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.
Finally got around to making this today and it was worth every second spent in the kitchen. While i did unfortunately forget to add the Onion, aswell as having to substitute some of the spices, the end result was still great!
How long to cook if I don’t soak the beans overnight? (I never plan my meals that far in advance. :-))
If you don’t soak overnight, you’ll want to use this Quick Soak Method before adding them to the recipe.
What beans do I look for? Are they actually labeled “red beans” on the bag?
Yes, in the south small “red beans” are quite common, but you may not be able to find them everywhere in the country. If not, you can still make this with red kidney beans. :)
Thanks, I found some! One more question…I don’t have any celery. Would it make that big of a difference if I left it out? Or could I sun something else for it?
Hmmm, I think I’m on the fence about that one. I can’t think of anything that would be appropriate to substitute for the celery, and I DO think it adds a lot, but I also think you could probably get away with not using it. Just keep in mind that it will definitely be better if you do have celery.
Dear Danie, use another vegetable like carrot or leeks. Especially carrot is very cheap in the Netherlands (and Germany).
I forgot to soak the beans overnight, so I did a quick soak (boiled for two minutes, then turned the heat off, but left the lid on for an hour). I did find the beans a bit bland during cooking, so I added salt and Tony Cachere’s seasoning. I also had to sub yellow pepper for the green. Served with brown rice. Very good!
I’ve basically been working my way through the recipes on this site, and was in the mood for red beans and rice. I knew I needed to check Budget Bytes for a recipe first. As usual, another great, simple, flavorful recipe! We didn’t have smoked paprika but it was still delicious.
I left 5 stars but for some reason it didn’t take in Chrome :/
I make this regularly for my vegan, vegetarian, and meat loving friends (just cook up a little smoked sausage on the side!). It delicious, easy, and so cheap!
I’ve made this many times. The smoked paprika is an excellent substitute for the missing meat. I serve this with rice and cornbread. Awesome!
This recipe revamped my interest in cooking for myself! I found your website via a Reddit post and I love your website. I go to school full-time right now while trying to stay on a low food budget. I am glad that I can eat yummy meals.
First time I made red beans and rice. My husband really thought it was nice. I didn’t have smoked paprika so I added a bit of liquid smoke.
I made it in the pressure cooker. Presoaked the beans and then after sauteing the vegetables, I added the beans and 3 cups of water and cooked it for 12 minutes on high pressure. After that I added the rest of the ingredients and followed the recipe to the end.
Also, I should add I used beef bouillon instead of vegetable.
This recipe is the bomb! I did not miss the meat at all. My hubby loved it as well. We won’t have enough to freeze because we are going through this quickly. I ate so much that I hope my beano worked. (smiley face). The green onions really made the recipe pop. I did not change anything at all. Well… I used brown rice. I can’t wait to look at other recipes from this site.
Thanks!
Great recipe! I added vegan chorizo sausage which gave it great spicy flavor.
Fantastic! I used half and half black-eyed beans and black beans (since I was out of red beans) and subbed garlic oil and onion powder for the garlic and onion (for those of us whose bodies don’t like onion and garlic). Also celery seeds since I was out of celery.
Delicious! We ate way more than I expected. Even Mr 5 liked it.
I used to get your Budget Bytes feed in my inbox back in 2009 in Kenya and was delighted to see this site pop up again when looking for new recipes. Congratulations on a long and awesome journey of helping people make great food!
Thank you!!
This is the recipe I was looking for when I first found this site. It was delicious and worth the time. I did take the shortcut of using canned red beans. It worked great and I was able to cook it for about two hours. I love how this site is set up to be so adjustable with number of servings, etc. I’m using several recipes to make my grocery list for the week.
How could I convert this to a slow cooker recipe and still use red beans? The recipe looks amazing!
I made this today. I didn’t have smoked paprika, so I used a teaspoon of natural liquid smoke. I don’t miss the smoked sausage at all.
Thank you for a great recipe!
Eric