The South gets down on rice-based dishes y’all. Everything from jambalaya to dirty rice are simple to cook and pretty cheap too. That’s why red rice is such a standard, especially in Charleston and Savannah. It has so much spice, shrimp and sausage and tomatoes for that red color. As the ingredients come together, the rice becomes spicy, a little sweet, and a mix of everything in between. It’s a straight up hit.
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“I absolutely loved this dish!!! Couldn’t stop eating it! Thank you so much for something different.”
—THELMA B.
How to Make Red Rice
Step 1: Brown the Bacon and Sausage
- Start by crisping up your bacon in a large skillet.
- Then set it aside and brown the sausage in the same pan.
Step 2: Sauté the Veggies, Toss in Remaining Ingredients and Bake!
- Sauté onions, bell pepper, garlic, and celery until they’re soft and fragrant.
- Stir in rice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, tomato paste, 1 tsp of Creole seasoning, cayenne, sugar, and hot sauce, letting it cook for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a foil-lined 1 1/2 quart baking dish, cover with foil, and bake it up at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Make the Shrimp and Top Finished Rice!
- Check if the rice is nice and fluffy y’all. If it ain’t, keep on baking for an extra 10 minutes.
- While the rice is baking, get the rice together. season and sauté the shrimp, then top the cooked rice with shrimp, the crispy bacon, and parsley for garnish (if you like). Serve it up hot and enjoy boos.
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Red Rice Recipe
This Savannah Red Rice recipe is a Southern low country delicacy! White rice is steeped in tangy tomatoes, flagrant and spicy seasonings, aromatics like garlic and onions, and then topped with tender shrimp and bacon!
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Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 bacon slices fried crisp, crumbled and reserved
- 16 oz kielbasa sausage sliced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 cup white rice uncooked
- 14 oz canned tomatoes undrained
- 14 oz canned tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning divided
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shrimp shelled and deveined
- parsley for garnish for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, fry bacon and sausage. Remove the bacon when crispy and set aside. Continue to cook sausage until brown.
- Next saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery until tender.
- Add rice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, tomato paste, 1 tsp of creole seasoning, cayenne, sugar, and hot sauce. Cook down for 15 minutes.
- Stir well. Transfer everything to a lined (with foil) 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
- Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and see if the rice is soft and fluffy by stirring with a fork. If not, place back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- While it bakes, season shrimp with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of Creole seasoning, saute and then place on top of rice when finished baking with reserved bacon and garnish with parsley if desired. Serve hot.
Notes
How to Store and Reheat
- Fridge: First insure the red rice is cooled completely, then add to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. It’ll stay fresh in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- Freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze the rice for up to 6 months; just be sure it’s in a freezer-safe container.
- Reheating: There’s no need to thaw if you froze your rice; you can go straight from freezer to microwave or stove. In a microwave, place the rice in a microwave-safe container, add a splash of water to prevent drying out, cover loosely, and heat in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between until warmed through. On the stove, transfer rice to a pot, add a small amount of water or broth, and warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s heated evenly then serve it up! And finally you can pop back in the oven until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1203mg | Potassium: 613mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 795IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 3mg
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Recipe Tips
- Let the Oven Werk!: Do not try to cook this rice on the stovetop the whole time. Ovens maintain the perfect temperature and allow the rice to cook up perfectly.
- Get that Crisp Crust: Resist pulling off that foil while it bakes. This is gonna develop that irresistible crisp crust at the bottom of the baking dish.
- Use a Fork: It will give you the perfect fluffy texture.
- Add the Shrimp Last: Overcooked shrimp ain’t it y’all! Watch your shrimp while cooking it, as soon as it turns a bit pink, it’s ready.
Ingredient Notes
- White Rice: or grab brown rice but you will need to cook it longer.
- Shrimp: Or scallops, clams or mussels for a swap.
- Sausage: Some andouille sausage also works.
- Bacon: Swap in some pancetta, diced ham or even turkey bacon instead.
Serving Suggestions
- Classic Style: Serve this up with Southern cornbread in a cast iron skillet.
- Southern Vibes: Serve along with fried chicken, collard greens and sweet tea.
- Gumbo: Add a big ole scoop of seafood gumbo on the top of this red rice for a truly life changing flavor experience. Don’t forget the pralines and beignets for dessert.
- Seafood Buffet: Red rice tastes amazing alongside crab stuffed salmon, fried catfish and delish low country seafood boil.
Recipe Help
Do I need to use creole seasoning in this red rice recipe?
It is definitely gonna balance the flavors and salt it up some. If you don’t have it, come up with your own mixture by combining paprika, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, thyme and salt.
Can I make it ahead of time?
Absolutely boos. You can just make the entire dish ahead and pop in the fridge. It can stay there for 3 days before you reheat in the oven or on the stovetop. Just add some broth to keep it from drying out.
Other Great Rice Recipes to Try
Thank you to Gina of What’s Gina Cooking for the incredible recipe!
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Can I just spray the dish with Pam?
Sure!
Soooo good!! Cooked it for the fam…mom doesn’t do hot food, but cooked it with seasoning salt and nothing spicy and it is amazing. Will definitely cook it again with the heat and I’m excited by how good I’m sure that’ll be.
Thanks so much, doll!
I’ve spent well over an hour looking over recipes for red rice. I needn’t look further. This recipe is by far the superior one of them all. I do have one suggestion: do not line dish with aluminum foil; use parchment paper. Your recipe is noticeably better than those found in nationwide-distribued mainline (non-tabloid) newspapers. As for myself, I’ll eventually experiment with a *very*small* amount of Atomic brand bottled horseradish (get from the online shop named for a river in Brasil).
I like shrimps and Southern cuisine, and this spicy dish checked all the boxes. Definitely a keeper!
I haven’t tried this. My mom passed away one of my favorite dishes was her.red rice. I want to attempt this for Thanksgiving. Can you let me know how much rice: tomato paste/sauce I would need so that my rice will not be gooey?
I would try making the recipe and see how you like the consistency. I wouldn’t change any of the quantities.
This was amazing. It was very flavorful and better than expectations.
Made this tonight, subbed spicy ground sausage for the kielbasa since it’s what I had. Flavors were amazing, perfect hint of spicy!
Jocelyn, could I use frozen shrimp for this recipe? I have a bag from Trader Joe’s. How would I do it? Thanks for any suggestions–I love to EAT shrimp, but I hardly ever cook it.
Yes absolutely you can!
This is SO GOOD!
I made it with brown rice because that’s what I had on hand and it came out perfectly. Super flavorful with just a hint of heat.