This one-pot Cajun Beans and Rice is a quick vegetarian meal you can whip up easily on nights when you just don’t feel like putting a lot of effort into making dinner. There’s no chopping or measuring required!
We all have those nights where we REALLY don’t feel like cooking dinner. Even if I already have something else planned, sometimes I just can’t muster up the energy to do more than a couple steps. I would love to just get takeout on those nights, but since we’re trying to cut back on that, one of my “backpocket” vegetarian recipes is this One-Pot Cajun Beans and Rice. I keep all the ingredients needed for this in my pantry, so I always have it as an option.
This recipe is super simple and satisfying, especially if you like a little spice. To make it a bit healthier, I use and recommend the reduced sodium rice mix.
Key Ingredients for Cajun Beans and Rice
- Zatarain’s reduced sodium Jambalaya Rice Mix: this is probably the most important ingredient to making this an easy recipe since it includes the rice and all the spices. I recommend the reduced sodium version to make it a bit healthier but you can use the original version if you prefer.
- Red Kidney Beans: Kidney beans are a good source of protein and fiber.
- Ro-Tel diced tomatoes: I keep several cans of Ro-Tel in my pantry. These tomatoes add even more flavor to the dish.
- Pasta sauce: I keep a can of Hunt’s Traditional pasta sauce on hand just for this recipe. It’s very inexpensive compared to other pasta sauces and it works great for this Cajun Sausage and Rice, probably because the other flavors are so powerful and you need it more for sauciness than for flavor.
Note: Make sure to check recipe card for full list of ingredients
Preparation Steps for One-Pot Cajun Beans and Rice
- Combine everything in a deep skillet and stir
- Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer about 20-25 minutes
That’s it! I love recipes where you can just dump everything in one pan and let it cook, with an occasional stir.
Substitutions
- Any 8 oz box of Zatarain’s rice mixes will work in this recipe
- Although I think kidney beans work best in this, you can use any kind of canned beans.
- You can use regular diced tomatoes in place of the Ro-Tel
- Any kind of pasta sauce will work, or even regular tomato sauce
- You can experiment to get this to the right level of spiciness for you. I’d start with using regular smoked sausage instead of the Andouille and regular diced tomatoes.
Time Breakdown
Total Time |
30 minutes |
Hands ON time |
5 minutes |
Hands OFF time |
25 minutes |
BEST FOR:
Nights when you want to spend very little time and effort on preparation, but have a little bit of time before you need to eat. You can spend time while it’s cooking preparing any side dishes.
My Ratings
Taste | ||
Effort | ||
Nutrition | ||
Overall |
SUMMARY:
This recipe tastes good and requires very little effort, which is a huge plus for burnt out cooks. The packaged rice mix has a pretty high sodium content, even using the low sodium version, so it’s not the healthiest meal you can make. This recipe is great when you just want to get a meal on the table using ingredients on hand, but I only make it every few months.
Serve with
I like a vegetable with this dish since it already includes a protein and starch. To keep it simple and use items on hand, I’ll usually roast frozen vegetables in the air fryer or steam them in the instant pot, or throw together a quick salad.
You can also make version of this with sausage! This Cajun Sausage and Rice recipe uses sausage in place of the kidney beans.
Vegetarian Cajun Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 8 ounce box Zatarain's Jambalaya Rice Mix (reduced sodium)
- 2 15 ounce cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 26.5 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 14.5 ounce can Rotel's diced tomatoes or any diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large, deep skillet on medium to medium-high heat
- Bring to a boil
- Cover, reduce temperature to low, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until rice is tender. Add more water if needed.