Tiny.Kitchen - Cooking Up Magic in Your Tiny Kitchen
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Articles
A bowl of stewed red kidney beans and sausage over rice.
Entrees

Spicy Red Beans and Rice

50 Minutes
Serves 4
Jump to Recipe Print
Pin to PinterestPost to FacebookShare to Twitter

Red Beans and Rice is a Creole dish made popular in Louisiana. Many different cultures have some version of this meal, but this recipe is based on the Louisiana style. In short, it’s a spiced bean and meat stew that’s slow cooked and served over rice. The base is essentially red kidney beans, Creole seasoning, onions, peppers, celery, and your choice of meat.

My recipe might not be traditional, but it sure is delicious. I prefer using Andouille sausage to keep all my flavors closer to Creole cuisine. I’ve boosted the spiciness by using jalapeño for the peppers and by carefully selecting my hot sauce of choice—Cholula—based on it’s flavor and level of heat. While a lot of traditional recipes for Red Beans and Rice will tell you to slow cook this meal all day long, I don’t have time for that and I don’t think you do either. So I go with canned kidney beans to make it a fast weeknight meal that’s on the table from start to finish in less than an hour. We’re talking maximum comfort food that’s good any time of the year.

Making Red Beans and Rice in a Tiny Kitchen

Prepping the ingredients for this meal is very easy. You chop onions, peppers, and celery, slice a little bit of sausage and your done. The rest is just adding ingredients at the appropriate times. Dishes are also fairly easy. This recipe uses a medium pot for the beans, a small pot for the rice, a potato masher, a cutting board, knife, big spoon, and dishes to eat on. For boondocking and camping purposes, it uses a fairly low amount of water but it does require a stove or fire to cook on.

Go Dark or Go Home

When it comes to browning the sausage, you want to push it to the point where you start to blacken the sides. By doing this you add texture to the sausage that will stick around long after you add it back into the beans. Nobody likes soggy sausage, so don’t be afraid to char it.

You also want to cook your sausage in the same pot that you’ll be cooking your beans in. The brown bits left in the pan (or the “fond”) adds a ton of flavor that you don’t want to lose. However, if you end up with an especially fatty piece of sausage, you might want to drain some of that off before you start your onions. Between those two steps, you want layer of grease that’s about 1mm deep—enough to cover the bottom, but not enough to drown your veggies in fat.

Spicy or Mild?

Okay, so admittedly the spice level in my Red Beans and Rice recipe is fairly high for the average person. If you are not a pepperhead, feel free to substitute a half of a green bell pepper in place of the jalapeños. That’s the more traditional way to prepare it anyway, but in our tiny kitchen we like spicy food so we use jalapeño.

Speaking of spice, there a number of different types of hot sauce you can use. You are perfectly welcome to use Louisiana Hot Sauce or Crystal—both of which are more traditional choices and have less heat. I do not recommend Tabasco hot sauce because it steamrolls the flavors and it ends up tasting like a bowl of Tabasco and beans. I like Cholula the best. The flavors of Cholula play very nicely with Creole spices and I think better flavor and heat.

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

To make a vegetarian version of this recipe, start by omitting the steps with sausage (obviously) and add about 1 tbsp of a flavorless cooking oil (vegetable or safflower oil will work) to your pot. Heat it up and continue onto the step where you sauté your vegetables. When you get to the part where you add all your spices, I recommend being a little heavy-handed with the seasoning to compensate for the flavors you’ll lose by omitting the Andouille sausage. Also add in 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke to bring that charred flavor back into the beans. Do this by taste since some people don’t like a heavy smoke flavor in their food. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, stir it in, taste it, and then adjust as needed.

That’s it!

Go make up a pot of this deliciously spicy Red Beans and Rice and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to come back and give me your rating. If you have any questions or find other substitutions that are yummy, feel free add those in your comments! As always, if you like this recipe, please share it on social media so other people know about it too. Let’s eat!

A bowl of stewed red kidney beans and sausage over rice.

Spicy Red Beans & Rice

Enjoy this spicy recipe for Red Beans and Rice, a popular Louisiana Creole dish, that can be on your table from start to finish in less than an hour.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 508kcal
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Creole, Southern
Keyword creole, red beans and rice, stew
Author Tiny.Kitchen

Ingredients

Red Beans

  • 1/2 lb Andouille sausage
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil (optional, only if needed)
  • 1/2 medium onion (diced)
  • 1 stalk celery (diced)
  • 2 medium jalapeño (diced)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 cans kidney beans (reserve liquid)
  • 2 tsp vegetable bouillon
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (recommend Cholula)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp thyme
  • 1 bay leaf

Rice

  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Instructions

Make Rice

  • Rinse 1 cup of white rice. Add it to a small pot with 1 1/2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir well. Cover it again. Continue to cook on very low heat for 12 minutes.
  • Remove from heat until ready to serve.

Make the Red Beans

  • Slice the Andouille sausage into 1/4-inch thick pieces.
  • In a medium pot over medium heat, fry sausage slices on both sides until they start to blacken. This will take about 15 minutes.
  • Remove from sausage pot and set aside. Drain leftover fat from the pot until you have about a 1mm layer on the bottom. If there is not enough fat, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Don't scrape the bottom.
  • In the same the medium pot, add the diced onions, celery, jalapeño, and garlic. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes.
  • Add both cans of kidney beans, including the liquid, along with 2 tsp of vegetable bouillon, 2 tsp of hot sauce, 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 cup of water.
  • Now add all of the spices: 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp thyme, and 1 bay leaf. Stir well. Taste the liquid and adjust spices as needed.
  • Cook for 15 minutes at a soft boil without a lid.
  • Carefully find and remove the bay leaf.
  • With a potato masher (or fork) smash about half of the beans to thicken the liquid into a stew. Try to keep some beans in large chunks or whole for texture. Cook for 5 more minutes.
  • Remove from heat and stir the sausage slices back into the pot. Cover and let sit for 5-10 more minutes.
  • Serve on top of the cooked rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 508kcal | Carbohydrates: 52.6g | Protein: 22.8g | Fat: 21.2g | Saturated Fat: 8.3g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 1657mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 3.8g | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 4.3mg

Notes

This recipe scales up very well. The sausage and beans can be prepared in advance and frozen for up to 3 months.

Did You Try This Recipe? Rate it!

Mention @TinyKitchenCuisine or tag #TinyKitchenCuisine on social media!

I have something to say!
Was This Recipe Useful?
Give it a Share
Pin to PinterestPost to FacebookShare to Twitter
First Published On: May 11, 2019 by Tiny.Kitchen
Last Modified: May 25, 2019
Home » Entrees » Spicy Red Beans and Rice
beans comfort food creole hot sauce jalapeño kidney beans sausage spicy vegetable bouillon worcestershire
Valerie Spencer
Writer • Photographer • Kitchen Witch

Hi, I'm Valerie, the creator of Tiny.Kitchen. I love sharing my recipes, cooking techniques, and kitchen tips. I know firsthand the challenges of cooking in a small space (I live in an RV) and I'm here to help you make tasty meals in your tiny kitchen. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to see what's cooking in my tiny kitchen and get some inspiration for yours.

A metal bowl of creamy cucumber salad with fresh dill sitting on a slate board. A few springs of fresh dill and a half of a cucumber is resting nearby.
Close up of a banana nut muffin topped with walnuts and a blue cloth lined basket of muffins in the background.
A pitcher and glass of iced rhubarb ade sweetened with honey with a backyard patio in blurred in the distance.
Bowl of mixed braised greens topped with toasted pine nuts and raisins.
Bowl of spaghetti pasta and clams in a white wine garlic sauce topped with fresh parsley and a caprese salad in the background.
A bowl of tomato soup with a sprinkle of basil.
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie in a casserole dish with a spoon filled with mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery, peas, and gravy.
Looking for Something Specific?
Recipes
  • Appetizers
  • Entrees
  • Side Dishes
  • Soups & Stews
  • Vegetarian
  • Baked Goods
  • All Tiny Kitchen Recipes
Articles
  • How to Live Tiny
  • Tiny Kitchen Tools
  • All Tiny Kitchen Articles
Tiny.Kitchen
  • About Tiny.Kitchen
  • Tiny Kitchen Recipes
  • Articles, Ideas & Techniques
  • Resources & Other Topics
Don't Miss a Recipe!
Get New Posts Via Email

Yes, I want to receive emails from Tiny.Kitchen.

When you click Subscribe, this data will be sent to Mailchimp. See my Privacy Policy for details.

You made it!
You read the entire page.

Did you happen to notice that you didn't have to close a single pop-up or look at a ton of random video ads? That's because I won't compromise your time for money. If you would like to keep it that way, please consider making a financial donation in an amount equal to your appreciation. CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Tiny.Kitchen is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program that allows websites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. As a participant in this program, I may receive a commission on purchases made through links on this website at no additional cost to you. Please see my full disclosure for more information.

Tiny.Kitchen - Cooking Up Magic in Your Tiny Kitchen
  • About
  • Articles
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Contact
Copyright ©2023 Tiny.Kitchen.
All rights reserved.
  • Tiny.Kitchen - Cooking Up Magic in Your Tiny Kitchen
  • Recipes
  • Articles
  • About
  • Contact