Vegan Red Beans And Rice

This recipe for Vegan Red Beans and Rice is not an authentic recipe as it is adapted from the hearty, traditional Louisiana Creole red beans and rice. Our family take on red beans and rice features red split lentils and pinto beans cooked with Cajun seasoning and results in a delicious, easy, budget-friendly meal. 

Vegan red beans and rice is delicious served with rice, and a large slice of crusty bread or a few of our Home-Made Cornbread Muffins to dip and dunk into the thick tasty homely red beans and lentils.

Origin of red beans and rice

Cajun red beans and rice is a flavourful, hearty dish originating from the Southern United States, mainly Louisiana. This region makes use of many cooking traditions such as French, Spanish, African, and Native American influences. Red beans and rice is prepared by slow-cooking red kidney beans with a mix of vegetables especially onions, bell peppers, and celery, which are known as the "holy trinity" of Cajun and Creole cooking. A variety of seasonings, including cayenne pepper, garlic, and thyme, are often added. Cajun red beans and rice is generally served with white rice and often accompanied by smoked sausage, ham hocks, or andouille sausage.

Using up leftover family dinners

Traditionally, red beans is often prepared on Mondays, as it presents an ideal opportunity to repurpose leftover pork and bones from Sunday dinner. Throughout history many traditional recipes have stemmed from working class people needing to use up leftovers by repurposing them into the next days meal. Other tasty examples include our vegan adaptations of traditional favourites such as this Irish Stew, and these Scottish Stovies, and the Welsh Cawl Soup and Englands traditional Lancashire Hotpot.

Mardi Gras, Pancake Day, Fat Tuesday, & Shrove Tuesday

If your celebrating Mardi Gras, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, then a bowl of red beans and rice is the perfect family meal as its a traditional time for red beans and rice. We do have another vegan Mardi Gras recipe for dirty rice that is a popular Mardi Gras street food: Vegan Dirty Rice. Mardi Gras, is a colourful and festive annual celebration held primarily in New Orleans, Louisiana, but is often marked in other parts of the world. It marks the last day of indulgence before the Christian season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is famous for its fancy parades, masquerade balls, and lively street parties, featuring music, dancing, and vibrant costumes.

In the UK, Mardi Gras is not a common holiday but we do have a few parades and events that celebrate Mardi Gras. Also, we do mark Fat Tuesday but we tend to use the other names Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, and use it as an excuse to consume lots of tasty pancakes. Pancake Day is held on the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent. The date of Pancake Day varies each year because it is determined by the date of Easter, which is a movable feast. Generally, Pancake Day falls between February 2nd and March 9th in the Gregorian calendar. For an Easy Vegan Pancake recipe check out our family favourite recipe as well as our kids favourite easy vegan Chocolate Chip Pancakes. A pancake or two does make an ideal dessert after a bowl of red beans and rice.

Ingredients

This vegan red bean stew recipe replaces the traditional pork with red split lentils, which not only thicken the stew but also provide lots of umami flavour. The red beans are seasoned with bay leaves, thyme, Cajun [or Creole] seasoning mix, and dried garlic. Soy sauce, red wine vinegar and tomato paste add extra flavour. White long grain rice serves as the perfect accompaniment to this red bean stew, along with one or two homemade cornbread muffins. The recipe includes a simple method for cooking long-grain rice, but do feel free to use a different type of rice and follow package instructions for cooking times.

The ingredients you will need are:

• carrot
• celery
• bell pepper
• onion
• canned or cooked pinto beans (can replace with cooked kidney beans)
• red split lentils
• garlic powder
• Cajun seasoning
• tomato paste/puree
• brown sugar (can use coconut sugar or your usual sugar)
• dried or fresh thyme
• bay leaf
• red wine vinegar (can replace with balsamic vinegar)
• vegatable stock/both
• salt & pepper

To serve:

• long-grain rice

How to prepare

This vegan adaptation of red beans and rice is really easy to prepare. Once the vegetables are sauteed, the flavourings and vegetable stock are added and then cooked for about 30 minutes.

Step 1: Cook the diced carrot, celery, bell pepper and onion in coconut oil or a small amount of vegetable stock.

Step 2: Next stir through the cooked pinto beans, red split lentils, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaf, and thyme.

Step 3: Pour in the vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper, then stir thoroughly and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the stew reaches a thick consistency and the vegetables become tender.

Step 4: Remove the pan from the heat, pop a lid over, and allow to sit for 5 minutes before checking the seasoning. Add extra salt & pepper if necessary.

Prepare the rice:

While the red beans stew is simmering prepare the rice. Always check your rice package instructions as the cooking times for your particular rice may differ from our guidance. We used quick cook long-grain rice.

Step 1: Place the long-grain rice in a saucepan, pour in water, season with salt, and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, then let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Cover the saucepan with a lid, turn off the heat, and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Step 3: Finally, fluff the rice with a fork.

Serving suggestion:

Enjoy the red beans and rice with our old-fashioned cornbread muffins and a garnish of fresh parsley. We also have an easy Slow Cooker Steamed Cornbread recipe which results in a very light and tasty cornbread.

Recipe notes

Storage

Leftover red beans can be stored within a covered container within the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftover rice should be cooled quickly and placed in a food container and stored for up to 1 day.

Freezing

Leftover red beans can be frozen for 2-3 months. Rice can also be frozen but do cool the rice quickly and once cooled place it into a suitable container and store in the freezer. Don't leave rice to sit out for hours always cool quickly and keep chilled in the refrigerator or freeze directly after cooling.

Reheating

To reheat leftover red beans, first defrost within the refrigerator if frozen, and then place into a non-stick saucepan. Bring to a simmer and heat until piping hot throughout. A little extra water will likely need to be added to the stew as it will have become very thick due to the lentils continuing to absorb liquid. Just add enough to loosen the sauce.

FAQ'S

More vegan rice & bean recipes

Rice and bean recipes are just so budget-friendly and easy to cook with so we are always creating vegan adaptions of traditional recipes at our home. The main ingredients are usually store-cupboard ones so these types of recipes are great to have as many different meals can be made up often without the need for fresh ingredients although frozen vegetables are perfect for rice and bean recipes. A few of our family favourite rice and bean recipes are this Slow Cooker Rice & Peas and this Vegan Rice-A-Roni and this Mexican Rice & Bean Casserole and this Vegetable & Bean Pilaf. All our recipes use everyday ingredients which are easily subsituted so use whatever vegetables and beans you have to hand.

***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***

📖 Recipe

Comments

We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do drop us a comment below. All feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks so much. Jacq x