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White beans, seasoned with the Trinity, garlic, green onion, parsley, bacon and andouille sausage, and served over white rice. |
Cajun White Beans with Andouille
I always have to chuckle when I make these Cajun White Beans because I swear, leave it to us southerners to take a product called Great Northern beans and turn them into a well loved Cajun dish! I love these beans and I especially love to take the leftovers, simmer them on the stovetop with some chicken stock for one mighty fine soup y'all! Delish.Made similar to red beans and rice, but with much less liquid, resulting in a much thicker, almost stew-like bean dish. If you prefer a thinner bean gravy, just simply use more water and serve them up once they thicken. As the beans sit, they will also continue to thicken, of course.

To thin a bit, stir in just a little chicken broth; to make into soup, stir in more. The flavor is already infused into the beans so the broth does not dilute the flavor.

A favorite and most delicious way to serve Cajun White Beans are with shrimp boulettes right in the bowl and a side of cornbread wouldn't hurt either. This is also a great base for beans and greens and white beans and shrimp. See the cook's notes at the bottom of the recipe for details.

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Recipe: Cajun White Beans with Andouille
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 1 hour 30 min | Yield: About 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1 pound package of dried white beans (Great Northern or Navy)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 pound of mild andouille or other spicy smoked sausage
- 2 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- Palmful of dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- Hot sauce, for the table
Rinse and sort through the beans, soak overnight or add to a stockpot and cover with water plus about 1 inch. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes uncovered, turn off heat, cover and let soak for one hour. Drain and return to the pot.
Heat canola in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Quarter and slice sausage into small bite sized pieces, add to hot oil and cook until browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the stockpot with the beans. To the drippings in the skillet, add the bacon and cook until rendered. Remove the bacon, set aside, and add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the skillet. Cook until just browned and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Transfer veggies to the beans and sausage; add the cooked bacon. Deglaze the skillet with a bit of water and scrape up any browned bits. Add that to the bean pot.
Cover everything with fresh water, plus about an inch and a half, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender and gravy is thickened. Add additional water if needed to thin. Stir in the green onion, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over hot rice with cornbread and pass the hot sauce at the table.
Cook's Notes: Andouille sausage is a highly spiced smoked sausage that is blended with Cajun spices, adding a spicy kick and great flavor to these dishes. If you substitute kielbasa or other smoked sausages in recipes where it calls for Andouille, it will affect the outcome of the flavor of your dish and you’ll need to make adjustments in the seasonings you use. I prefer Camellia brand white northern beans. Use about a pound of ham hocks, or several ham shanks together with or instead of the andouille, adjust seasonings to taste as needed. To extract the most flavor, I also like to simmer the ham hocks or bones alone in water for about an hour, before adding the veggies and beans.
Beans and Greens: Prepare as above, except at the end of cooking time, stir in 1-1/2 cups (or to taste), cooked and well drained collards, turnip or mustard greens. Canned is fine.
Shrimp and White Beans: At the end of cooking time, add a can of drained Rotel tomatoes, 1/2 pound of fresh, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp and 1 teaspoon Old Bay, cooking until shrimp is completely cooked through.
For Soup: Prepare as above for soaking beans and prepping meats and veggies. Cover beans with fresh water and add in 1 quart of chicken stock or broth. Proceed with recipe, adding more water if needed as they cook. Can also substitute canned white beans - you want 2 to 3, drained and rinsed. Cook only long enough to warm the beans through.
For the Slow Cooker: Rinse, drain and sort through beans. Add the unsoaked beans to a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Add beans, sauteed sausage and/or shanks or hocks, and veggies to the slow cooker. Cover the beans with 5 to 7 cups of very hot water - you'll need more or less depending on whether you’ve soaked your beans and whether you are using a large ham bone. You want to cover the beans by about an inch or so. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, or until the beans are tender. Before serving, stir in the green onion, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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My father loved white beans, especially if served on Saturday. Why Saturday? I may never know because he's passed on. My dear mom didn't like to prepare dried beans, so there were "discussions" sometimes, but dad usually won. I'm glad b/c those were good beans. Also good with fried fish.
ReplyDeleteWhen in New Orleans try the white beans at Cafe Reconcile. It's a Catholic Charity place, but the food brings in all kinds of people.It's in Central City but famous people eat there quite a bit so it's safe during the day. Best white beans I ever had, besides Mama's of course.
Love this recipe. I'm a fan of white beans so most certainly will give this a try. Wish I had some authentic andouille sausage however. Our Whole Foods has a pretty good version but not like I tasted in New Orleans. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteROFLMAO Mary, oh gosh you are too funny! The beans look fabulous. I love all kinds of beans and eat them daily. Northern beans are delish, especially Cajun style. I prefer the thick consistency with white beans. Maybe my food preferences are the reason I got along so well moving down here!
ReplyDeleteI love white beans, love, love, love them. So I am totally going to be all over this!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great twist on my mom's ham and beans that we ate almost weekly with corn bread all through harvest season when I was growing up. Love it!
ReplyDeleteSounds and looks great Mary. For the folks who want to get the benefits of greens, such as kale, but aren't crazy about it, such as Bev, we chop some up and add it to similar white bean dishes and it works very well.
ReplyDeleteLove white beans and they look delish!!! That's all I need, oh, and a piece of cornbread! Love your cooking Mary!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd love a bowl of this and my bottle of Fire Ant Juice. Such a great recipe, Mary, thanks for posting this one!
ReplyDeleteWell now...this looks mighty tasty, I love beans, and with rice...comforting good food..and this has andoulle..so maybe I can get DH to give this a try....Welcome home from San Fran, can't wait to see what you'll cook up...what fun a food conference...is there anything better than that?? Fun & Food...on the agenda...it is all good...
ReplyDeleteSaw this recipe and it reminded me of the white beans I used to get at my favorite restaurant called Cigars in Grand Isle so I decided to give it a try. It tasted EXACTLY like them!!! My whole family raved about them. Thanks for another perfect recipe!
ReplyDeletethis is some good stick to your ribs eating Mary. haven't found a bean I don't like. Cooler weather is coming in nothing like a nice pot of beans to warm you up. Great recipe, can't wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteI have a pot of these on right now, didnt have any green onion so I sauteed a half of a yellow onion with the celery and bellpepper. Hope that will work and I've not messed them up!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they'll be fine without the green onion! Let me know if you liked them!!
ReplyDeleteI make my beans like you do but also add Rotel Tomato to them. Then right before serving, (maybe 5-10 Minutes) I add shrimp.
ReplyDeleteYum - how can you go wrong with those two ingredients?!
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try this recipe forever but I was nervous as I had never taken on a recipe that took this long to prepare before. I finally went ahead and made this tonight and am so glad I did. It is beyond wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you took the plunge and enjoyed them! Thanks so much for stopping back by to let me know. I hope that you'll feel more comfortable about venturing into some other things now!
ReplyDeleteI have recently found this blog through pinterest and I am IN LOVE with your recipes. My family is all from Jefferson Parish, right outside New Orleans, and just looking at these recipes brings back so many memories, not to mention the DROOL! Yum! I'm making these for supper tonight.
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much Violet! You'll find a lot of Louisiana influence here for sure since I'm from & grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I hope that you enjoy the beans!
DeleteAfter you put all the meat and veggies in the pot with the beans, are you supposed to put the lid back on the pot? I'm trying to figure out why mine isn't turning out too well.
ReplyDeleteNo lid - you need them to open simmer so that they thicken. Just let them simmer - they should be at a slow bubble! It might actually take a little more time, beans are like that, but just let them keep going. Can you be more specific about what is not turning out & maybe I can help? Let me know if you made any adaptations too!
DeleteI made this last night and it turned out AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It will definitely be a part of the fall rotation.
ReplyDeleteHi Tymica! I'm so glad you enjoyed them - thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. I appreciate that!
DeleteI made this last night and it was AMAZING! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It will definitely be included in this fall's rotation.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI love white beans! My husband doesn't. He says his maternal Grandmother made ham and beans every single week when he was small and he grew a dislike for them. However, he loves mine! I think its all about technique and flavor. This recipe is a winner. I promoted your website again on my fb page. Your recipes are the bomb girl! Thanks for all you do!
Thank you Teresa! I appreciate you sharing Deep South Dish & I especially appreciate your encouragement. It helps!!
DeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI love white beans! My husband doesn't. He says his maternal Grandmother made ham and beans every single week when he was small and he grew a dislike for them. However, he loves mine! I think its all about technique and flavor. This recipe is a winner. I promoted your website again on my fb page. Your recipes are the bomb girl! Thanks for all you do!
Made in it the slow cooker with bacon,andouille, and Slap Ya Mama! Delicious! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know Ben!
DeletePlanning to make this over the weekend and use smoked duck as a protein. I think it'll be the perfect pairing. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteMary, it's taking forever for my white beans to soften , what am I doing wrong ? My first batch I soaked for about 24 hours and we had to cook the whole batch for about 2hours and they still never softened . I'm making this again because we love this recipe I've soaked the beans for 2 days now and they are still pretty hard . What am I doing wrong ?
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty crazy! I've never had a problem with white beans. You have me intrigued now though. What kind of beans are they? Are you adding any salt to them?
DeleteHA...moved my Yankee husband down here to N'Awlins 39 years ago. He swears he could eat beans 21 times a week...but I won his heart with Redfish Courtbullion!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, good stuff!!
DeleteFrom The Dry Bean Council:
ReplyDelete"Hard-to-cook" beans... are normal when harvested, but become resistant to softening when they're stored for a long time -- months -- at warm temperatures and high humidities. This resistance results from a number of changes in bean cell walls and interiors, including the formation of woody lignin, the conversion of phenolic compounds into tannins that cross-link proteins to form a water-resistant coating around the starch granules. There's no way to reverse these changes and make hard-to-cook beans as soft as regular beans. And there's no way to spot them before cooking. Once cooked, they're likely to be smaller than normal and so may be picked out before serving."
Adding tomatoes before the beans are cooked can also result in beans never softening.
Thanks for sharing that! I never knew the science behind it but I knew that older beans tend to do that. Like they say though, it's hard to know until you cook them. That's one reason I love Camellia brand dried beans. They are always reliable!
DeleteMade this tonight! We loved it! I was short on time so I used 3 cans northern beans (drained and rinsed), a bag of frozen mirepoix mixed veggies, and used chicken stock 3/4 chicken stock, 1/4 water just to cover a little over top once everything was mixed to speed up flavor development. I used Tony Cacheres cajun seasoning, they don't have Slap Ya Momma at my store🙁, plus a little Old Bay-because I love it!(I followed all the other cooking methods) and used Conecuh smoked sausage. Another great recipe, Mary! Thank you! Marie M
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Marie - glad you enjoyed it!! (You made me hungry lol!!)
Delete