Beans and greens mean winter to me. And this hearty soup filled with creamy red beans, bitter mustard greens, and acidic tomatoes can only be elevated with Cajun green onion pork sausage. I love the depth of flavor and spice in this Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup. And I love the memories it brings back.
Warm up to a bowl of Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup. (All photos credit: George Graham)
My momma grew up in Detroit, Michigan during the Depression years and was working there during WW II when she met my dad. In those days, the auto manufacturers of Detroit were focused on the military, and my parents both worked in an aircraft plant turning out B-29 Superfortress bombers. The pride in their role in winning the war was told to me in countless stories.
And the sacrifices they made were many. The war years were a time when food rationing was a way of life. As my momma tells it, expensive cuts of meat were a rare occasion, but a Yankee bean pot was always on the stove. Eventually, she and my dad made their way to Louisiana where Southern greens and hand-made sausages joined in the bean pot. Over the years, I’ve added a few Cajun touches to their bean pot, and this Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup has become a tradition in our family.
More than Mondays, red beans make their appearance in Louisiana kitchens all week long. And with this recipe, it’s time to take a pot of beans and reinvent them with the building blocks of a flavorful soup. This is a thick and hearty soup—more like a chowder—that’s a one-pot dinner. Just add cornbread, and this is a fitting, and filling, end to a cold evening.
Traditional ingredients combine for a tasty Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup.
My red beans always start with the Cajun trinity—onion, celery, and bell pepper—and are pumped with the flavor of pickle meat. Pickled salt pork is the magic flavor enhancer of the South; with its slight acidic flavor, it is a universal ingredient in every Southern kitchen dating back over 200 years. There’s not a Creole cook alive that doesn’t flavor a bean pot with pickle meat, and when I can find it, pickled pig’s feet is my choice.
So, put on a pot tonight, throw another log on the fire, and cozy up to a steaming crock of bean soup. Just combine those creamy red beans with the bite of mustard greens, the zest of tomatoes, and Cajun pork sausage. My Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup is a hearty, meaty Creole-inspired dish that will warm you up.
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease or vegetable oil
- 1 ½ pounds raw pork sausage, such as Cajun green onion
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 pound pickled salt pork
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed and picked over, soaked overnight in water
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can (10 ounces) mild diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Rotel
- 4 cups chopped mustard greens, woody stalks removed
- 1 cup diced green onion tops
- Cornbread, for serving
- In a large cast-iron pot over medium-high heat, add the grease. If in casings, remove the sausage and add to the pot in thumb-size chunks. Cook the sausage until just beginning to brown and add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt pork, and bay leaves, and continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Add the beans to the pot, along with the chicken stock and enough added water to cover them. Turn the heat to high until the liquid reaches a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and stir. As the dry beans soak up the liquid, check the level, and add more water so that the liquid comes above the top of the beans. Add the Cajun seasoning along with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Cover the pot, and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Uncover and stir again. The beans should be plump as they soak up the liquid. Add more water if needed. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- At this point, the beans have cooked for 1 hour and should be fully cooked. With a measuring cup, scoop out 1 cup of beans with their liquid and pour into the container of a blender. Blend on high speed until the beans are pulverized and have achieved a creamy texture. Pour the “bean cream” back into the pot of beans and stir to incorporate. Add the Rotel tomatoes, mustard greens, and green onion tops; cover the pot and continue to simmer for 1 hour longer. Turn off the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Ladle the soup into bowls with a portion of sausage and greens in each. Hot cornbread to sop up the juices is the ideal accompaniment.
Red Bean, Mustard Green, and Green Onion Sausage Soup is the perfect dinner on a cold winter’s night.
YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE: If you like this Cajun cooking story and Cajun recipe then accept my personal invitation to subscribe by entering your email at the bottom or top right of this page. It’s quick and painless. You will receive an email alert and be the first to see when new Cajun cooking stories and Cajun recipes are added. Thanks, George.
Hi,George.
Hope you don’t mind that I have taken the opportunity to use your Christian name without your permission, but I feel as though I know you so well from your stories that I did so without realizing it and then decided I needed to acknowledge it. I love your stories and recipes. This recipe, Red bean, Mustard Green, Green onion sausage soup has a reference to “Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend” and the recipe was to follow but I could not find it. Was it there and I overlooked it? Thanks, George!
Sincerely, Terrie
Hey Terrie – You have now joined the ranks as one of my official proofers. I am a stickler for details and accuracy, and I love it when someone with a sharp eye points out a mistake. The recipe is now linked. All the best.
I have never used pickled salt pork, so I kept reading the recipe to see when and how to use it, but then reading the instructions I never saw it added to the red beans. Did I miss something or is it something that should be assumed that we know how to use?
Rita – In step #1, it says to add the salt pork. You can chop it into large chunks or leave it whole; it will cook down and break apart during the long cooking time. The flavor it adds to the beans is amazing.
I finally bought heavy-duty French onion soup bowls, and this recipe will be the first to use them.
I’ve been on a soup kick. Tonight I have a field pea soup, and I can’t wait to try this one. I love mustards!
Thanks,
Phyllis
Phyllis- One-pot soups are pure comfort on a cold winter’s night. Enjoy!
A most interesting recipe, and I intend to make it soon. If you will pardon several “Northerner” questions (I live in California, for my sins and those of several generations of ancestors): Can you recommend a recipe for “Green Onion Sausage”? It’s not something that I can find locally. I realize that there are online sources, but I’d rather buy locally. Or make. Is “pickled salt pork” the same as salt pork? In my world, anything associated with the word “pickled” involves vinegar. Can you clarify? Thanks for any help you can give.
Hey Joe – I am not a sausage maker but there are plenty of online tutorials. Feel free to substitute a quality-made pork sausage. As for pickled salt pork, it is indeed a preserved product either salt brined or vinegar-based. Check out Camellia Beans website for more info as well as a recipe to make your own. All the best.
Much obliged, sir. I’ve found a pig farmer locally who grows them sustainably, and will try his pork sausage. I keep coming back to that first picture in your post, and drooling. The photography is excellent, and the result reminds me of some of the old oil still life paintings. Bet it would be poster quality, if enlarged. Especially those beans.
I just found your website, and oh my goodness this is exactly what I am looking for. I am 33, a wife and mom of 3 girls. I am also from Louisiana (central) and I am always looking for authentic Louisiana recipes. I have saved this website as my go to when in need of a recipe. I love this so much!! There are so many things I can learn. Thank you!
Kristan- Thanks…you just made my day! All the best.
Love the idea of pairing the mustard greens with sausage – looks delicious!