Being that I am a native of Louisiana, there is nothing more comforting than the wonderful aroma of a big pot of Cajun red beans cooking in the slow cooker all day. Cajun red beans and rice was probably the first meal I learned how to cook when I was in college. They are pretty easy to make, provides a lot for leftovers, and oh so creamy and delicious!

Traditionally, Cajun red beans were served on Mondays, which dates back to what was commonly known as laundry day in south Louisiana. It was, and still is an easy and low maintenance meal that cooks for several hours and doesn’t need constant attention. To lessen the cooking time, it is suggested to soak your beans in water before you start cooking them. Some people may soak their beans overnight while others may not soak them at all. It’s a personal preference depending on how quickly you want your beans to cook. I typically soak my beans while I’m prepping, slicing, and dicing all of my ingredients right up until it’s time for them to go into the slow cooker.

Another reason why red beans and rice was a traditional Monday meal is because it was a great recipe to use the leftover ham and hambone from Sunday’s dinner. Some other commonly used pork options are pork sausage, andouille sausage, pork Tasso, and pickled pork.

Cajun red beans are best served over rice with a dash of Tabasco for some extra heat and side of sweet cornbread. You can also serve with fried chicken, pork chops, a link of smoked sausage, or a side dish of mustard or collard greens.

Now the sooner we get to cookin’ the sooner we can get to eatin’, so below are a list of ingredients that you’ll need…

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
• 1 lb. pork sausage, sliced
• ½ lb. pork Tasso, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. dry red kidney beans
• 32 oz. chicken stock
• 4 cups water
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
• ½ to 1 tsp. salt

Pork Sausage

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My favorite brand of pork sausage and pork Tasso for Cajun red beans is Savoie’s, but any Cajun smoked pork sausage and Tasso should work just fine.

Pork Tasso is a smoked, spiced, and cured meat that is a specialty of south Louisiana cuisine. The combination of the sausage and Tasso gives the red beans that amazing spicy smoky flavor.

Holy Trinity

The vegetables are essentially your “holy trinity” of Cajun cooking. Holy Trinity is a slang term that consists of onions, bell peppers and celery, and is the base for much of the cooking in the regional cuisines of Louisiana. The preparation of many Cajun/Creole dishes all start from this base.

Kidney Beans

Camellia brand kidney beans is a product of New Orleans and has been used in my family for as long I can remember. They are the most delicious, creamy, flavorful, and highest-quality beans you will ever have.

Chicken Stock (or any poultry stock)

I like to make my own stock. Every Thanksgiving I take the leftover turkey carcass and boil it, strain it, package it, and freeze it. This way I can use it for anytime I need any kind of poultry-like stock.

You can do this with a chicken carcass as well. For those times when you pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for a quick meal, remember to keep the carcass and make some chicken stock with it.

I find making your own stock gives it more flavor rather than just buying stock from a grocery store. However, you can use chicken stock from a grocery store for this recipe and it will certainly be just as delicious.

Cajun Seasoning

You’ll notice that the majority of my recipes will call for Cajun seasoning. If you don’t have Cajun seasoning on hand, check out this recipe for a copycat version of Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning.

Rice

Cajun red beans are best served over rice. My favorite rice to use is Zatarain’s Long Grain Rice which has a nice fluffy consistency and doesn’t get mushy or stuck together.

Now let’s get to cookin’…

Instructions:

1. Sauté sausage and Tasso in a large skillet with 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until browned.

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2. After the meat has browned add it to the slow cooker.

3. Add remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet and sauté bell pepper, onion, celery, & garlic for 10-15 minutes, until soft.

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4. After the vegetables have cooked down add them to the slow cooker.

5. Add the beans, chicken stock, water, herbs, and spices to the slow cooker and stir.

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6. Cook on high heat for 6-7 hours.

7. Prepare rice and cornbread.

8. Once the red beans are done cooking, take out the bay leaves.

Recipe Tip: Once the beans are done and you want to thicken the consistency, take out a cup or two of just beans into a bowl and mash. Put back into slow cooker and stir. Do this as many times as you want until you reach the desired consistency.

9. Serve over rice, top with a couple of dashes of Tabasco, and with a side of cornbread. Enjoy!