Easy Red Beans and Rice

This Easy Red Beans and Rice recipe packs all the Louisiana style flavors you love, and is made in under an hour!

Creole Flavor Made Easy

Love the flavor of traditional red beans and rice, and looking to whip up an easy variation at home?! This easy red beans and rice recipe is calling your name!

Plus, we’re giving it our own Midwest flare. Enjoy!

Dinner All Week

Dinner for days you say? That’s right! This easy red beans and rice recipe will give you enough for days because it generously serves 6. And you bet your bippy you can also easily double or triple this recipe.

• Amazing Meal Prep: Red beans and rice are an excellent meal prep idea because it will literally give you din for days. This particular recipe serves 6 and you can easily double it and freeze for later!
• Healthy: Our easy red beans and rice recipe is made with beans, fresh veggies, brown rice, and andouille sausage making it high in protein.
• Made in No Time! In less than an hour you can have dinner on the table!

Red Beans and Rice — What You Need

This easy red beans and rice recipe comes together with the following simple ingredients in under an hour. Here’s what you’ll need:

To Make the Rice

• Brown rice
• Beef broth
• Cajun seasoning
• Olive oil

To Make the Red Beans

• Chopped andouille sausage  
• White onion
• Garlic cloves
• Green bell pepper
• Canned kidney beans
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Cajun seasoning
• Hot sauce
• Tomato sauce
• Beef broth
• Olive oil
• Salt

Let’s Talk Cajun Seasoning

For this red beans and rice recipe, we use our homemade cajun seasoning, which is a much more mild cajun seasoning than many store-bought cajun seasonings.

Because of this, we recommend using our seasoning blend for this recipe, as we haven’t tested it with a store-bought cajun seasoning blend, and it will likely produce a much more spicy red beans and rice.

But if you like things cajun-y hot, go for it with a store-bought blend! And let us know how the spice level compares ?

How to Make Red Beans and Rice — Step by Step

When we say this red beans and rice recipe is easy, we mean it! This cajun-style dish comes together in 5 easy steps:

Prepare the Rice

First, prepare the rice by adding the uncooked brown rice, beef broth, cajun seasoning, and butter into a sauce pan and mix.

Heat the rice over medium/high heat and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat to low, cover, and let the rice simmer for 30-45 minutes. 

Prep Dutch Oven

Next, heat a separate large dutch oven over medium/high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 

Sauté Sausage and Veggies

When the olive oil is fragrant, add the chopped andouille sausage to the pan and cook until browned on one side, which will be about 2-3 minutes, and then remove the sausage from the pan.

Add the second tablespoon of olive oil to the dutch oven and then add the onion and salt. Use a spatula to scrape any browned bits from the andouille sausage from the bottom of the pot. 

Sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes and then add the garlic and green pepper, and sauté for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Add Rest of Ingredients

Finally, add the beans, diced tomatoes, cajun seasoning, hot sauce, tomato sauce, broth, and salt to the dutch oven, making sure to mix everything together. Bring it all to a boil over medium/high heat.  

Turn heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the rice is done (it’s ok if it’s a little al dente) add the rice and sautéed andouille sausage to the bean mixture and mix until combined. 

Simmer, Simmer, Simmer

Once all the ingredients are combined, let them simmer over low/medium heat for 10 additional minutes. 

Remove from heat, serve and ENJOY.

What to Serve with Red Beans and Rice

This recipe is great served as a stand-alone dish, or can be topped with any of the following:

• Shredded cheese
• Dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Diced green onion
• Chopped parsley

Or if you’re looking to serve this alongside some greens, we recommend:

• 15 Minute Broccoli Salad
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Superfood Detox Salad
• Creamy Coleslaw Recipe

Can you Double this Recipe?

Yes! In fact you can double, triple or even 1/2 or 1/4 this recipe to your heart’s content. It’s great for meal prep for the week.

Either way, you can’t go wrong with prepping a batch of this red beans and rice for the week, or whipping up a single serve on a moment’s notice.

How to Store Red Beans and Rice

Store your red beans and rice in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Just be sure it is room temperature before you place it in the fridge. It will keep 3-5 days.

Can You Freeze Red Beans and Rice?

If you’re planning to freeze red beans and rice, we recommend cooking it completely first, and then freezing it.

Let your red beans and rice recipe cool completely. Then, transfer into a freezer-safe container and remove as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw & reheat: let red beans and rice thaw in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Then, bake red beans and rice covered at 350ºF 2-30 minutes or until warm in the middle.

Red beans and rice can also be easily reheated on the stovetop by adding a bit of broth and sautéing over medium heat (making sure to stir consistently) until warm.