These creamy New Orleans’ white beans are cooked in the traditional spicy style, only fat-free, vegan, and healthy.
Come on, tell me you’re tired of rich holiday food and are ready to settle down to some healthy–even homely–fare. I know I am.
I never thought there could be such a thing as too much dessert, but after stuffing myself on pumpkin cheesecake, cherry-chocolate mousse pie, and the downright obscene rum- and margarine-soaked bread pudding that’s my husband’s specialty, I’m ready to swear off of sugar for a year while. I don’t know about you, but I hate the sluggish way I feel whenever I’m overeating on foods that have too much fat and sugar.
So today I bring you a change from all the eye-candy (and actual candy) that you’ve probably been seeing on other blogs: New Orleans’ white beans and rice.
There are several tricks I could have employed to make this traditional Louisiana dish more photogenic, but then you wouldn’t have a real idea of how it’s supposed to look. In particular, I could have cooked the beans for less time to leave them intact, but intact beans are exactly what you don’t want when making New Orleans’ white beans (sometimes referred to as cream-style beans). You want some of the beans to hold together just enough so that they’re recognizable as beans but others to fall apart enough to create a thick, creamy sauce around the recognizable beans.
It’s a delicate balance that in bygone days took hours of simmering on the stove, but thanks to a couple of my favorite kitchen tools, the pressure cooker and the immersion blender, I can make creamy, flavorful beans in about an hour. And so can you!
Now, get out that new pressure cooker you got for Christmas and cook some beans! (Regular stove-top pot instruction are at the end of the recipe.)
New Orleans' Style White Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound great northern beans dried
- 1 medium onion
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari or soy-free coconut aminos)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco or to taste
- hickory smoked salt optional, but good, to taste
Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight. (Or do a quick-soak by putting them into the pressure cooker with enough water to cover them by three inches. Bring to high pressure and cook for 1 minute. Allow pressure to come down naturally before opening the cooker.)
- Drain the soaking liquid. Put the beans into the pressure cooker with 5 cups water and start heating, uncovered (use the Saute or Brown setting on electric cookers).
- Meanwhile, chop all vegetables fine, by hand or in a food processor. As you chop each one, add it to the pressure cooker. Add remaining ingredients except Tabasco and hickory smoked salt. Check water level in cooker and add another cup if there isn’t sufficient water to cover all ingredients by 1 inch.
- Seal the pressure cooker and set the timer for 12 minutes (electric) or bring to high pressure and cook for 12 minutes once pressure is reached. Remove from heat (or turn off electric cooker) and allow pressure to come down naturally.
- If pressure is not down in 20 minutes, quick-release the pressure. Check beans for doneness. They should be tender, and most should be starting to fall apart. If your beans are still tough, return them to high pressure for a few minutes. If beans are tender, add Tabasco and smoked salt and cook uncovered until liquid reduces and the cooking water starts to become more like a sauce.(Use the Saute or Brown function in electric cookers, on low, if possible.) Stir often to make sure they are not burning on the bottom and to incorporate any dried beans on the sides of the pot. After about 20 minutes, if the liquid still seems watery rather than creamy, you can take an immersion blender and blend part of the beans (be sure to remove bay leaves first).
- Add additional salt to taste. Serve over hot rice with hot sauce on the table.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Shonee
April 28, 2017 at 12:14 pmWhen you list “green pepper” in the recipe, what kind of green pepper do you mean?
Susan Voisin
April 28, 2017 at 1:06 pmBell pepper.
Alison
December 6, 2017 at 3:39 pmI make this quite often. I’ve done it in the pressure cooker and slow cooker. Always delicious!
tracy
July 9, 2019 at 12:21 amHow long in the slow cooker?
Susan Voisin
July 9, 2019 at 8:30 amIt probably depends a lot on the slow cooker. I would allow 8-10 hours on low with plenty of water to cover and probably finish off on high.
Sherry
January 10, 2018 at 12:02 pmAs always, your recipe is perfect! I made my beans this morning and I can’t wait for supper. The fabulous aroma is driving me crazy. I honestly think I could live on beans.
Paulette
April 21, 2018 at 9:11 amLove your site. Thoughts on using Navy beans vs Great Northern. Thanks
Carrie
May 18, 2018 at 2:15 pmI am so happy to find an OIL FREE vegan recipe site! My husband and I are in our 50’s and have been vegan for two years now but only recently went salt, oil and sugar free. I’ve been converting oil-based vegan recipes but it’s really nice to find some geared toward our diet! Thanks so much for all your work to provide these recipes. We love all beans so this is an exciting dish to start with!
Louise
October 16, 2019 at 12:51 pmI am enjoying this soup so much for lunch….delicious.
I understand it makes 8 servings, however, does anyone know how many ounces are in each of those servings? Thanking you in advance!
Robbie
October 16, 2019 at 10:00 pmWould I need to adjust the cooking time if I added smoked sausage?
Kevin Cumblidge
October 27, 2019 at 3:33 pmGreat recipe for the fall weather and VERY tasty!
Elizabeth
October 30, 2019 at 1:01 pmDo I use the hickory smoked salt in place of the regular salt or use both?
Susan Voisin
October 30, 2019 at 4:42 pmUse the hickory smoked salt for sure for flavor, but add regular salt if you need it to be saltier.
Kevin Cumblidge
January 16, 2020 at 8:01 pmThis recipe is so delicious that I’ve made it about 10 times since my first time last October. It’s become one of my high rotation go-to daily bean recipes.
I substitute liquid hickory smoke for the smoke salt and I like to add a small can of fire-roasted green (medium heat) chillies.
Overall, this is a seriously GREAT recipe!
Carol Haley
March 21, 2020 at 8:34 pmBeen eating a lot of beans during the social distancing phase of Covid19…they go a long way. love this recipe. A couple of notes, I use a stovetop pressure cooker. I did an extra 10 minutes after the beans were still kinda tough ( I did the quick soak).. Also, I used zatarains hot sauce instead of tobasco and also used a lot on it at each meal. I got 8 meals with it, mixed with rice. making more tomorrow when I finish the last of it, mainly because i still have celery and a green bell pepper that need eating. Maybe my nextdoor neighbors will want some, I’m not sure I can eat it for another week straight, although it is quite tasty!
Jason
March 27, 2020 at 4:57 pmCan I use canned beans on the stove or in crock pot if so how
Bri
May 25, 2020 at 2:09 pmI am wondering the same… Wanting to use some canned beans!
Jan
April 20, 2020 at 9:00 pmThis recipe turned out excellent! Very tasty and I will make this again. and again. Thanks for sharing!
Amy L. Fisher
July 28, 2020 at 1:14 amI did stove top also and yes it does come out more of a soup, however, if you reduce the amount of water or use a potato masher if your beans don’t yield- it will be more like the picture. I also used liquid smoke instead of salt because of health issues 1 tablespoon at the end of cooking process or to taste. Don’t cook liquid smoke in your beans unless you want them bitter!
Connor
July 16, 2020 at 9:38 pmI tried this on the stove top and unfortunately came out more like a soup than pictured. tasted good though.
Natalie
March 6, 2022 at 6:34 amEasy and delicious. Definitely use the full amount of salt listed; I tried to use less, then had to add it anyway to bring out the flavors. Cooked on the stove top exactly as written.and served with brown rice. Very happy with this recipe as it’s tasty, filling, makes a lot and is zero points on WW!