Copycat Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice Recipe

My family has always loved Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice. I have often thought it would be really neat to be able to make a homemade version without all the chemicals in it. So today I went ahead and created a recipe that is almost identical to the box version.

Here is the final product…

On the left is the homemade dish and on the right side is the dish that is made from the box.

I started out by meticulously separating all the ingredients from the box.

That took a few hours but it saved me from having to make tons of batches just to figure out what the ratios were. The craziest thing was that everything measured out precisely. There was a half cup of beans, a half cup of rice, one tablespoon of minced onions, one and a half teaspoons of bell peppers, and four tablespoons of powder/seasoning.

The hardest part was figuring out the ratios of seasoning and thickener. Luckily I only had to make one trial batch before getting the perfect combo.

Here is the dry ingredients before preparation:

The jar on the left is homemade and the jar on the right is the box mix put back together like Humpty Dumpty.

The best part about making this dish homemade is that you can customize it to meet your family’s needs. You can make sure that it is vegan, gluten free, and whole grain. I made mine with whole wheat flour and brown rice and couldn’t even tell the difference.

Copycat Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
Flour – 1 Tbs
Barley flour or any other non-wheat flour (I couldn’t find barley flour in the store so I used garbanzo bean) – 1 tsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Onion powder – 1 tsp
Garlic powder – 1 tsp
Cajun seasoning – 1 1/2 Tbs
Cornstarch – 1/2 tsp
Parboiled rice – 1/2 cup
Quick cooking red beans – 1/2 cup
Dehydrated bell peppers – 1 1/2 tsp
Minced onion – 1 Tbs

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, salt, non-wheat flour, onion powder, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, and cornstarch.

Pour the powdered mixture into a glass pint jar. You could also use a zippered plastic bag but I personally don’t like to use them because of their impact on the environment.

Add the remaining ingredients to your jar in layers.

Your jar is now ready to be stored in your pantry. As long as the jar is kept in a cool, dry place it should be good for up to six months.

To prepare your Red Beans and Rice pour the contents into a medium size saucepan along with two cups of water (if you want you can also add two tablespoons of butter or oil). Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Remove lid and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

I bought the dehydrated bell peppers and quick cooking beans on Amazon.

The parboiled brown rice I found in the grocery store.

It cost me around $3.70 to make each batch. Making things homemade might not save you a ton of money but at least you are able to know that your food is free of harmful food additives. The other great thing about making homemade red beans and rice is that you can make it gluten free!

Sarah Renée Crane