Red beans and rice is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish and it was not originally Cajun. Stories go that this meal was made on Mondays with Kidney beans, vegetables, spices, and pork left over from Sunday dinner. It was cooked slowly in a pot and served over rice. Ham was traditionally a Sunday meal and Monday was washday. #fattuesday #mardigras #cajunfood
While Monday washdays are pretty much a thing of the past, red beans & Rice to this day are a staple for big events like the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.
Red Beans and Rice
This is one of the few New Orleans-style dishes to be commonly served both in people’s homes and in restaurants. Many neighborhood restaurants and even schools continue to serve it as a Monday lunch or dinner special, usually with a side order of cornbread.
This dish is so much part of New Orleans heritage that Louis Armstrong’s favorite food was red beans and rice. When he signed autographs or letters, he would sign them “Red Beans and Ricely Yours, Louis Armstrong”.
Musical Homages
In the 1960s, the musical group Booker T. & the M.G.’s wrote and recorded a song titled “Red Beans and Rice” that became popular a popular song in its day.
Today, we are going to show you how to make an easy Mardi Gras meal that can be put together on a weeknight without a lot of effort. We are making a creole classic, Red Beans & Rice, in the instant pot.
We have made several other Mardi Gras recipes over the last few years. Jambalaya, Shrimp Creole, and Cajun Gumbo, and those recipes are available on our website, Cooking Secrets for Men.com. And the videos can be found here on YouTube also.
So, here is our recipe for Red Beans & Rice, and let the good times roll.
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 package of smoked andouille sausage sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 lb dry red beans
- 1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp dried sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups Chicken or vegetable broth
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp hot sauce or more, to taste
- 2 green onions thinly sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot to the high sauté setting.
- Add olive oil and sausage.
- Cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Add garlic, onion, bell pepper, and celery.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in sausage, red beans, Cajun seasoning, oregano, basil, sage, thyme, bay leaves, and vegetable broth; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Select the manual setting; adjust the pressure to high, and set the timer for 30-35 minutes.
- When finished cooking, release pressure naturally, about 20-30 minutes.*
- Serve immediately with rice and hot sauce, garnished with green onions, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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If you like this recipe for Red Beans and Rice, you should try our recipe for the Stetson Salad
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A Cajun Classic, just in tome for Mardi Gras
What a fabulous dish! I haven’t made red beans and rice since the days my husband was a vegetarian! Of course there was no sausage or ham in it then. Now I need to use your recipe! Thanks!