Louisiana Sausage Red Beans and Rice

Mardi Gras 2019 falls on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 and we are celebrating with this Louisiana inspired Sausage Red Beans and Rice. Marti Gras to me means it’s one step closer to spring and warmer weather. Next is St. Patrick’s Day and last year I went a little “green” crazy with my recipes. Oh, and don’t forget on March 10th we get to change our clocks back to daylight saving time. 

This original recipe used dry kidney beans and had to do an over night soaking or a one hour soak, but I’m not doing any of that. I don’t know if there’s a big difference between dry beans and canned beans, but I’m using canned beans. Hey, leave me a comment on what you prefer and why. Serves 10+ (If you don’t need to make that much, cut the ingredients in half or freeze part of it for another night) 




Ingredients:

1 16oz can of dark red kidney beans 
1 medium onion, diced 
3 stalks celery, diced 
1 large green bell pepper, diced 
1 lb hot sausage, cut into 1” pieces 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
4 cloves garlic, minced 
2 bay leaves 
1 teaspoon thyme 
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
3 chicken bouillon cubes + 7 cups water 
1 teaspoon Ragin’ Cajun seasoning 
6 green onions, sliced for garnish 
2 cups rice of your choice, cooked

Directions:

In your Dutch Oven add the oil and brown your sausage, then remove and set aside. Leaving the oil in the pot add in your onions, green pepper, celery and garlic, sauté on med/low heat until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Dissolve your bouillon cubes in a saucepan with the 7 cups of water, bay leaves, thyme and oregano. Add the beans to the Dutch Oven along with the bouillon mixture, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook about an hour uncovered until the beans get soft. 

Once the beans are soft smash some (about 1/2) with the back of a wooden spoon, this will give the dish a creamy texture. Add the sausage back in and boil until you get your desired thickness (could be up to an hour, you’ll need to watch it). Add in the Ragin’ Cajun seasoning or any other Cajun seasoning that you like. 

During this time prepare your rice according to package instructions. To serve: you can either have the rice to the side or on top with fresh slices of green onions. Yum Yum! 

You’ll need a Dutch Oven and some Rajin’ Cajun seasoning for this recipe.