Cajun Vegan Red Beans and Rice
A plant based version of a Louisiana classic that is full of authentic flavor and just the right amount of cajun spice. This recipe for Cajun Vegan Red Beans and Rice is a comforting, slow cooked, delicious delight. It's downright OMG good!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (1 ½ cup)
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
- 3 stalks of celery, diced (1 cup)
- 1 lb red beans
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cups water
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoon low sodium tamari or low sodium soy sauce
Garnish
- Hot sauce to taste
- Fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Soak the dry red beans in a large pot of water the night before. Make sure the water covers the beans by at least 2 inches. The beans will expand as they soak. Then drain the next day and set aside.
- Saute the garlic, celery, green bell pepper, and onion over medium heat in the olive oil for about 5 minutes in a large pot or dutch oven. The onions should be translucent and just softened.
- Add the soaked red beans, baking soda, vegetable stock, water, thyme, bay leaf, and smoked paprika. Now, bring to a boil over high heat. Then once the beans reach a boil, turn down the heat and simmer on low for 2 hours with the lid cracked. Stir from time to time making sure that no beans are sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the water gets low add more as needed.
- After cooking for 2 hours the beans should be nice and tender. If not, just keep cooking for another 10 to 20 minutes. Once the beans are good and soft, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. This will thicken the beans to create the classic authentic texture of red beans.
- Next, add the cajun seasoning, low sodium tamari, liquid smoke, and cayenne. Then allow the beans to simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Taste your beans one last time and season with salt if needed. You likely won't need to add any salt because the vegetable stock, tamari, and cajun seasoning has salt in it. However, if you used a no salt or low salt version of any of those ingredients you will likely need more.
- Serve the red beans topped with a scoop of warm rice, a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley, and a dash of hot sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
*The soaking time of the beans is not factored into the time it takes to prepare this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 13.5g | Fat: 4.7g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 9.5g | Sugar: 3.2g | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 4mg
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