Cajun Red Beans and Rice
A comforting pork built around dry red kidney beans, smoked ham hocks and celery β roughly 70 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 8 steps.
You'll mainly reach for large pot and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 8 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (6)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Sort the beans for stones, rinse them, then soak in plenty of cold water overnight; drain before cooking.
- In a large pot, combine the drained beans, ham hocks, finely chopped onion, celery and bell pepper, the minced garlic, bay leaves and Cajun seasoning with the water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer and cook uncovered for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if the beans look dry.
- Once the beans are tender, mash about a cup of them against the side of the pot and stir back in to make the liquid thick and creamy.
- Lift out the hocks, pull the meat from the bones, chop it and return it to the pot, then stir in the hot sauce.
- Continue simmering for 20 to 30 minutes until the beans reach a gravy-like consistency, then season with salt to taste and remove the bay leaves.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice in 4 cups of salted water, covered, for about 18 minutes until tender, then fluff with a fork.
- Spoon the red beans over bowls of hot rice and serve with extra hot sauce.
You'll use: Large pot Β· Saucepan
Tips & common questions
How long does Cajun Red Beans and Rice take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 8 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Cajun Red Beans and Rice is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Mulates famous red beans & rice with sausage.jpg by mbtrama, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.