Red Beans

Name: Red beans — a general name for several small to medium red-skinned beans, such as the small red beans used for Louisiana red beans and rice (Phaseolus vulgaris), and, in Asia, the small adzuki bean (Vigna angularis). Red kidney beans and adzuki beans have their own pages.

Description

Red beans are an old, widely used type of common bean, native to the Americas, and the name covers kidney-type beans and the smaller, round red varieties. In New Orleans, red beans and rice is a traditional Monday dish, slow-cooked on wash day with a ham bone or sausage. In Asia, “red bean” usually means adzuki, which is sweetened into a paste.

Small red beans have a creamy texture and a slightly sweet, earthy flavour, and cook into a thick, rich sauce, making them good in stews and slow-cooked dishes. Because the name is used for several beans, it is worth checking which type a recipe means.

Main nutrition value

Red beans are an excellent source of plant protein and fibre, and provide folate, iron, magnesium and potassium, with little fat.

How best to be consumed

Red beans are cooked until creamy, and are good in slow dishes.

1. Soak dried beans in plenty of water for 8 to 12 hours, then drain and rinse, which shortens cooking time and reduces gas.
2. Boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer for 60 to 90 minutes until soft and creamy.
3. Cook with onion, celery, peppers and smoked sausage for red beans and rice.
4. Use in chilli, stews, soups and salads.
5. Check which bean a recipe means, and rinse canned beans.

Overconsumption could cause…

Red beans are healthy in food amounts when cooked.

1. Digestive upset (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea) from raw or undercooked beans, which contain natural lectins that cooking destroys, so always boil dried beans thoroughly. Red kidney-type beans contain a lot, so they must be boiled hard for at least 10 minutes.
2. Bloating and gas from the fermentable carbohydrates (oligosaccharides) in beans, particularly if you are not used to eating them, so build up gradually and drink water.
3. High sodium in canned beans, so choose no-added-salt cans and rinse them well.
4. Reduced absorption of iron, zinc and calcium from the phytates in dried beans, which soaking, sprouting and thorough cooking reduce.

GroupsBeansLegume familyHigh fibreHigh proteinLow fatLow sodiumRich in folateRich in ironRich in magnesiumRich in potassium

Related foodsKidney BeansNavy BeansRed Kidney BeansBlack-Eyed PeasButter BeansLima Beans

Wikipedia — Kidney bean, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_bean