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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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 is a great recipe! Thank you. Do you know the macros?
No, I’m sorry, I don’t. :(
Awesome, making this tomorrow! Will this reheat well and if so how should I do it? Thank you so much, I’ll be sure to report how this goes tomorrow :)
I usually use the microwave, but you could also do it in a sauce pot over medium-low heat. Either way, stir often. :)
Oh my goodness! This is to die for. I did put in the coconut oil and it blends with the spices. You swear you’re going to bite into sausage. Best beans and rice recipe I have ever had and I have tried a lot of them. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I just made this today and it was really delicious! We didn’t have any smoked paprika so I used a little chili powder and cumin. I also added in a 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning.
Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Love your website! We eat mostly vegetarian and by nature of what you do, there are a lot of great looking veg recipes here. Vegan Red Beans and Rice is to die for, even with my modifications of using what I had on hand (canned beans using Justin’s post for guidance, Not Chick’n bouillon cubes instead of vegetable broth). Any suggestion on how much coconut oil to use for the whole recipe? Started with a scant TBSP and don’t want to ruin a good thing. Your site reminded me of when our household would do “fiscal fasts” (inspired by the book “The Cheapskates Guide to Ultimate Happiness”) and not buy groceries for the week. We’d get creative with what was in the freezer and pantry. You can make some pretty good homemade flour tortillas with very few ingredients! It was a good way to clean house, and reduce the monthly food bill. Thank you for all of your work! Best wishes.
Note – I was way off on that book title. It’s been a while since reading it. It is “The Ultimate Cheapskates Road Map to True Riches.”
Hi Wen, can you elaborate on how you used canned beans instead of dried?
Hi Emily, I followed the recommendation of another poster, Justin. “..5 regular cans of red beans, rinsed and drained. 2 went directly into the pot, 3 went into a blender with just enough water to make it move…”
Next time I’m going to switch it to 2 blended cans. It’s just a texture preference on our part and since I used the full amount of broth it took a long time to simmer down which served to break down some of the beans.
This looks great. Any ideas on a side item to make with this?
Sautéed greens are always nice (collards, mustard greens, spinach, kale).
Awesome idea. Thanks.
I cook cabbage and cornbread muffins whenever I make these beans.
I’m making half a batch because I forgot somehow that 2 cups makes a pound of dry beans…I’m also using the slow cooker because I’m being lazy today. Took the precooked rice out of the freezer, this will be a nice late dinner. Forgot to halve the garlic though, no vampires will be bothering me tonight, ha ha.
Love this recipe, very warm and comforting. I find it’s a little bland as written, so I add some Cajun seasoning blend to taste, and some salt. Also my boyfriend taught me the secret of warm-tasting food: just a little bit of cinnamon. It adds to the flavor without you really noticing it’s cinnamon, give it a try.
I usually cook the whole pound of beans but only enough rice for half, then put the rest of the beans in the freezer for later in the month. I’ll defrost them and mix with fresh rice when I’m short on time, and they hold up really well. I don’t know where to get “small red beans” in the midwest, so I’m using red kidney beans. I’m also not soaking them so they take ages to cook, but I will simmer the un-soaked beans in the broth and spices for 2 hours, then sauté the garlic and veggies in another pan and cook it all together for a couple more hours, give or take. That way the veggies aren’t totally disintegrated. I also keep having to add water multiple times to keep the beans submerged, but I think it’s because my pan lids don’t fit tight.
By “red beans”, do you mean kidney beans? Or any kind of red bean? What do you normally use?
We have a type of bean here in the south that are just called “red beans” or “small red beans”, but kidney beans will work as well.
Where I live in Texas, we have Hispanic food sections or Ethnic food sections. Inthose, I can find a brand called “Goya.” Goya has red beans that resemble kidney beans but are smaller. They are the dry beans. Good luck,
This was very delicious! It’s also quite filling so not a bad idea for people on a diet. :)
I love it how you also have some vegan recipes.
Beth!!!
My boyfriend and I love this recipe! We were wondering how we could make it using our crockpot? Let us know!
I think I’d need to experiment with that a bit before offering guidance. If you use red beans that are in the kidney bean family, though, you’ll want to use fully cooked beans in the slow cooker. Slow cookers don’t get them hot enough to cook out the natural compound that they contain which can cause sever gastric distress.
Words can not express how delicious this was. I only had half a bag of beans, so I halved the recipe, and then after I’d tried it I was so distraught that I didn’t have the full batch! Normally I’d skip the green onions because I rarely use the whole bunch, but I needed some for another recipe so I went ahead and used them to top the beans. I was SO glad I did. They added a scrumptious little pop to the dish. The only alteration I made was to use beef bouillon instead of vegetable because that’s what i had on hand. I know that would’ve altered the flavor of the dish, but it did so in a marvelous way. My husband loved it too. I’ll definitely be making this one again.
This is great! Just really really fantastic delicious! This is definitely going into the regular rotation. Thank you!
And I didn’t use smoked paprika because it’s ridiculous expensive here. So I used 3/4 tbs regular paprika and 1/4 tbs hickory smoke powder.
This recipe looks wonderful and I have it on the stove right now. A quick question whether you season with salt? I didn’t see it in your ingredient list.
I actually didn’t because my vegetable broth contains quite a bit of salt, so when I use it I rarely need to add any extra. So, it will definitely depend on what type of broth you use. It’s always best to season with salt at the end, too, because it has more punch and then you don’t have to use as much. :)
I am impressed that you calculated the cost for everything. Good Job! I will try this!