This spicy, flavorful classic Louisiana recipe is easy to make with dried red beans, Creole seasoning and smoked sausage. Makes a delicious meal to feed the whole family.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cajun
Keyword dried beans, mardi gras, red beans, smoked sausage
1 ½cups wateror enough to just cover the beans and sausage in the Instant pot.
1bay leaf
½cupchopped parsley
ADDITIONAL GARNISHES:
4cupssteamed white rice (from 2 cups uncooked rice) prepared according to package directions
chopped green onion
chopped parsley
Louisiana Hot SauceWe like Crystal's
reserved crispy bacon
sprinkle of Creole seasoning
Instructions
SOAK THE BEANS:
Place the beans in a large pot. Sift through the beans with your hands picking out any gnarled or bad beans or any loose pebbles or detritus that may have gotten into the package. Cover the beans with cold water (4-6 cups) cover the pot and let sit overnight to reconstitute.
FOR THE LOUISIANA RED BEANS:
Drain the beans and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and cook the bacon until crispy and fat has rendered. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Add the chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 1 cup of sliced green onions to the bacon fat and saute for 5-8 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the Louisiana seasoning and cook for one minute until fragrant.
Add the sausage and beans and stir to combine. Pour the chicken broth over the bean mixture and add enough water so that the liquid just covers the beans and vegetables. Add the bay leaf and seal the Instant pot. Set to pressure cook for 15 minutes. Let the pressure in the pot release naturally.
FINISH THE RED BEANS AND SAUSAGE
Ladle out about 2-3 cups of red beans into a bowl (return any chunks of sausage to the Instant Pot).
Mash or blend the beans in the bowl until they have a smooth, creamy consistency. You can achieve this with a potato masher or pressing the back of a fork against the cooked beans in the bowl, or by transferring the beans to a mini food processor or blender.
Add the mashed beans back to the rest of the beans and sausage with the chopped parsley and remaining green onion and stir to combine.
Serve the beans with reserved crispy bacon, extra parsley and scallions, hot sauce and white rice.
Notes
Leftovers should be placed into an airtight container and refrigerated or frozen. Do not store rice with red beans and sausage.