Easy Red Beans and Rice Recipe

 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, I’m about to show you how to make a humdinger of a good old country meal. Remember when I showed you that easy-peasy ham glaze and told you to save your ham bone? Well pull that puppy out, we’re ’bout to fix us some supper!

This easy red beans and rice recipe is a classic Southern main dish. So, besides the aforementioned ham bone, what else do you need to make it? Red beans (or kidney beans), smoked sausage, onion, a bay leaf, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt, salt, and black pepper. Oh yeah, it’s going to be SO flavorful. 

Now, when I say this is an easy recipe, y’all know I’m not kidding. We start the night before by sorting and soaking our beans. Then the next morning, we add them to a pan with all of the ingredients except for the sausage. Let that simmer for several hours while you go about your day. Add the sliced sausage about an hour before serving. When the beans are oh-so-tender and your kitchen smells oh-so-delicious, it’s time to serve our red beans on a bed of cooked rice. Yep, that’s all there is to it.

Keep scrolling for suggestions to make this easy red beans and rice recipe work for you and your family. Plus, I’ve included some serving ideas too. Because y’all, there’s nothing quite like red beans and rice with a side of cornbread or some biscuit to soak up that deliciously flavorful broth that’s been simmering all day. 

Okay, I’m getting hungry just thinking about this recipe, so let’s get cooking so we can get eating!

Recipe Ingredients

• A big old 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

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Large Pot
• Rubber Spatula

How to Make My Easy Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Sort through your beans and place them in a large pot. Cover them with water and let them sit overnight.

What is “sorting beans,” you ask?

Well sometimes (oftentimes actually) when you get dried beans you’ll find tiny stones in them amongst the beans. This is just one of those things. I mean, beans are grown in the dirt and stones happen. You just pour a few into your hand, make sure there are no stones, and then pour that handful into your pot and repeat.

In the morning the soaked beans will look like this.

Now drain off that water.

Here is what we have left, placed back in the same large stockpot.

They lost a little of their redness. Guess they needed a bath.

Add in all of your other ingredients, including the big old ham bone.

Now fill that pot with water.

Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for several hours or until tender.

 I put mine on in the morning when the kids leave for school and simmer them all day long. You don’t have to cook them that long but it gives you a nice rich broth if you do. I recommend soaking that up with cornbread or just stirring it into your rice when you eat it.

I just slice my sausage a bit and add in about a cup or so about an hour before serving.

You can use more or less depending on what you have on hand.

You can also leave it out entirely if you like.

Another option is to use weenies to save money.

This is how it looks after I’ve cooked it down to a nice thick liquid all day.

Remove your bay leaf and then make your rice.

For this tutorial, I’m just using some brown boil-in-the-bag rice.

Serve your red beans atop the hot, cooked rice.

Dive in and be thankful for the good sense to enjoy the simple things in life.

Storage

• 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 as above.

Recipe Notes

• 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. Any sticklers for tradition who tell you that you are doing it wrong can go get their supper in a drive-through somewhere while you and yours enjoy the delicious food you’re gonna turn out.
• Here are some recipe variations:
  • 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.

Recipe FAQs

Check out these other recipes:

Baked Beans With Ground Beef

Louisiana Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Make Pinto Beans and Ham

Creamed Beans and Taters

Southern Butter Beans Recipe

Red Beans and Cornbread