This Easy Red Beans and Rice recipe is packed full of flavor, with seasonings, tender ham bone, and smoked sausage on a bed of rice.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Easy Red Beans and Rice
Ready In: 980 minutes
Serves: 4
Main Ingredients: 1 ham bone (with a little meat remaining), 1 bag small dried red beans (about two cups), 1 chopped small onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 heaping teaspoons seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 dash of cayenne pepper or more to taste
Why You'll Love It: This easy red beans and rice recipe is packed full of flavor, with seasonings, tender ham bone, and smoked sausage on a bed of rice.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, let’s dive into crafting a hearty and satisfying classic country meal. Today, we’re making an Easy Red Beans and Rice recipe—a Southern favorite that’s as flavorful as it is comforting.

To get started, you’ll need a ham bone (hopefully you have one saved!), red beans (or kidney beans), smoked sausage, onion, a bay leaf, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt, salt, and black pepper. These ingredients come together to create a dish bursting with rich, savory flavor.

This recipe is as simple as it is delicious. The night before, sort and soak your beans. The next morning, add them to a large pot along with all the ingredients—except the sausage—and let everything simmer for several hours while you go about your day. About an hour before serving, stir in the sliced sausage. Once the beans are tender and your kitchen is filled with an irresistible aroma, it’s time to serve them over a bed of freshly cooked rice. And that’s all there is to it!

Keep reading for tips on customizing this dish to suit your family’s tastes, along with serving suggestions to complete the meal. Pair it with cornbread or biscuits to soak up the flavorful broth, and you’ll have a dinner that’s sure to please.

What You’ll Need to Make Easy Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

ham bone
red beans
onion
smoked sausage
bay leaf
minced garlic (jar, fresh, or dried garlic)
cayenne pepper
seasoned salt
salt and black pepper
rice

How to Make Easy Red Beans and Rice

Sort through your beans and place them in a large bowl. Cover them with water and let them sit overnight. It’s not uncommon to find small stones mixed in with the beans—just one of those things that happens when they’re grown and harvested. To avoid any surprises, simply pour a small amount of beans into your hand, check for stones, and then add the beans to your bowl. Repeat this process until all the beans are sorted. Traditional red beans and rice has you using small red beans, but some folks can’t find those and just use kidney beans. Either one will work just fine so you just grab what you see first or use what you have on hand.

In the morning, drain the water off the soaked beans. It is normal during the soaking for the beans to lose some of their color.

Add beans into a stockpot and cover with water by an inch or two.

Add the hambone, onions, garlic and spices to the stock pot. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to low and simmer for several hours or until tender.

Add and stir in the sliced sausage about an hour before serving.

When the liquid has thickened and the beans are tender, remove the bay leaf and ham bone. Prepare your rice if you have not already done so. You can use any type of cooked rice you prefer for this recipe. There are plenty of great options to choose from: boil-in-the-bag, instant rice, precooked, or long-grain white rice. Any of these will pair beautifully with the flavorful red beans!

Serve your red beans atop the hot, cooked rice.

Nothing says southern comfort better than Red Beans and Rice! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Recipe Variations for Easy Red Beans and Rice

- Add an extra dash of cayenne pepper if you want it to be spicier.
- Use any kind of smoked sausage like turkey kielbasa sausage or Andouille sausage. Another option is cooked bacon bits.
- Add some extra veggies like 1 chopped green bell pepper or 3 diced celery ribs.
- Add a can of diced tomatoes or chopped whole peeled tomatoes for a more Louisiana-style red beans and rice dish.
- Omit the ham bone if you don’t have one on hand or substitute it for a smoked ham hock instead.
- Instead of white rice, use brown rice, quinoa, or couscous.
- Use Cajun seasoning or Creole seasoning instead of seasoned salt.
- Substitute the water for chicken broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth.
- Add a garnish: chopped fresh parsley, chopped green onion, chopped fresh cilantro, or hot sauce.
- Add 2 teaspoons of dried thyme or dried oregano.
- Skip the soak and simply use canned red beans or canned kidney beans instead.

Easy Red Beans and Rice FAQs

Red beans and rice is a versatile recipe that you can enjoy as both a main meal and a side dish. It’s often enjoyed alongside other Southern favorites, such as:

Cornbread
Buttermilk biscuits
Blackened pork chops
Collard greens
Coleslaw
Fresh fried corn
Mashed potato salad
Barbecue meat (like beef brisket, pulled pork, or baby back ribs)
Steamed vegetables like zucchini and squash
Roasted vegetables
Southern fried chicken

Do you cook beans covered or uncovered?

You want to cover your red beans before cooking and simmering so that none of those delicious flavors escape and the water doesn’t evaporate.

Red beans and rice is a classic comfort food dish that’s actually relatively healthy. It’s packed full of protein thanks to the beans, ham bone bits, and sausage. The only other ingredients are the onion and seasonings.

No, red beans and kidney beans aren’t the same. Kidney beans are actually much larger than red beans.

Can I make red beans and rice in the slow cooker?

Absolutely! For crock pot red beans and rice, follow all of the directions. However, instead of putting the ingredients into a large pot, put them in the slow cooker and cook them on low for 6 to 8 hours. Then follow the remaining directions, like adding the sausage an hour before serving, removing the bay leaf, and cooking the rice according to package directions.

Can I make red beans and rice ahead of time?

Yep, prepare the red beans and rice according to the directions. Then once cooked and cooled, store it in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days ahead of time. Once you’re ready to serve, reheat it on the stovetop.

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