Quick Red Beans and Rice

Name: Quick Red Beans and Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups (uncooked) white rice, preferably long grain; 12 ounces bacon; 2 medium onions (or 1 onion and 1 green bell pepper); 1 teaspoon coriander; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (see notes for discussion of how much salt to add); 1/3 cup tomato paste; 2 cans kidney beans, undrained; 1/2 cup water

Published: Apr 8, 2020 · Modified: May 15, 2020 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links

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This recipe for Quick Red Beans and Rice is as quick and easy as it is satisfying! Bacon (or sausage), onion and lots of spices transform canned beans into a pantry dinner worth getting excited about.

Red beans in skillet with rice and empty bowls on the side

Red beans and rice is a simple yet satisfying meal. But, if you don't have time to soak and cook dried beans, you can still enjoy this comforting and hearty dish! This recipe for Quick Red Beans and Rice comes together in a hurry using canned kidney beans and a few other basic ingredients.

While I cannot claim that this is an authentic recipe by any means, I can say it is absolutely delicious, super easy, and I think you will really love it!

What you'll love about this recipe:

You need a total of 30 minutes or less to pull an entire dinner together
Even though the cooking time is short, this recipe is packed with hearty flavors thanks to the spices and smoky richness of the bacon.
These red beans have a thick, satisfying gravy thanks to the addition of tomato paste, that mixes so well with fluffy white rice!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need for this easy and quick red beans and rice recipe:

Canned kidney beans
Onion and/or bell pepper
Bacon: sausage is the usual go-to for red beans and rice, but I really love the smoky, rich quality bacon adds. You can definitely substitute whatever meat you have in the house. See the next section "Substitution ideas" for more discussion on alternatives.
Seasoning: you'll need salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin and coriander. If you don't have some of these, see the next section for some other ideas!
Water
Tomato paste: this really does wonders to thicken up the sauce!
White rice: I prefer long-grain rice for this dish; I had jasmine on hand so that's what I used this time. Any type of white rice you've got in your pantry should work!

Substitution ideas

I love this recipe because it's versatile. If you don't have all of the ingredients I used, you can use what you do have and it will still taste great.

Vegetable substitutions

I had to make adjustments myself - I usually make this recipe with one onion and one green bell pepper. But, I couldn't get any bell pepper this week. So, I just used two onions instead! This will work the other way also: if you don't have any onions, just double up on bell pepper. You could also add in celery to fill in for missing onion or bell pepper.

Spice substitutions

As I mentioned in the Ingredients section above, the recipe calls for salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, and garlic powder. Now, I'm assuming you have salt in your pantry. But, if you don't have one of the spices I listed, there's a couple things you could do.

First, if you are only missing one, you could simply add a little bit more of each of the other spices to make up the difference. Or you could try subbing in one of these other spices instead: paprika (bonus points for smoked paprika!), chili powder, Cajun seasoning, dried thyme.

Meat substitutions

If you don't have bacon, or you're not a fan, you can substitute a few different things. The most obvious substitute would be sausage - any kind would work, although andouille would be especially nice.

Fresh (uncooked) sausage

If you have uncooked sausage, remove it from the casing and saute it just like you would for bacon, stirring frequently and breaking it up into chunks with a wooden spoon or spatula. You may not need to cook it quite as long as the recipe calls for the bacon - just as long as it's brown and the fat has rendered out.

Depending on how fatty the sausage you have is, you may not need to drain out any grease either. I like a little bit of grease personally!

Pre-cooked or smoked sausage

If you want to use sausage that is already cooked (like andouille), just cut the sausage up into slices and brown it in the pan, then proceed with the other steps in the recipe. You don't need to actually cook the meat, just get a nice color on the outside and you're good to go.

Other meat substitution ideas

Ok, so you don't have bacon or sausage but you still really want to make this recipe. Now what? Here are some other wild ideas I had: cubed ham, shredded leftover pork roast, cut up hot dogs? Why not! Anything that gives a little bit of a meaty taste will add a lot to the dish.

If you're using meat without a lot of fat in it, just add some oil to the pan first to help the meat brown before moving on to the next step of the recipe. Again, if the meat you're using has already been cooked, all you need to do is get some nice color on the outside.

Rice substitutions

I like using white rice for this recipe because it cooks fast enough that the whole dish can be ready in 30 minutes or less. And I prefer the fluffiness of long-grain rice, but you can use any type of white rice you like!

You can also use other types of rice, like brown rice or wild rice. Or, substitute any grain you have in the pantry! Quinoa, farro, and couscous come to mind. But just remember, if you are subbing in another grain besides white rice, check the package directions ahead of time to see how long it takes to cook. You may have to start cooking the grain early so you can time everything to be ready at once.

Helpful tips

Here are a couple quick tips to help you make this recipe perfectly the first time:

While the bacon cooks, some nice crusty brown spots should develop on the bottom of your pan (especially if you aren't using a non-stick pan!). These are flavor gold mines! Once you add the liquid to the pan, these brown bits will start to loosen. Help this along by scraping them up with your wooden spoon. This will really add some deep flavor to the finished dish!

Brown bits on the bottom of the pan with bacon

When you're finished cooking the bacon, you will need to drain out the excess grease. But, I like to leave a little bit in for extra flavor and richness! Here's how much I like to leave behind:

Cooked bacon in pan with bacon grease collected in the corner of the pan

The finished dish should have a sauce that's nice and thick, like this:

Spooning Quick Red Beans and Rice in Pan

If your sauce is too thin, just let it simmer gently on the stove for a little bit longer, stirring frequently.
If your sauce is too thick, stir in some extra water. But go slow and add only a little bit at a time so you don't overdo it and end up with a too-thin sauce!

Quick Red Beans and Rice in two bowls with skillet of beans on the side

I hope you like this recipe for Quick Red Beans and Rice. If you’ve tried it, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments down below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious recipes from Nibble and Dine!

And if you're in the market for a few other 30 minute dinner meals, I have recipes for you! Check out this recipe for Lemon Butter Chicken, or this one for 30 Minute Stovetop Enchiladas!

Quick Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients