close to the boil, put the lid on the pressure cooker, leaving the heat on high until the first whistle. Then I immediately turned the heat down to medium low and let the pressure cooker do its thing for exactly 40minutes (my dog hates the pressure cooker and spent the entire time outside sulking). I took the pan off the heat, used the quick pressure release method to get the lid off, mashed a portion with the masher, and simmered on low for about 10 minutes. I didn’t need any salt as the vegetable stock infusion I use is fairly salty. Made my rice while cooking a vegan GF cornbread, and Bob’s yer uncle! It was great!
Need to make this for dinner tonight, but didn’t realise I wanted it ’til just now! Gonna try a 3 hour soak and cook it in the pressure cooker. Will keep track of timings and report back. Hopefully you’ll be able to add a rapido version!
Paul
I’m going to try this very soon. Here’s hoping my CSA box has lots of ingredients I need next week. Thank you for the recipe!
You *can* make kidney beans in a slow cooker, but you should boil them for 10 minutes on the stove first to avoid the tummy issues Beth mentioned. That’s the route I’ll go.
Made ths yesterday for Fat Tuesday. AMAZING!!!!!! My husband even went back for seconds. My 4 year old and 1 year old ate it too. Will be making again!
I cannot find smoked paprika for the life of me. Could I use normal paprika and a little bit of liquid smoke?
Yep! I would have used liquid smoke if I had some, but I didn’t. :)
I made this with my boyfriend tonight and we loved it. Although I loved it too much and now I’m in pain from eating so much!
I made this for dinner last night for my boyfriend and myself. He loved it, but added chicken to it since he is not vegan/vegetarian, I had the recipe as is. I thought it was okay, I do not think I will make it again. I think it needed A LOT of salt to get any sort of taste to it. The bay leaf, didn’t necessarily add a flavor I liked. I thought it was fine, it was a healthy tasting dish, but I like other recipes from your blog a lot better :)
Made this and it turned out great. Only difference was I used chicken broth since I’m not vegan and my beans only had to cook for about an hour until they were soft enough.
I made this for my family and we loved it. Actually we really like 95% of the recipes we have made for your blog. I would like to see the recipes you would come up with for quinoa.
Thank you,
Andrea
Looks great. I looked for red beans all day. I found Kidney and Adzuki. Will either of these work?
Yes, kidney beans are what you want to use (you can use either kidney or “small red beans”. I don’t know how adzuki would work.)
My Rival crockpot always gets whatever is cooking to a mellow boil after a few hours. I’ve owned two and both did/do this. I’ve done white beans and have had no more gastric disturbance than usual, which…might not be saying much.
Kidney beans in particular have more of this substance than other beans, so I’m not comfortable using the slow cooker with them (despite the light simmer that it reaches). It’s risky! :)
Thanks for including a vegan recipe!
HI Beth,
I just picked up your book and can’t wait to get into it. I guess my family will be having at least 5 new recipes this week.
Cheers
Louise
Beautiful! I’m not vegan, but I’m allergic to pork, and for some reason, no stores in my area carry smoked turkey. This sounds like an excellent version…and I can cook up some sausage on the side for my husband.