With this White Beans with Rice recipe, you can easily use ham or Lil' Smokies in place of the smoked sausage. Try it and enjoy!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr50 minutesmins
Course: Main Course, Meatless
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6servings
Author: Jamie Sherman
Ingredients
1pounddried Great Northern beans
1tablespoonvegetable oil
1poundsmoked sausagesliced and cut in quarters
½poundbaconchopped
1mediumonionchopped
½cupgreen pepperchopped
1stalkcelerychopped
4clovesof garlicminced
1canpetite-diced tomatoes14.5 oz - if you prefer spicier food, you can use Ro-Tel
1tablespoondried parsley
Salt and pepperto taste
Hotcooked rice
Hot sauce for servingoptional
Instructions
Rinse and sort beans. Place beans in a stockpot and cover with enough water to be about an inch or so over the beans. Bring the beans to a boil. Cover with a lid and turn off the burner. Set the timer and let sit for one hour. Drain the beans into a colander. Set aside.
In the same pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned. Remove the sausage and drain on paper towels. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Add the onion, green pepper and celery - cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or two. Return the sausage and bacon to the pan. Add the drained beans. Add enough water to cover - about an inch to an inch and a half over the beans. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an 1 hour to an hour and a half (add water if necessary - you want the beans to be slightly thick and not runny like soup at the end). Add the tomatoes and continue to cook until the beans are tender and the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook another 3-5 minutes; taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve over rice with a side of cornbread and hot sauce on the side. Mmmmm!
Notes
Sometimes, instead of the tomatoes, I’ll add a spoon or two of tomato paste – to make it more like the Bean and Bacon soup you get in a can. From time to time, I’ll omit the tomatoes or tomato paste all together. There are plenty of ways to change this up for your family and their tastes.