Cajun Smothered Green Beans With Sausage

A one-pot meal or a sassy side dish, Cajun smothered green beans with sausage is pure rich, velvety deliciousness. Cooked with a heaping of bean pod-hugging butter and seasoning, my take on this south Louisiana staple is my most requested recipe. Naturally keto, low carb, and gluten free, this easy dish also adapts into your Paleo lifestyle oh sooo easily. Yep and yay!!

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Cajun Smothered Green Beans is Here, There, Everywhere South Louisiana

Like gumbo or jambalaya, I honestly can't imagine life without smothered green beans. Like most of those living on this side of the Mason Dixon line, we south Louisianans take our green beans pretty seriously.

They're served alongside beef roasts and slow-cooked chickens during Sunday dinners. There's usually at least two versions of smothered green beans at any given south Louisiana potluck. And, you find them at weddings, corporate events, and showers and gatherings of all sorts and sizes. Smothered green beans are everywhere, and every cook's recipe for them is just as unique as their own signature sweet tea. Yep.

Some cooks put potatoes in them. Potatoes are perfectly acceptable in smothered green beans, and quite tasty to boot. So is salt pork, bacon, ham, sausage, and any other type of meat that you have on hand.

I sometimes add potatoes to this recipe, but truth be told, all I really care about is the beans. I can have potatoes any time, and when I crave green beans, I just want them with the Cajun 'trinity', and chicken sausage if I have it on hand.

This Cajun Smothered Green Beans and Sausage is an Old, Old Recipe of Mine

In the early 2000s, I was really into eating, but not that much into cooking. I ate out a lot, or I went to my mom's house for the usual Cajun gumbo and jambalaya to get my fix.

Back then, I only had five or so offerings on my recipe creation menu. This included my beef Bolognese sauce, a mean microwaved baked potato, and my green beans. And while I could whip up a potato or a red gravy without fail, I had a really hard time saving fresh or canned green beans for smothering. I would literally snap the ends of the fresh green beans off, and eat them fresh and raw without any seasoning whatsoever. Or, I would open a can of green beans, drain it, and eat the whole can while standing up.

Now, I use frozen green beans so I won't (can't) eat them. And so they'll always be on hand to make whenever I want them.

Yep, I'm a green bean lover, and this Cajun smothered green beans with sausage is another labor of Louisiana love that's literally taken me decades to perfect. Certainly in my top 5 favorite things to eat. And, if you're like the people that I serve it to, you'll love it just as much as we do, and make it quite often.

You might even convert a non-green bean eating person or two, like I have, into a green bean eating machine. There's just something about the heavy seasoning, the generous amount of butter, and the slow cooking of this Cajun smothered green beans with sausage that touches the food soul of everyone who eats it.

How to Make Cajun Smothered Green Beans With Sausage

Of course, you start with the Cajun 'trinity' of onion, green bell pepper, and celery in a 12" cast iron skillet. Once that's going, you add the sausage or meat or your choice. I always, always use Manda smoked green onion chicken sausage.

Once the 'trinity' cooks down, and the sausage browns a bit, add the frozen green beans. You can also use fresh beans, if desired. Top with butter (or olive oil, lard, bacon fat, or duck fat for strict Paleo), broth or water, and seasonings.

After about 15 minutes, it should look like this:

And then in another 45 to 60 minutes, it'll look like this yum deliciousness below!! Its sooo worth the wait, I promise!! Very happy to share my beloved Cajun smothered green beans with sausage recipe with y'all. Please let me know how it turns out for you. And, now you can also turn this into a delectable Gluten Free Cajun Smothered Green Bean Casserole, too. Share it with those you love and laugh with, and see y'all on the yum side...

Cajun Smothered Green Beans With Sausage

A hearty side dish or light one-skillet meal, this Cajun Smothered Green Beans With Sausage is naturally ketogenic, low carb and gluten free. (Easily Paleo adaptable.)

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Course: One Pot Meal or Side Dish

Cuisine: Cajun

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1 pound sausage
• 1 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 stick salted butter
• 24 ounces frozen green beans
• 5 minced garlic cloves
• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• liberal shakings of salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. 
• Pour the Cajun trinity of chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery into the skillet, and cook down for 10 minutes. Add the sausage, and cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet. Combine ingredients thoroughly.
• Cover, and cook over medium low heat for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring often, or until the green beans darken in color, and most of the liquid cooks out.

Notes

I sprinkle salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper liberally over the green beans a few times throughout the cooking process. I feel that this really brings out the natural flavors of the green beans throughout the cooking process, so to duplicate my results you would add SP&C to the green beans roughly every 15 to 20 minutes. 

Keeps in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Easily make this dish for holiday and/or family gatherings by transforming it into Gluten Free Cajun Smothered Green Bean Casserole.

I always use Manda smoked green onion chicken sausage. It comes in 12-ounce packages, so I use 1 ½ packages in each batch. 

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