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Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice

February 6, 2009

Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice came in direct response, to many people’s requests, everyone was wanting the recipe for Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice.   You can enjoy cajun food when you are not in New Orleans.  Please use a good quality rice with this. We did not like the results with Minute Rice, but Success Rice boil in the bag, did come out well. You will be able to make Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice at home with this recipe.
Popeye's Red beans and rice

Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice

Popeyes Red Beans and Rice

Author: CopyKat Recipes
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Serves: 10
Popeyes Red Beans and Rice is a hearty dish that will remind you of many dishes that are served in New Orleans. Here we use canned beans to help save you cooking time.
Ingredients
  • 1/2  - 3/4 pounds smoked ham hock
  • 1 1/4  cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/4 cup lard + 1 tablespoon
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 4 - 5 cups premium long grain rice cooked and drained
Instructions

Pour 2 cans of beans in a 2 quart pan add smoked ham hock and water. Simmer on medium heat for an hour until the meat starts to loosen from the bone. Remove from heat and cool until the hock is cool enough so the meat may be removed from the bone. Place the meat, beans and liquid in a food processor. To the mixture add onion powder, garlic salt, red pepper, salt, and lard. Process for only 4 seconds. beans should be chopped and liquid thick. Now add the 3rd can of beans that have been drained of their liquid. Process just for a second or two you want these beans to remain almost whole.

Pour bean mixture back into to pan and cook slowly on low heat stirring often until ready to serve.

Serve over a premium cooked and drained long grain rice.


  • Anita

    This was wonderful!

  • Monica

    Where do you get lard these days? What can be substituted for it?

  • http://www.copykat.com Stephanie

    It is actually sold in most grocery stores where the shortening and oils are. You could use bacon grease, for enhanced flavor. Adding another oil isn’t going to give you the flavors that the lard or bacon grease would.

  • michelle

    u can get lard from any mexican grocery store, or any ethnic stores…american stores dont really sell lard anymore

  • Sandy

    Lard is often sold by processed pork products (ham, hotdogs, bacon) in a refrigerated case.

  • Anonymous

    This bean and rice side dish is veryyy
    good. I have to search for the recepy.
    and found your website. Thanks

  • Eric

    What a simple recipe. I cant believe I waited so long to make RBnR. Popeyes closed down in our town and I had been craving some. Thanks so much!

  • Gilbert

    It’s best to make your own lard as commercial lard is hydrogenated. I save the fat trimmings from pork butts when curing bacon or other uncooked pork and then make lard a few times a year.
    Is it a lot of work to make your own lard? ~stephanie

  • James Miller

    Tried this recipe yesterday and it was very good. I liked the effect of the processed ham hock meat and the second cooking. We will make it as a side on Thanksgiving and include some cornbread. Thanks.

  • http://www.answers.com Ismael Sankovich

    Thanks for that , useful stuff. I get bored of plain rice recipes but i’m not very skilled when it comes to cooking. There’s a lot of good ideas at this rice recipes homepage I found that you might be interested in too.

  • Sue Chaves

    THANK YOU SOSO MUCH -THIS DISH IS AWESOME I WAS GLAD I GOT THE RECIPE!!

  • Ann

    OK, so I thought Popeye’s beans are vegetarian! There are no meat bits in it—any suggestions?

  • http://www.copykat.com Stephanie

    Their ingredients are listed at http://www.popeyes.com/ingredients.pdf The beans are listed with the following:
    Red Beans and Rice
    RICE: ENRICHED PRECOOKED LONG GRAIN RICE (RICE, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMINE
    MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID)
    SEASONING: SALT, SEASONING [DRIED ONION, DRIED GARLIC], SPICES INCLUDING PAPRIKA.
    DRESSING: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, SALT, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL,
    MONOGLYCERIDES, AND SOYBEAN LECITHIN. SODIUM BENZOATE ADDED AS A
    PRESERVATIVE. LACTIC ACID ADDED TO HELP PROTECT FLAVOR. ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR.
    CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA ADDED AS A PRESERVATIVE. COLORED WITH BETA CAROTENE.
    VITAMIN A PALMITATE ADDED. CONTAINS: SOY
    RED BEANS SAUCE: WATER, PORK FAT [CURED WITH WATER, SALT, NATURAL SMOKE
    FLAVORS (PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL AND NATURAL WOOD SMOKE FLAVORS),
    SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, SODIUM NITRITE], RED KIDNEY BEANS, RED
    BEAN SEASONING MIX (DRIED ONIONS, SALT, SPICES INCLUDING PAPRIKA AND PARSLEY,
    DRIED GARLIC, AND MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE]. MAY CONTAIN MODIFIED FOOD STARCH.
    CONTAINS: SOYBEAN OIL, MSG

    I used the ham hocks for the pork fat, and the smoke flavor, you can remove the ham hock before serving if you desire.

  • mike

    I just made a veggie version – came out great.
    Mike’s Pressure Cooker Red Beans & Rice
    Rinse, then soak 2# Red Kidney Beans overnight
    Saute in 2 Tbsp olive oil:
    • 5 cloves crushed garlic
    • 2 Large Chopped onions
    • 2 chopped green peppers
    • 4 stalks chopped celery
    • 1 #Gimme Lean® Sausage
    • 1 Tsp onion powder
    • 1 Tsp cayenne pepper
    • 1 Tsp white pepper
    • 1 Tsp Franks hot sauce
    Add 1 cup water, then pressure for 5 minutes
    Do a quick release
    Drain and add Beans, 2 bay leafs and 5 cups of stock
    Pressure for 30 minutes
    Do a natural release
    Mash a few beans for desired thickness
    Serve over your choice of rice

  • Otis

    This recipe taste ok, BUT it is NOT anywhere close to Popeyes red beans and rice. This recipe is a lot thicker than theirs. If you taste their red beans without the rice and with a clean palat you can taste a spicy vinegar taste to it. I added the juice from a jar of tobasco peppers and it helped some but not enough. The rice is also not just plain steamed white rice it is seasoned.

  • Cajun Cooker

    You should always use blue runner red beans in creole sauce.

  • Leila46

    Stephanie, Thank You So Much! This takes the guess work out of everything.

  • Nesbitt929

    I use a Pinto Bean seasoning that Fiesta spices makes.It comes in a large 20oz container at good price.I used it in Texas but could not find it here up north so I ordered it online.Tells you how much to use.3 Tbsp to 1 pound beans with smoked ham hock and water.It is awesome and is close to Popeye’s taste.I also throw in a chicken boullion cube or 2.You can add this seasoning to canned beans also.I can’t remember the website address but did a search for Fiesta seasonings.This is as close to their [Popeye's]taste as I can get.

  • AlidaLilley

    No they aren’t but KFC’s are, actually says ‘vegetarian’ on the side of the can

  • Anonymous

    Thanks so much, Stephanie! You have a better idea about Popeye’s RB&R than the author of this page lol! The above recipe is missing paprika (I’d use smoked paprika), which is a critical component in it’s flavor, as is liquid smoke. Although the above recipe does have the right idea about pureeing the beans, meat & seasonings to get the right consistency…because as you notice, Popeye’s RB&R consistency is thick and I have yet to ever bitten into a whole bean. It looks like a chunky bean stew, nothing like the picture in the recipe above…I’ve never seen whole beans in their RB&R. Anyone else? Or is that just me? Though when it comes down to cooking, I’m an old fashioned chick. I HATE shortcuts if I can avoid them (boxed mixes, biscuits in a can, etc.). I enjoy the process of preparing the beans the old fashioned way instead of buying cans of cooked ones by preparing them in a slow cooker until the meat of the hocks or neck bone falls off. I would venture to guess that cumin, tumeric are some of the “spices” listed in the bean spice blend. Parsley’s in it? Really? Wow, it must be parsley dust! LOL! Though I don’t like the sight of all those preservatives listed in the ingredient list one bit (MSG, nitrites, hydrogenated oil, etc.). All the more reason to cook Popeye’s RB&R yourself, it seems!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks so much, Stephanie! You have a better idea about Popeye’s RB&R than the author of this page lol! The above recipe is missing paprika (I’d use smoked paprika), which is a critical component in it’s flavor, as is liquid smoke. Although the above recipe does have the right idea about pureeing the beans, meat & seasonings to get the right consistency…because as you notice, Popeye’s RB&R consistency is thick and I have yet to ever bitten into a whole bean. It looks like a chunky bean stew, nothing like the picture in the recipe above…I’ve never seen whole beans in their RB&R. Anyone else? Or is that just me? Though when it comes down to cooking, I’m an old fashioned chick. I HATE shortcuts if I can avoid them (boxed mixes, biscuits in a can, etc.). I enjoy the process of preparing the beans the old fashioned way instead of buying cans of cooked ones by preparing them in a slow cooker until the meat of the hocks or neck bone falls off. I would venture to guess that cumin, tumeric are some of the “spices” listed in the bean spice blend. Parsley’s in it? Really? Wow, it must be parsley dust! LOL! Though I don’t like the sight of all those preservatives listed in the ingredient list one bit (MSG, nitrites, hydrogenated oil, etc.). All the more reason to cook Popeye’s RB&R yourself, it seems!

  • Deborah7R

    What could be used in place of Lard? I am Vegan!

  • Deborah7R

    What could be used in place of Lard? I am Vegan!

  • Anonymous

    I would use whatever type of fat that you typically use. For example, vegetable shortening should work.

  • RoadsScholar

    Fiesta brand is a division of Bolner’s spices.

  • RoadsScholar

    Fiesta brand is a division of Bolner’s spices.

  • RoadsScholar

    Fiesta brand is a division of Bolner’s spices.