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It’s time to get cozy with a big bowl of Cajun Red Beans and Rice. At our house, this is true comfort food. Thick, rich, hearty, creamy, spicy, smokey comfort food. It doesn’t get any better.

Why You Should Make This Recipe
- I have transformed the traditional slow-cooked version into a convenient weeknight recipe using canned beans. The preparation of the beans creates an amazingly creamy and rich gravy. You get all of the flavors without spending all of the time. Perfect for any family weeknight meal.
- It’s a hearty one-pot dish that is as good as a leftover meal as it is when you first make it.
- It’s a freezer-friendly dish so you might just want to make a double batch.
- Heads up – there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but they are all readily available at most grocery stores. They are also very affordable. The toughest part about making it is chopping the veggies, sausage, and ham. After that, add everything to the soup pot and let it simmer.
- This is serious food that comes from the heart!
Ingredients
- Andouille Sausage – a spicy smoked pork sausage that is infused with spices, onions, and peppers.
- Diced Ham – I use a small ham steak
- The Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking – equal parts of chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper. The name “holy trinity” simply means a combination of three ingredients which can be vegetables or spices.
- Red Beans or Kidney Beans – Red Beans are small red beans that are very similar to kidney beans. I use dark red canned kidney beans for this recipe.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- Cajun Seasoning – I used Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning for this recipe.
- Chicken Broth
- Tomato Paste
- White Rice
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper
Making This Dish
- Dice the andouille sausage and the ham steak into small cubes and set aside until ready for use.
- Dice onions, green pepper, and celery into small pieces and set aside until ready for use.
- Rinse the three cans of red beans.
- Pull out 1/3 of the beans and mash them with a potato peeler and set them aside until ready for use.
- Heat olive oil on medium-high heat, in a large stock pot, for 1 minute.
- Add onions, green pepper, celery, salt, and pepper to the olive oil and sweat for 4 minutes.
- Add andouille sausage and ham and cook for another 5 minutes stirring 2-3 times while cooking.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add the can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- Add 2 cans of red beans.
- Add chicken stock (use just enough to cover the entire mixture).
- Stir in the mashed beans.
- Add the Creole seasoning.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer on low for 60 minutes.
- While the red beans are cooking prepare the rice per the package instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sweating means cooking the small diced vegetables in oil, stirring frequently until they release their juices and become tender.
Whatever you do, don’t miss this step. The mashed beans help to make the gravy thick. As it simmers, the mashed beans create a thick, creamy, and bold-flavored gravy sauce.
Yes, traditionally Cajun Red Beans and Rice are spicy. I like to use a Cajun seasoning called Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning which is found in the spice section of the grocery store. I use 2 teaspoons of spice seasoning but you can start with just one and taste to see if it needs to be spicer.
I’ve made this recipe using Kielbasa sausage and it turns out delicious. I recommend using a sausage that has a heavier casing so it holds up to the 60-minute simmering time.
This is a traditional southern one-pot meal. Tradition is that red beans and rice is served on Mondays in the south. Some stories say that Mondays were washing day and the ladies could put on a large pot of beans and tend to the laundry all day rather than fussing over dinner. Other stories say that ham and sausage were usual meats for Sunday dinner and a pot of red beans was a great way to use up leftover meats. Traditionally this dish is served with a side of cornbread and sweet iced tea.
Krazy Kitchen Mom Hints
- Rinse your beans. Make sure you fully rinse the canned beans with water in a strainer. The liquid that beans are packed in is full of sodium and will change the flavor of your recipe.
- If you are unsure about how spicy this recipe is, I recommend that you start with only 1 teaspoon of the Creole seasoning. After it’s been simmering for 15 minutes, taste it, if you think it needs more spice, then add the second teaspoon.
- I prefer to use canned beans for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that they are what you call shelf-stable which means they last a long time in the pantry and are one of those ingredients that you can keep on hand and use whenever you’d like. Secondly is because it makes the preparation much quicker. No need to soak beans overnight, just open the cans and use them right away.
- Once you’ve made the recipe, make sure you simmer it, stirring occasionally, for at least 60 minutes. It’s during this time that the rich creamy gravy develops and all of the flavors and spices meld together. Do not rush the time to simmer.
More Comfort Delicious Recipes
Cajun Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 4 links Andouille sausage, diced into small medallions and then quartered.
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 small green pepper
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 3-14.5 oz. cans of dark red kidney beans rinsed thoroughly
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1-14.5 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes do not strain liquid
- 1 small ham steak
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
- 4 cups white rice – cooked according to the package.
Instructions
- Dice the andouille sausage and the ham steak into small cubes and set aside until ready for use.
- Dice onions, green pepper, and celery into small pieces and set aside until ready for use.
- Rinse the three cans of red beans.
- Pull out 1/3 of the beans and mash them with a potato peeler and set them aside until ready for use.
- In a large stock or soup pot, heat olive oil on medium-high heat for 1 minute.
- Add onions, green pepper, celery, salt, and pepper to the olive oil and sweat for 4 minutes.
- Add andouille sausage and ham and cook for another 5 minutes stirring 2-3 times while cooking.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add the can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- Add 2 cans of red beans.
- Add chicken stock (use just enough to cover the entire mixture).
- Stir in the mashed beans.
- Add the Creole seasoning.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer on low for 60 minutes.
- While beans are cooking prepare the rice per the package instructions.
TO SERVE
- Spoon rice into a bowl and cover the rice with Red Beans or add the red beans first and top with the rice…either way if fine.
Notes
- Rinse your beans. Make sure you fully rinse the canned beans with water in a strainer. The liquid that beans are packed in is full of sodium and will definitely change the flavor of your recipe.
- If you are unsure about how spicy this recipe is, I recommend that you start with only 1 teaspoon of the Creole seasoning. After it’s been simmering for 15 minutes, taste it, if you think it needs more spice, then add the second teaspoon.
- I prefer to use canned beans for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that they are what you call shelf-stable which means they last a long time in the pantry and are one of those ingredients that you can keep on hand and use them whenever you’d like. Secondly is because it makes the preparation much quicker. No need to soak beans overnight, just open the cans and use them right away.
- Once you’ve made the recipe, make sure you simmer it, stirring occasionally, for at least 60 minutes. It’s during this time that the rich creamy gravy develops and all of the flavors and spices meld together. Do not rush the time to simmer.
Yum!
Cajun Red Beans and Rice is food of my dreams! I’m a spice girl (haha) so I love recipes with some kick. Definitely adding these ingredients to my grocery list. Thanks for sharing, Laura!
We are spicy here too! If it doesn’t bite back, it’s not worth eating – right?! 🙂
These red beans and rice is pure comfort food. The recipe is easy to follow and tastes amazing. The family loved this dinner.
Thanks Eileen! I’m so happy to hear that!
This is my kind of recipe – rice and beans with spice. I love the addition of the smoky sausage!
Glad you like it Terri!
I didn’t grow up with Southern food at all (in the UK) but the more I have learned about it and tried, I love the flavors. This looks like a combination of all the best parts – depth of flavor, comforting and with that mix of meat, beans and veg. Yum!
I grew up overseas too. But when I got back to the states I found a ton of delicious foods I love. And this is one of my favorites.
This recipe is right on my alley. I’m from the Caribbean and rice and beans it’s a staple on our tables every day in Dominican Rep.
Love the addition of cajun seasoning!
I bet you make a delicious bean and rice dish!
I make something similar, however I really like the idea of also adding in ham to make it more robust!
I think the ham also gives it a natural smokiness.
That does look like one delicious bowl of comfort food.
That is so true, especially for us!
Do we simmer with lid on or off?
Simmer with the lid off. That we it thickens while it cooks.
At what point do you add the tomato paste?
Add it right before the fire roasted tomatoes.