Reviewed: Sep. 12, 2003

Cajun-country reviewer here to say this is about as authentic as it gets, though technically a Cajun home cook doesn't use recipes or measurements. According to Louisiana tradition this would be served on a Monday -- supposedly an easy meal for laundry day because of the simmering time -- accompanied by sweet, plain, or cracklin' cornbread and a glass of iced sweet tea. Practically speaking, it's a tasty & inexpensive any-day meal. Oh, and, andouille is a cajun sausage made in Louisiana & pretty common in southeastern grocery stores; elsewhere, you might be able to find it in specialty stores or else ask if the manager of your grocery store can order it.

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Reviewer:

Cassandra

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Panama City, Florida, USA

Living In: Picayune, Mississippi, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 24, 2007

The andouille is a MUST for this to be authentic, Jacob's world famous andouille ships and is worth it when you can't get it locally. Also try vegetable oil instead of olive oil, it gives a different taste and instead of cooking the garlic first, throw it in during the simmer process to avoid the 'nutty' flavor of it frying, increase the bay leaves to 4 or 5 and use oregano instead of sage & thyme. When completely cooked the beans should be very soft with a creamy consistency, use the back of a wooden spoon to smash some of the beans against the side of the pot as you stir them. EXCELLENT, also try serving with a bottle of pickled peppers at the table, sprinkle a little of the peppers vinegar on the beans for added spice.

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Reviewer:

MommyDiva

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Living In: Carriere, Mississippi, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 11, 2008

Everyone loved this. We made it vegetarian-friendly... instead of water, I used veggie broth; instead of sausage, I used veggie sausage crumbles. You couldn't even tell because there are so many yummy flavors in this. I used more cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper than the recipe called for. I also used 4 cans of kidney beans rather than dried, and just added them when I added the sausage (I simmered the veggies in the broth with spices for about 1.5 hours, than added the beans and veggie sausage for the last half an hour).

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Reviewer:

HAWESA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Denver, Colorado, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2003

Awesome recipe! Very authentic, and I'm from the south. I decreased the oil to 2 Tbl. to cut down on the fat, decreased the cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp. (just personal preference), and used the "Simple Cajun Seasoning" recipe found on this site. I cooked everything with the lid on for the first hour to keep the water from evaporating, then cooked 1 more hour with the lid off (2 hours total was perfect). I used turkey smoked sausage to, again, cut down on the fat (added the last 30 minutes of cooking). After cooking, I added 1 1/2 tsp. salt. The next time I made this, I was half asleep and used pinto beans when I should have used red beans - still came out great! Thanks so much for the recipe!

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Reviewer:

KRANEY

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Houston, Texas, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 18, 2007

This dish was absolutely delicious and packed full of flavor. With any recipe..you have to make it your own. A little of this and a little of that goes a long way. Of course it needs salt..you should add that before anything else is done...Most of these recipes are base recipes..something that you can build from. It's up to you to make it worth your while. With my revisions it was the perfect consistency, perfect flavor, just the right amount of spices..I did omit the celery and garlic clove. I used dried minced garlic, red and green bell peppers, lots of cayenne, Tony's creole seasoning and chicken broth...not that store bought stuff but just regular water with better than boullion chicken base..(can be found in just about any grocery store) instead of water, I also used a little sage and cumin. I replaced the olive oil and used butter. I seasoned my vegetables while they were carmelizing. I loved it and my fiance thought it was the best thing since white bread,,,needless to say I will be making this again.

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Reviewer:

Mimi Lareux

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Tuskegee, Alabama, USA

Living In: Crestview, Florida, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 1, 2007

This was awesome. I thought i would never be able to duplicate grams red beans and rice! Nothing i tried came close to her cajun cookin. The only thin i did different was to smash the beans against the side of the pan once they started gettin soft. Thats how she did it and it produces a thick gravey type sauce. Smelled awesome while it was cookin. Took less than 2 hours to cook, probably cuz i used small red beans instead of large kidney beans. had to add a little more water or it would have been to thick. We also dont have andoulli in MI, ive only seen it in LA. I used eckridge smoked sausage and it still was great! This is now my new recipe! THANKS

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Reviewer:

April

Reviewed: Sep. 14, 2003

YES. but,, The other tradition is that a ham was served for Sunday dinner (OBTW Sunday dinner is served about 2:00 in the afternoon on Sunday) and on Monday morning the remaining ham and ham bone and all of the other ingredients were put into the pot at the same time and allowed to cook all day. The beans had to have been soaking overnight.

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Reviewer:

LeChef

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2012

This was about as authentic as I have had outside of NO! Only difference was I used chicken STOCK (not broth) which made for a more flavorful dish. Definitely worth making!

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Reviewer:

Crystal S

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Bakersfield, California, USA

Living In: Roseville, California, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 10, 2006

This was a great recipe! Like most, I made a few modifications to suit my tastes. I doubled the cajun seasoning but used the lowered sodium version and found it still needed salt so I added a tablespoon of kosher salt and about 1/2 tsp. black pepper. I also added about 2 T. worcestershire sauce and used half the oil. I wanted to cut the fat content, so I used Jennie-O lean smoked turkey sausage instead of andouille.

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Reviewer:

Angie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Houston, Texas, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 21, 2010

A little tip from someone who was born, raised and still lives in south Louisiana... instead of oil, brown the sausage and saute the trinity in the rendered pork fat from the sausage! You'll never use oil again!!!

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