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 vegan rice recipes? Check out my Vegan Fried Rice, Vegan Paella, and Spanish Rice and Beans for tasty plant-based dishes!
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!
📖 Recipe
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 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 , 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
Lisa Marlow says
I made this recipe recently and loved it! It was so simple and delicious and easy to have the staples on hand to make a quick meal. I used to keep a can of Blue Runner Creole style Red beans in the pantry to have over rice but now I will make it myself. For this recipe I used 1 can red beans and 1 can kidney beans, since that's what I had. I also mashed the whole dish with a potato masher, leaving small bits, which gave a creamy texture. Thanks for sharing!
Iosune says
Hi Lisa! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Ellie says
I cooked this for the first time today and it was simple and delicious! Instead of cooking it on high heat for 10 minutes I simmered it as low as possible for much longer and it came out nicely. To bring out some of the flavors, I added a dash of lime juice. Perfect! Will definitely be adding this to my repertoire. 🙂
Iosune says
Hi Ellie! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you liked it!
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 🙂
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!
Nora says
We vooked this today, very nice, thank you!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Nora! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 Have a nice day!
Irina says
Just got the pot off the stove and sat down to enjoy a huge bowl of this awesomeness! I skipped the chilli and added 3 cups of liquid but otherwise followed the recipe. Oh my god the flavors are gorgeous! Cumin totally rocks! Thanks for the recipe
Iosune Robles says
Hi Irina! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
M Gair says
I used this as a base to use up a few dying veggies from the bottom of my crisper. I added a shallot, a small parsnip, a carrot and some celery. My veggie broth was a cube in some boiling water and my beans were pre cooked dried beans from the freezer. I threw in a teaspoon of chili powder.Even with all the frankly sub standard ingredients, it still turned out wonderfully well. Thanks for the inspiration.
Iosune Robles says
Thanks for your comment 🙂 Have a nice day!
Shaelyn Varner says
I added oregano, smoked paprika, pink beans and potatoes as well. This was seriously delicious! My picky toddler enjoyed it! That says a lot! Thank you for sharing this simple yet amazing recipe.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Shaelyn! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 I am so glad you all liked it!
Thomas Spencer says
This recipe was quick, easy, and delicious. It was even better the next day as leftovers. I followed the recipe exactly. The sauteed veggies to golden brown give it an incredible taste and if you did not brown the veggies you have missed that taste.
Iosune Robles says
So glad you liked it Thomas 🙂 Have a nice day!
Natasha Toro says
It was super easy to make and delicious! I love celery so I did add that in with the other vegetables.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Natasha, sounds so good 🙂 Have a nice day!
david says
ridiculously tasty for something so simple..
Iosune Robles says
Hi David, thanks for your words 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Lucas says
AMAZING! I live in South Florida and have a coconut tree in my backyard and I decided to use coconut water instead of broth and it gave it a slightly sweet flavor and stickier texture. Overall this recipe is easy and delicious! Will definitely make again.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Lucas!! That sounds outstandingly delicious!!! Thank you!!! Have a great day!
Tanysha Jeffree says
I added a can of tomatoes and used 1can kidney beans and 1can black beans as it was all I had! but this recipe is fantastic! Thanks
Iosune Robles says
Hi Tanysha!!Thank you so much!! Have a nice day!
Jennifer says
I'm back to get this recipe again because it was a winner with my family! I have one vegan and three carnivores to satisfy, so that says a lot about how good this recipe is. I used smoked paprika and it made it taste very authentic.
Iosune says
Hi Jennifer! So glad you guys liked it 🙂
Miren Beristain says
Great recipe! Thank you! Makes wonderful leftovers.
Hannah says
I hardly ever take the time to review recipes, but this is fabulous! I followed the recipe exactly, only I added a couple ribs of diced celery. It was so delicious and perfectly seasoned. Thank you!
Iosune says
Hi Hannah! Thank you so much 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Jenny says
This was a very good recipe! Mashing the beans really makes the texture perfect. I used smoked paprika which gave it a good smokey taste.
Iosune says
Hi Jenny! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Andrea says
I think there is a mistake: you added the stock twice - and the first time, I believe you meant to sauté the onions and garlic before adding liquid.
Iosune says
Hi Andrea! It's okay. In step number 2 I used oil, but I said oil, stock or water for those who don't use oil 🙂 Then you need to add the 1 cup of stock in step number 4. Have a nice day!
Betty M Wheeler says
OMG Who said you have to put meat in beans to make them good. This was slap me in the face good.. I used a whole habanero pepper, so it was quite spicy. But thats the way i like my beans. This is a keeper Very tasty.
Iosune says
Hi Betty! So glad you liked it 🙂
Jonathan says
I made this recipe today and it was tasty! Made it with vegan Italian sausage and mixed the rice in!!
Iosune says
Hi Jonathan! Thanks a lot 🙂 Sounds amazing!
LaSandra says
I love this recipe! I did add a little sea moss gel to make my sauce a little bit thicker.
Iosune says
Hi Lasandra! So glad you liked it 🙂
Lisa Greenough says
Simply delicious. I love your recipes. Shared on IG...added cabbage too. Thank you. 🌱👌🏻😀
Iosune says
Hi Lisa! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you like our recipes. Have a nice day!
Amund says
After living in China for more than 4 years, I really love rice!
Thanks a lot for the recipe. I don’t very often comment on blogs, but I found yours in a list of “top 50 vegan blogs”. Now that I want to try to be vegan for a month (for the environment, not necessarily for my health), I will gather a lot of blogs in my bookmark list. Yours is one of them!
Iosune says
Hi Amund! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like our blog 😀 Have a nice day!
I'm learning says
Please can u tell me... When is stock added... At the start and u boil onions, or at end with beans. You have mentioned stock twice in instructions, Confused
Iosune says
Hi there! You need to add the stock in step number 4, but to cook the veggies you can use oil or some extra stock or water 🙂 Hope it helps!