• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
That Recipe
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Members
    • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Our latest posts » Main Courses with Meat

    Big Easy Red Beans and Rice: 3 Ways to Prepare

    January 29, 2015 Filed Under: Main Courses with Meat, Pork

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Red Beans and Rice with a thick bean sauce, called "gravy" in New Orleans. Includes stove top, pressure cooker and slow cooker directions.

    Red Beans and Rice is perfect for Mardi Gras or for Monday laundry day as was traditionally done in New Orleans.

    close up of red beans and rice

    No really. In New Orleans, Monday was laundry day and the women would put on a big pot of beans and let them cook all day while they did laundry. At supper time they would heat up some sausage, or pork chops, or maybe fry an egg and serve it on top.

    My brother's original recipe called for cooking the beans separately from the ham stock and sautéing the vegetables in yet another pot.

    Ugh, I hate doing dishes! Especially big pots. So, I reworked the recipe a little to make it in one pot. Unless you are using the crock pot. For that, you do need a skillet to sauté the vegetables first.

    I do not add cayenne or red pepper to mine because my son doesn't like spicy stuff. I add a little to mine separately, but for the most part this isn't supposed to be a spicy dish.

    Three Ways to Prepare Red Beans and Rice

    The instructions may seem overwhelming at first glance because I list three different ways to prepare the red beans: on the stove top, in the slow cooker, or in the pressure cooker.

    All three ways are delicious. The pressure cooker is the fastest, but it is also a little harder to judge when it is done. If that happens you can either bring it back to pressure for another few minutes. Or, if you have time use the sauté function (electric cooker) or simmer (stove top cooker) until the beans are nice and tender.

    Red Beans and Rice

    close up of red beans and rice on a plate with mardi gras horn
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 pound dry small red beans
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil (or bacon grease or rendered ham fat if available)
    • 1 medium onion (diced (divided use))
    • ½ bell pepper (diced)
    • ¼ cup celery (diced)
    • 3 tablespoons minced garlic (divided use)
    • 2 ham hocks (or 1 ham bone)
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 2 bay leaves
    • ½ teaspoon thyme
    • salt and pepper (to taste)
    • cooked white rice (about ½ cup per person)

    Instructions
     

    • ALL METHODS: ‎Soak beans overnight, drain and rinse.
    • Sauté onions, garlic, peppers and celery in olive oil until onions are translucent. Remove approximately half of mixture and set aside.
      STOVE TOP: Use a large stock pot
      PRESSURE COOKER: Directly in the pressure cooker
      SLOW COOKER: Use a skillet on the stove.
    • Cook the beans half way.
      STOVE TOP: Add beans, ham hocks/ bone, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and thyme. Cover beans with water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook for 1 - 1.5 hours until beans are soft. Watch water level every 30 minutes or so and add additional ¼ to ½ cup water as needed. You want this to be a bit "soupy".
      PRESSURE COOKER: Add beans, ham hocks/ bone, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and thyme. Cover beans with water. Bring to pressure and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes or 28 minutes on low.
      SLOW COOKER: Put half of the sautéed vegetables in the slow cooker with beans, ham hocks/ bone, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and thyme. Pour approximately one cup of water into the skillet and return to stove for a minute or so to deglaze (loosen the bits stuck on the pan).

      Add water to the slow cooker plus enough additional water to cover beans. If you will not be monitoring the water level, add enough water to come about an inch over the beans.

      Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high 2-3 hours.
    • Finish cooking
      STOVE TOP: Add reserved vegetables, adjust seasoning and add extra liquid if needed. Cook for 20- 30 more minutes on simmer until beans are very soft.
      PRESSURE COOKER: Quick release pressure and open the pot. Add reserved vegetables, adjust seasonings and add extra liquid if needed. Bring back to pressure and cook for 15 minutes on high pressure or 28 minutes on low. Release pressure naturally.
      SLOW COOKER: If you are available, add reserved vegetables, adjust seasonings and add extra liquid if needed the last hour of cooking. If not either add all of the vegetables at the start or add the last half at the end.
    • Remove ham hocks / bone and bay leaves from the pot and set aside to cool slightly. Remove meat from the bone and shred or chop.
    • Mash about ¼ of the beans in the pot with the back of the spoon, a potato masher or immersion blender. You want to have a thick gravy with some whole beans.
    • Add ham to the beans and stir. Serve over cooked rice with a pork chop, Andouillle sausage or chicken breast if desired.

    More Cajun Recipes

    rice in a bowl with mardi gras masks and hat and text overlay "easy one pot dirty rice"
    Dirty Rice
    jambalaya in a bowl
    Jambalaya
    bowl of gumbo with bottle of hot sauce and text overlay "homemade cajun gumbo"
    Gumbo

    Until next time, happy eating.
    ~Audrey

    More Main Courses with Meat

    • calzone on a plate
      Triple Meat Calzones Homemade Pizza Pockets
    • cashew chicken lettuce wraps
      Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps an Easy Healthy Meal
    • Spiral sliced ham on a plate with text overlay "orange stuffed spiral sliced ham"
      Orange Stuffed Spiral Sliced Ham Delicious Holiday Twist
    • chicken with onion and cheese and text overlay "French Onion Chicken"
      French Onion Chicken in the Pressure Cooker #OurFamilyTable

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carrie Groneman

      February 03, 2015 at 5:27 am

      This is great that you have all 3 cooking methods, great job! Stopping by from Tasty Tuesday Party. Carrie, A Mother's Shadow

      Reply
    2. Bonnie @ Our Secondhand House

      February 03, 2015 at 5:38 am

      My husband would love this! Thanks for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty this week.
      ~Bonnie

      Reply
    3. [email protected] My Overflowing Cup

      February 03, 2015 at 4:17 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing this!

      Pinning it as it would be perfect for a church potluck I have coming up.

      Reply
    4. Jennifer Abel

      February 07, 2015 at 12:20 am

      Thanks for sharing this recipe, I would never have thought of beans & rice together!

      Reply
    5. [email protected]

      February 09, 2015 at 8:02 am

      Yum! I haven't had red beans and rice in quite awhile - this meal is definitely on the menu this week! Thanks so much for sharing your brother's recipe at Talented Tuesdays - I can't wait to try it!

      Reply
    6. Emily, Our house now a home

      February 10, 2015 at 12:31 pm

      Yum, this looks delicious! Thank you for linking up at Pin worthy Wednesday, this has been pinned.

      Reply
    7. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com

      February 26, 2017 at 8:57 am

      Audrey, my husband is not a bean fan. But I'm not a big meat eater, so I'd perish without my legumes and cheese! So I could make a big pot of this and have it all to myself. Soon.

      Reply
      • Audrey

        February 27, 2017 at 5:21 pm

        I definitely understand how that goes. Aside from Baked Beans, my guys don't usually eat much of the awesome bean recipes I have on the site. More for me.

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    audrey humaciu in kitchen

    Welcome

    I'm your hostess, Audrey, an avid "maker" that believes home made is better.

    Whether it's cooking, crafting, gardening, home décor, even blog design, I love getting my hands dirty and trying new things... even if I make a mess in the process.

    Discover more about me →

    Fresh Spring Tastes

    • strawberry muffins in a muffin tin with text overlay "sourdough strawberry muffins"
      Sourdough Strawberry Muffins Tangy Sweet Muffins
    • carrot muffins topped with granola on a cooling rack
      Carrot Granola Muffins with No Refined Sugar
    • lemon blueberry jelly roll on a plate
      Lemon Blueberry Jelly Roll Cake Sweet Taste of Spring
    • top down view of strawberry spinach salad with goat cheese and caramelized onions
      Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is a Delightful Spring Salad

    See more Spring Produce Recipes→

    tablet with ebook on display and text overlay "Seasoned with Love: 60 seasoning mix recipes from around the world"

    Tried and True Recipes

    • piece of bread dipped in cheese fondue with text overlay "alcohol free cheese fondue"
      Alcohol Free Cheese Fondue: Easy Family Dinner in 20 Minutes!
    • close up of popover in a pan with text overlay "Julia Child's Popovers"
      Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy
    • fork holidng a piece of lasagna with text overlay "no boil meat lasagna"
      The Original Barilla 4 Layer No Boil Lasagna Recipe
    • jar filled with granola
      Homemade Granola is as Easy as 1-2-3

    See our Top 10 Recipes →

    follow the fun

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy/Disclosures
    • Cookie Notice

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 ThatRecipe

    272 shares
    Manage Cookie Consent
    We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    Preferences
    {title} {title} {title}