Louisiana red kidney beans simmered with the holy trinity, andouille and a ham bone for hours until creamy, served over white rice. The traditional Monday wash-day dish.
Red beans and rice is the Monday dish in New Orleans, dating to the early 1800s when Monday was wash day and a long-simmering bean pot could cook unattended while the laundry was done. Louis Armstrong signed his letters Red Beans and Ricely Yours. The beans are Louisiana red kidney beans (a specific cultivar, different from Northern red kidneys), the andouille is real andouille (smoke-cured pork, not the milder Cajun andouille). Mother's Restaurant has run red beans and rice on the Monday lunch counter since 1938. Camellia Brand red beans, sold in red mesh bags at New Orleans grocery stores, is the brand the home cooks trust.
4 editor picks for Red beans and rice in New Orleans, ranked by editorial score. All New Orleans signature dishes · Red beans and rice across every city.
Lil' Dizzy's Cafe ★ 4.6
1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116
Lil' Dizzy's Cafe in New Orleans is the Baquet family's Treme Creole soul-food corner at Esplanade and N Robertson, with fried chicken and a lunch buffet.
Liuzza's by the Track ★ 4.5
faubourg-st-john · 1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Liuzza's by the Track in New Orleans is the Bayou St John lunch counter near the Fair Grounds that invented the BBQ shrimp po-boy, still the room's anchor.
Coop's Place ★ 4.3
french-quarter · 1109 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Coop's Place in New Orleans is the Decatur Street Cajun dive open since 1983, with rabbit and sausage jambalaya, fried chicken and a Chicken Tchoupitoulas.
Mother's Restaurant ★ 4.2
central-business-district · 401 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Mother's in New Orleans is the 1938 CBD lunch counter at Poydras and Tchoupitoulas, home of the Ferdi Special po-boy with ham, roast beef and debris served.