There are three bean-approved ways to cook up delicious, scratch-made red beans and rice, and the method you choose comes down to two things: personal taste and the appliance you prefer.
Stovetop, Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Methods
First, there’s the traditional, time-honored stovetop method of simmering all the ingredients to creamy perfection in a dutch oven pot. Then there’s the slow cooker method – or the “dump and go” approach. And finally, there’s the Instant Pot or electric multi-cooker method, which pressure cooks beans in a short amount of time.
A Few Basic Ingredients & Steps = Delicious Red Beans and Rice
A little forethought and planning is all it takes to cook red beans. In fact, all three methods involve a few basic ingredients and steps: soaking the beans(which is totally optional, by the way), chopping the trinity or using pre-chopped trinity, slicing or chopping whatever sausage or meat you prefer, sautéing the trinity and sausage (optional for the slow cooker method), and then adding the beans, liquid, and spices. Keep in mind that there are so many different ways to deliciously flavor and season your red beans, that there is no “right” way!
Let’s look at the pros and cons of each cooking method:
There’s simply no rushing the process of slowly simmering red beans on your stovetop. You have to set aside a few hours to do it, but it’s actually hard to get it wrong, and the only thing you need to be concerned with is making sure there’s enough liquid in the pot and stirring occasionally, so that the beans don’t burn. Everything else about the process is very forgiving. Need more liquid, just add it. Need more spice? Give it a dash here and there. Like it creamy? Keep cooking, and keep stirring. For many, gently coaxing their beans into a state of creamy perfection on the stovetop is both a pleasurable experience and a bit of kitchen therapy that they look forward to on a weekly basis.
While you’re busy doing other things all day, the slow cooker can be busy, too – turning your red beans into a delicious meal. Get home from school or work, cook a pot of rice, and dinner is served. Slow cooking your red beans is also ideal for parade season and football season – because you can enjoy the festivities while the beans are cooking, and then keep them warm for serving right from the slow cooker. Now, you might get deeper flavor if you sauté the trinity and meat in a skillet before adding all ingredients to the slow cooker. However, if you don’t have time for that, you can literally dump and go – adding everything to the slow cooker at once, turning it on, and walking away. Some say the end result is not as creamy as stovetop red beans, but that can usually be remedied with the use of a potato masher to thicken things up.
The Instant Pot is another great option for when you need to start dinner and then walk away to do other things. The beans don’t need to be pre-soaked, and you can use the sauté feature to cook the trinity and sausage first, before adding the rest of the ingredients to the pot and switching to manual mode. Setting the timer to 40 minutes at high pressure and then allowing for 20 minutes of natural pressure release is usually all you need for tender beans. And that’s pretty darn fast! Note: if there are still some not-so-tender beans here and there, simply cook at high pressure for an additional 5-10 minutes. And when you remove the lid, if there’s too much liquid remaining for your taste, put the cooker on sauté mode again, and stir occasionally. This will allow excess liquid to evaporate. All in all, using the Instant Pot is the best way to cook dried beans quicklyand be able to walk away while doing it. And the ability to do everything in one appliance is icing on the cake.
Whichever way you choose to cook red beans and rice, follow our tips, and you’re bound to end up with a wonderful meal everyone will enjoy.
Cooking Tip #LRAEF Fosters Future Chefs
ProStart® Recipe Competition encourages creativity and cooking skills.
The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) has been providing support and resources to students interested in a career in the food service or hospitality industries since 1995. With a Board of Directors comprised of restaurateurs, industry experts, and educators, the LRAEF offers access to real-world expertise and opportunities to practice the craft to students across the country.
Thinking outside the bag.
The Louisiana ProStart® Recipe Competition — featuring dishes made with Camellia beans — was no exception. During our travels across the state, we met many creative and enthusiastic student chefs who amazed us with their fresh ideas for cooking with beans. The team of judges — Connelly Hayward from Camellia, Wendy Waren from the Louisiana Restaurant Association, and Brendan Young, Chef at Squeal Bar-B-Q — tasted dishes from appetizers to desserts, all of which were delicious and demonstrated the students’ solid knowledge of flavors and technique. It was truly a difficult task to choose a winner, and we applaud the efforts of all involved, along with enjoying every bite!
And the winner is…
Pearl River High School! Team members Brianna Hale, Isabelle Rigby, and Savannah Walker created a truly delicious “Blapple Pie” made with apples and black beans — which means you can enjoy a fabulous dessert that’s good for you too. Not only that, but the black beans added a depth of flavor that worked really well with the cinnamon and cayenne pepper, in a way we would never have imagined. Their innovative recipe won us over, and we’re proud to award them the first prize.
A unique twist on an old favorite.
The team at Ascension Parish ProStartⓇ School — Taylor Christy, Emma Boyd, Royell Cobb, and Marquise Bell — took a familiar dish, stuffed peppers, and added a little local flavor with their “New Orleans-Style Stuffed Peppers.” Adding red beans, sausage, and rice to the mix resulted in a dish that is familiar — but even better than you remember. The smoky flavor of the beans and the meaty richness of the sausage made this dish a standout, and garnered the team a place as the first runner-up.
Future Advocates of Our Culture.
We’re proud to have have been a part of a worthwhile endeavor like the LRAEF ProStart® Recipe Competition, and even prouder of every one of the fantastic student chefs who entered. Keep cooking — and we look forward to trying more of your dishes in the future!