A deliciously satisfying and budget-friendly main dish or side. This easy Vegan Red Beans and Rice recipe is a healthy version of the traditional Louisiana dish. It's quick to prep, and most cooking time is hands-off. I make this weekly as part of my meal prep. Refrigerate for 5 days, or freeze. The stove top and Instant Pot directions are below.
This is a solid bean recipe worthy of being in your weekly rotation. Serve it with Quinoa Rice for more protein, and embellish it with my 5-Minute Lemon Herb Tahini, or this Healthy Green Goddess Dressing for even more delciousness. Finally, top with pickled red onion for an incredibly healthy and tasty meal.
This healthy vegan version of the classic New Orleans Red Beans and Rice was inspired by this Best Tofu Chili recipe with 35 grams of plant-based protein on my site, as well as this easy 6-ingredient recipe for Vegan Chili with Peanut Butter.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Red kidney beans
- Onion
- Bell pepper
- Celery
- Dried thyme
- Dried oregano
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne
- Bay leaf
- Vegetable broth or bouillon cube
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional)
- Rice and/or quinoa
See the recipe card at the bottom for quantities.
🌶️ Substitutions
- Rice - instead of white rice, serve with quinoa rice, farro, brown or red rice, barley, or a different grain of your choice
- Nonspicy - Omit the cayenne pepper and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Add 3 tablespoons tomato paste instead at the same time as the seasoning.
- Red beans - use adzuki beans or red kidney beans
- Pickled red onion or shallots - add pickled red onion for a tang
- Sweet potato - add roasted sweet potato at the end for veggies and creaminess
- Vegan sausage - add storebought vegan sausage as desired
For more healthy bean recipes, visit my Vegan Beans Recipes page.
📖 How to Make Vegan Red Beans and Rice
For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview.
Soak dried beans for at least 8 hours or overnight, or use canned beans. Drain and rinse the beans.
Step 2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, pepper, celery, and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened.
Step 3. Add the chopped chipotle peppers (if using), thyme, oregano, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Step 4. Add the beans and 5 cups of vegetable broth and stir well. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beans are softened. Stir occasionally and add more broth or water as needed.
Step 5. Mash the beans with the side of a spatula to make them creamier. Season with lime juice, salt, and pepper.
For serving: Serve them with a grain of your choice. Top with a green tahini sauce, or green goddess dressing, and pickled red onion as desired.
⏱️ How to Make Vegan Red Beans and Rice in an Instant Pot
No soaking is required. Rinse the dry beans.
Add ingredients to the Instant Pot. Place the rinsed red beans in the inner bowl of the Instant Pot. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, chipotle peppers (if using), thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, bay leaves, and 4 cups of vegetable broth.
Pressure cook the beans. Manually set the Instant Pot to HIGH pressure for 70 minutes (if using adzuki beans cook for 60 minutes). Close the vent to SEAL. Once done, let the pressure cooker steam vent naturally for about 20 – 25 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and season with lime juice, salt, and pepper. The beans will soak up the remaining liquids as they cool. For a thicker sauce, mash some of the beans against the wall of the instant pot bowl with the side of a spatula or fork.
Cook the rice. While the beans are pressure cooking, make the rice according to package directions using at least 1 to 2 cups of dry rice.
💡 Expert Tips
- Equipment: Invest in a basic vegetable chopper to save time. The prep time for this dish is 5 minutes with a chopper.
- For serving, layer the beans over a bed of Quinoa Rice for more protein and vitamins.
- Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce are widely available, inexpensive, and take this dish to the next level. I recommend adding some if you enjoy spice.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Mash the cooked beans with a spatula or fork to thicken the sauce or add roasted sweet potatoes and mash, or puree a portion of the beans with an immersion blender.
In the context of the classic Creole dish 'Red Beans and Rice,' the red beans typically refer to small red kidney beans. These beans are kidney-shaped and have a deep red color.
Red beans are an excellent source of plant-based protein and fiber. They contribute to satiety, helping you feel full for longer periods and supporting digestive health. They are also rich in nutrients such as iron, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
Including various vegetables in the dish, such as onions, bell peppers, and celery, adds vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, enhancing the overall nutritional content.
🍽 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Red Beans and Rice
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Ingredients
- 1 lb dry red kidney beans soaked overnight, or 4 (15-ounce) cans
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion small dice
- 1 medium green bell pepper small dice
- 4 stalks celery small dice
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce canned, minced, or 1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 5 to 6 cups vegetable broth or 2 bouillon cubes plus 5 to 6 cups water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional for serving:
- Fresh lime juice to taste
- 6 cups cooked rice or quinoa rice
- Pickled red onion
Instructions
- For the soaked dry or canned beans: Drain and rinse the beans. Set aside.
- Cook aromatics: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, pepper, celery, and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened.
- Add chopped chipotle peppers (if using), thyme, oregano, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- For soaked dry beans: Add the beans and 5 cups vegetable broth and stir well. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beans are softened. Stir occasionally and add more broth or water as needed. Remove the bay leaves once the beans are done cooking.
- For canned beans: Add the beans and about 2 cups vegetable broth or enough to cover the beans and stir well. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the beans are flavorful. Stir occasionally and add more broth or water as needed. Remove the bay leaves once the beans are done cooking.
- Mash the beans with the side of a spatula or fork to make them creamier.
- Season the beans with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Serve them with rice, or quinoa rice. Garnish with chopped pickled red onion as desired.
Notes
-
- Nutrition info does not include rice.
- To soak dried beans: Add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Soak for at least 8 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Equipment: Invest in a basic vegetable chopper to save time. The prep time for this dish is 5 minutes with a chopper.
- For serving, layer the beans over a bed of Quinoa Rice for more protein and vitamins.
- Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce are widely available, inexpensive, and take this dish to the next level. I recommend adding some if you enjoy spice.
- Storage: Refrigerate Vegan Red Beans and Rice in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Jesse says
Love the recipe, super yum! Would you consider enabling right-click? It's super frustrating not being able to open links with right click or copying it to my recipe book. Rgds, Jesse
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you. The issue with enabling it is I get a lot of my content stolen for use elsewhere.
Marina Velez says
My whole family liked this recipe! And I loved having a different option for beans. I like that it is flexible - I was able to add what I had in the garden and on hand, and it turned out delicious.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad o hear! Nothing like a comforting bowl of beans and rice!
Dani says
Kids and I love these beans! They're delicious with ripe plantains, fried or boiled, too!
Question: If I'm using soaked dry beans, can I do the 2 hour cooking time in a crock pot? Probably on low?
Thanks!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I have not used a Crock Pot before but when I looked this up, it said 3 to 4 hours for soaked beans cooked on high in a Crock Pot. I love these beans with plantains too!
Charlene says
The flavor was rich and the recipe was simple and easy to make. I cannot eat Kidney beans so I swapped them out for Lentils and it worked really well.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
It must be delicious with lentils too! Thank you for sharinig that!
RiaSunflower says
This was quite tasty and my carnivore friend rated it 10/10 🌟, which was impressive since he always says he doesn't like beans and didn't initially want any. It made a welcome change from the usual curried or chilli beans. I missed out the Chipotle peppers (never seen it where I live) and replaced two of the stalks of celery with carrots. I also added mixed herbs and some soya milk to make it a little creamer.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yay! So happy it was a success for your friend too. Love your substitutions. Thank you for sharing them.
Emma says
Love this recipe! 2 hours is a long time on a week day night. Any recommendations for using an instant pot?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi. There is a section in the blog post on how to make this using an Instant Pot.
Josie says
This was absolutely delicious. Our smoked paprika is quite spicy, so I would hold back on some of the chipotle or paprika and season to taste to make sure you don't overspice.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your suggestions.
Cynthia says
I made this for my husband and me. Neither one of us is Vegan, however my Dr asked me to go plant based and here we are. I have been trying many bean recipes and liked them, but we both loved this one. It has a great seasoning blend and her method makes it creamy and filling. I am passing it on to friends 🧡
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for leaving a comment. Makes my day to know how much you enjoyed it!
Sandra says
I made this using drained and rinsed canned beans. Even tho in the comments, it says to use the same amount of stock for canned beans as soaked dry beans, I was hesitant. I only used 4 cups of stock and it was way too watery. I made it in an instant pot. If there is an adjustment for liquid in the instant pot, I didn’t see it. I will now leave it on the sauté function for a while to see if I can get the liquid to reduce.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I'm so sorry it should have read about 2 cups vegetable broth for canned beans. I just updated it.
Ashley says
I grew up in south Louisiana eating red beans and rice, and after going plant based I could never find a recipe that tasted authentic. Until now. I make this recipe once a week- it is sooooo good. I actually do everything in my instant pot, including sautéing the aromatics. After sautéing I switch the mode to pressure cook and add the beans, cooking for 75 minutes. Perfect every time. I love this blog soooo much! Thanks for your recipes. It’s so nice being able to find high protein vegan recipes!!!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
It made my morning to read your lovely comment. Thank you. I love my work so much more when I see how it is directly helping people. Have a great week. Thanks for leaving your instructions for others.
Sandra says
Thank you Nisha! I made it again with the 2 cups of stock I. The instant pot and it came out delish. Chef’s kiss. Even my non-vegan partner had 2 helpings.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww yayyyy! Sorry about the first time.
Reena says
Hi! I want to make this recipe in my pressure cooker as well but just wanted to confirm the time. Did you mean you cooked the beans in the pressure cooker for 75 mins? The pressure cooker setting in my Breville cooker for beans is only 20 mins and even then I have to reduce it because the beans always come out too mushy. Thank you in advance for your time!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi! Adjust this for your pressure cooker timings!
Megan says
This was really good! Even my husband liked it, and it’s tough to find WFPB recipes that he likes. I left out thyme because he doesn’t care for it.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Truly so happy to hear that you both enjoyed this one. Thank you.
Anna says
If I add one of your dressings with Tahini or nuts when serving the curry will that hinder the absorption of iron from the beans ? (I have anaemia,& im also concerned about adding calcium rich dressings to green salads,eg nut/seed or tahini based dressings,can you please shed some light for me ? )
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Here is an interesting study; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7230787/
Lemon juice, onion, and garlic will likely trump effects of the tahini. You can even go a step further and add some of my healthy pickled onion to you dishes for serving. https://cookingforpeanuts.com/pickled-red-onions/
M says
Love this recipe! Was a big hit with non-vegan husband. He requested a batch this week!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww super happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Maribel Maldonado says
Hi, is the same amount of water if I use canned beans?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yes it is, but remember to drain the beans.
Abby says
Do I cook the dish on medium high for 2 hours after covering or lower the temp?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi! I just update the recipe to include this information. Thank you.
Josée says
Made in insta pot and turned out great!!! Super easy and delicious 🙂
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad it worked out! Thanks for letting everyone know. Feel free to share your method:)
Sandra says
Hi there, do you know what the instructions would be if I made this delicious recipe in my instant pot?
Angel says
Delicious. I omitted the chipotle peppers since I didn’t have any on hand, but added hot sauce to taste at the end. I also made the quinoa rice. What a brilliant way to squeeze in some protein!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for leaving a comment. So happy to hear you already made it and enjoyed it! Yes- lots of protein here:)
Zach says
This looks amazing and a perfect recipe to keep in the freezer for the winter. Plus I love any excuse to use my Instant Pot!
I think something might be off in your nutritional facts though as one pound of dry kidney beans alone should be close to 200 calories per serving at 6 servings. Did you maybe mean this makes 8 servings?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank for pointing this out. The program I used entered it as 1 pound cooked beans instead of 1 pound dried beans! I have now corrected it!