Fresh Takes with Classic Red Beans

If you were to sneak a peek into kitchens around New Orleans on a Monday night, it’s likely you’d see so many giant bubbling pots of classic red beans simmering away that you’d lose count. Over the course of time, this Crescent City comfort food, seasoned with the Creole trinity—onion, bell pepper, and celery—and studded with hunks of salty, smoky andouille sausage, has become an integral part of the Big Easy’s culinary heritage.

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For generations, Camellia Brand red kidney beans have been the touchstone of this classic New Orleans red beans and rice. Part of the dish’s history and appeal is the creamy, delicious texture that Camellia’s red beans impart when they’ve been cooked just-so with the requisite Creole herbs and spices.

On a recent trip to the supermarket, we picked up a few packages of Camellia Brand’s new Creole Red Bean Mix. It’s part of a line of dinner and soup mixes designed to help simplify weeknight dinners. The mix comes with Camellia’s famous red kidney beans and a bold seasoning packet, and all you have to do is sauté the trinity, add your favorite smoked sausage (or not, if you stick to Meatless Mondays), and cook up the beans for a nutritious family meal.

While the mix works wonderfully for classic Red Beans and Rice, that’s really just the beginning. Once cooked, the Creole Red Bean Mix is well-suited for countless twists and variations. From dips to fritters, creative cooks can have a field day trying out different combinations and serving techniques. (We love red beans and rice fritters as well as red beans-stuffed peppers, to name just two.)

With that in mind, we turned our Test Kitchen loose with a few packages of the Creole Red Beans Mix, and they came up with one of our new favorite recipes: Pan-Seared Snapper with Red Bean Sauce. The creamy, spicy red bean sauce highlights the smooth richness of the beans and the savory notes in the Camellia’s seasoning mix. We’ve tried it on the pan-seared snapper, and also love it on chicken and pork.

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