Vegan red beans and rice, made in just 25 minutes, using simple ingredients. This plant-based version is healthier, so nutritious and extremely delicious.
I didn't know this recipe until I saw it on Pinterest and it was love at first sight. Beans + rice = epic vegan recipe, because rice is one of my favorite foods and beans are a great source of plant-based protein and are also delicious.
For those or you who doesn't know red beans and rice, it's an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine, traditionally made with red or kidney beans, veggies, spices and pork, cooked together slowly in a pot and served over rice.
We've omitted the pork and haven't used any meat alternative instead because it's also delicious just using veggies, spices and beans, but feel free to add vegan sausages, tempeh, tofu or whatever you have on hand.
The authentic recipe is made with dried beans, but we find more convenient using canned red or kidney beans. Besides, this way the recipe is made in just 25 minutes!
looking for more bean recipes?
- Simple vegan jambalaya
- Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans)
- Vegan refried beans
- Vegan baked beans
- Black bean burgers
did you make this vegan red beans and rice recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Vegan Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- ½ cup rice, uncooked, we used short grain white rice
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Dash of salt
- Dash of cayenne flakes, optional
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 and ¼ cups canned red beans, or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions. Set aside.
- Heat some oil, vegetable stock or water in a large pot, add the veggies (garlic, onion and green bell pepper) and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Add the spices and herbs (thyme, paprika, pepper, salt, cayenne and bay leaf).
- Finally, add the beans and vegetable stock or water, stir and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. To make the stew thicker, I usually mash some beans using an immersion blender, but feel free to use a fork or a potato masher or just omit this step.
- Serve the beans with the rice immediately. We added some chopped fresh parsley on top, but it's up to you. Feel free to add some hot sauce as well.
- Keep leftovers in a sealed container for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Notes
- This recipe is usually made with celery, but I'm not a huge celery fan, so I prefer my red beans and rice this way. Feel free to add 1-2 celery sticks if you like it.
- The classic red beans and rice recipe is made with meat. Feel free to use vegan sausages or any other meat alternative if you want.
- Nutritional info is not accurate. The amount of sodium is lower if you drain and rinse well the beans.
Nutrition
Henrietta Wolf says
I don't understand over 1100 mg sodium for one serving if you use only a dash of salt and water instead of broth.
Iosune says
Hi Henrietta! The sodium comes from using canned beans and vegetable stock, but if you use water and cook the beans from scratch, the amount of sodium is really low 🙂
Karen says
The recipe was a little plain the way I made it, I am not sure why. I stirred in some Harissa sauce that fixed it right up.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Karen! I'm so sorry about that 🙁
Robert says
I made this last week for a church gathering. I followed this exactly as written, but tripled it. VERY tasty meal. I made it again last night and topped it with sliced Beyond Meat sausages and a little cilantro. This will be a go-to. Thank you so much for taking the time to formulate and share this recipe...I could not stop eating it.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Robert! Sounds so good 🙂
pat e says
#2 and #4 on instructions say to add veg water. #2 says brown veggies so l am assuming a typo
Iosune Robles says
Hi! There is no typo 🙂 We use oil, vegetable stock, or water to cook the different veggies!
Maxwell LeRoy Bennett says
I made enough for a few days and it taste good. I enjoyed making this recipe of red beans and rice because of the simplicity of it with kidney beans instead of red beans. However, I did overcook and lose the sauce impact and I accidentally poured pepper in it so it was spiced for real. It is delicious and will make this again but won't overcook it well I only overcooked it for 5 minutes but not sure it could have been 20 minutes of overcooking.
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Thanks for your ind comment Maxwell 🙂
Martina says
Made this tonight! I didn’t have some of the spices so I used smoked paprika, chilli powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. I doubled the recipe for lunches this week and I’m so glad I did! It really thickened up and was so good with the rice. I had seconds! Thank you for sharing the recipe, this will be added to my weekly rotation!
Iosune Robles says
Thanks for your kind comment! Have a nice day 🙂
katie says
This was great! Even my meat loving husband enjoyed it. Thanks!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Katie! That's great 🙂 I'm glad you both liked it!