Quick New Orleans Style Vegan Red Beans and Rice

Isn’t it that time of year when there is nothing better than some good old-fashion comfort food? There is something about curling up in your favorite chair with a blanket and a bowl of something warm, filling, and nourishing when it is cold and wet outside.

I grew up in Vermont. Trust me, red beans and rice was never served at home or even at any restaurant near me for that matter. Chili was an exotic dish back then. But the first time I visited New Orleans, I was on an extreme budget (freshly out of college and yet to receive my first paycheck). Every meal, I searched for the cheapest thing on the menu. This was my introduction to red beans and rice!

Traditional red beans and rice has any combination of sausage, pickled pork, or ham hocks. But as we all know, that isn’t going to work for a Whole Food, Plant-Based meal.

There are plant-based sausages and Jack Fruit that mimic pork products, but honestly, I choose to skip those as they aren’t necessary in this dish to enjoy that warmth and comfort. Add them if you must, but give this a try before doing so.

This recipe has “Quick” in the title, and it is…because I use canned organic Red Kidney Beans. You can start from dry. In less than an hour using an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, the beans will be ready. Your choice, but this recipe assumes you’ll take the shortcut as I have.

Another tip. There are a lot of ingredients, but all of them are commonly found in your refrigerator or pantry. Extra bonus, they are all cheap! Try not to skip any ingredient as the spices and flavor build while cooking, but if you are missing something, don’t fret. Try to find a simple substitute. Better Homes & Gardens has a list of substitutes for herbs here https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/herb-substitute/ and a list of substitutes for spices here https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/spice-substitute/.

Ingredients

• 4 cans of Dark Red Kidney Beans
• Vegetable Broth (separated 1/4 cup and 2 cups)
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Large Onion
• 3 Stalks of Celery
• 6 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/4 of a Jalapeno
• 2 Teaspoons of Paprika
• 2 Teaspoons of Thyme
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of Hot Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Teaspoons of Salt (I prefer pink sea salt)
• 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper (freshly ground is best)
• Green Onion and Fresh Green Parsley for garnishing

Directions

Dice the green and red bell peppers, onion, and celery. Mince the garlic and jalapeno.

On high heat, using a large pot (I used a dutch oven-type pot that I favor for making chili, but any large pot will do), place 1/4 cup of vegetable broth in the pot. This will be used to sweat and cook the vegetables rather than oil. Once the broth starts to boil, add the diced and minced vegetables. With a wooden spoon, stir the vegetables frequently for 5 minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, and paprika. Stir the dry spices in and try to make sure that the spices are distributed evenly and coating the vegetables. Cover the pot and continue to cook on medium high heat for another 15 minutes, stirring about once every minute.

While the vegetables are cooking and getting soft, open the cans of dark red kidney beans. Drain and rinse three cans of beans, leaving the liquid in the can of the fourth.

Add the beans to the pot, including the liquid from the one can. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the hot sauce. Stir all the ingredients together and add 1 cup of vegetable broth. Continue to cook with the lid on for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the remaining 1 cup of vegetable broth. Using an immersion blender or potato masher, blend/mash about 1/3 of the contents in the pot. This will provide a thickness to the broth, yet keep plenty of beans intact.

Add the apple cider vinegar. Stir and cook for another 10 minutes without the lid. The apple cider vinegar really does a great job replacing the acidity and taste that the pickled pork would have provided.

While the vegetables and beans are cooking, I made organic long-grain brown rice in the Instant Pot. I will be honest, I prefer brown rice, for healthy reasons obviously, but I also prefer the nutty chew (I make a lot of rice at the beginning of the week and keep it in the refrigerator, heating it up as needed during the week).

Serve the Red Beans with a scoop or two of rice, garnished with the parsley and green onions. Salt and pepper to taste…maybe add a couple dashes of hot sauce if that pleases your palate!

Curl up on your favorite chair, wrap yourself in a blanket, and enjoy!

p.s. I find this is one of those dishes where the leftovers keep well and call me crazy, but I think it actually tastes better the next day.