Beans and Rice Recipe
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Food on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 9:51 PM
Yesterday when I posted about onions, quite a few of you asked in the comments section for the beans and rice recipe I mentioned.
First of all, I want to point you to this post from two weeks ago, where I shared one recipe I enjoy and many readers contributed other recipes that look delicious. So you should definitely check that out.
Since you asked for it, though, I’ll also share the one-dish beans and recipe that I gave to my friend. It’s pretty basic, but very adaptable, so you can change it up however you like.
I’ve written it the way I make it, and put my suggested variations at the end. I hope you enjoy it!
Beans and Rice
makes four entree-sized or six to eight side-dish servings
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Cajun or Creole seasoning (I order mine from Penzey’s, but Tony Chachere’s on the grocery store shelf is good)
1 cup long grain rice
1 15oz can chicken broth
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste
1. Pour chicken broth in two-cup liquid measuring cup. Open the can of diced tomatoes and drain the juice into the cup with the chicken broth to make two cups liquid, adding water if necessary to make up the difference. Set aside.
2. Over medium-high heat, heat oil in a large deep skillet (the skillet must have a cover) or in a medium saucepan. Add onion and saute several minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook briefly, then add cajun seasoning and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and stir until coated with seasoning.
3. Add broth and juice mixture to the pan and stir to deglaze. Add tomatoes and beans and stir to combine. Increase heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Decrease heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. (No peeking!) If rice is still slightly crunchy after 20 minutes, replace cover and cook 2-3 minutes more.
4. Serve hot!
My ideas for variations:
- Add chopped celery and/or bell pepper and saute with the onion.
- Substitute other spices for the Cajun or Creole seasoning
- Substitute other liquid - such as vegetable broth, tomato juice, or water - for the chicken broth. As long as your ratio of liquid to rice is 2:1, you’re good.
- Leave out the tomatoes, or use fresh ones.
- Use other beans, canned or dried, instead of the kidney beans. You’ll need about 2 cups of already-cooked beans, whatever sort they are.
- If you don’t need the recipe to be meatless and you want it to be more filling, add sliced smoked sausage. I like to saute it at the beginning with the onion for extra flavor.
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