Andouille and Yellow Eye Bean Stew

yellow eye bean stew

On a cold evening, I like settling down to a healthy bean stew. This one is particularly simple to make, and lets the smokiness and spicy heat of andouille sausage do much of the work.

1/2 lb dried yellow eye beans*
1 smoked andouille sausage (approx 10″ long)
3 slickes thick cut bacon, sliced into 1/2 ” pieces
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
splash of dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock (optional)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

yellow eye beans
Yellow Eye Beans

I like to soak my beans whenever possible to speed cooking time, but in any case make sure you rinse the beans and check for any small pebbles. Fill a large pot with water 1 inch above the level of the beans, bring to a boil, then let simmer, loosely covered for 30 minutes. You want the beans to be no more than al dente by the time you move them into the stew pot.

Halve the andouille sausage lengthwise and then cut into 1/2″ wide pieces.

While the beans cook, in a heavy bottomed pan (I was using a 3″ deep cast iron pan), cook the bacon on medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the sausage. Before the bacon turns crispy, remove the meat to a side bowl, add a splash of olive oil to the pot, and add in the onion.

Cook the onion, stirring, for a few minutes, then add in the carrots and celery. Pour in a splash of dry vermouth and scrape up anything on the bottom of the pan. Toss in the parley, 1/4 tsp of salt, and the meat. Lower the heat, and let simmer.

At this point, reserve a couple cups of the bean broth (more if you do not have chicken broth), and add the beans to the pot. Pour in a cup of chicken broth and then add the bean broth until the liquid is just below the top of the vegetables. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 40 minutes or so, until the beans are tender. Check for salt along the way. I used a little more than 1/4 tsp, but your choice of bacon and sausage can affect saltiness a great deal, so don’t add too much too soon.

Serve this by adding a little freshly chopped parsley and drizzling some olive oil on top.

Note: I left garlic out of this particular dish, but it would go quite well. One could also serve this dish with a garlic, parsley and olive oil pistou if you wanted that flavor kick.

Note on beans: I really liked the yellow eye beans from Rancho Gordo — they were firm and mild in taste, and a little more interesting than great northern. If you do not have yellow eye, then I think great northern, flageolet, or vallarta beans would all be nice alternatives.

While this is a fairly classic bean dish, I think I will submit it to My Legume Love Affair, a blog event I always enjoy, hosted this month by The Well Seasoned Cook.

17 thoughts on “Andouille and Yellow Eye Bean Stew”

  1. This reminds me of Portuguese Feijoada and I miss it so much (I am Portuguese) and it looks soooooooo good .thx for sharing

  3. You had me at andouille. 😉

    Those are such pretty beans too. I love all of these fun beans I’m seeing on the blogs. This is a great comfort dish for winter night.s

  4. And it has been so cold here in Vancouver this winter. A dish like this would be comforting and delicious. I’m sure it would warm me up.

  5. Sausage, bacon and these lovely beans … you can’t go wrong. This stew looks hearty and flavorful and is right up my alley.

  7. Quoi, de l’andouille?? ai-je bien lu? I had no idea you could get andouille here. Are we talking about the same sort, sausage made with tripe?
    On another note I am surprised Stacey hasn’t commented on this bean post yet. Vive les beans.

  8. Gorgeous recipe! Where did you get those yellow-eyed beans? I’ve never seen them b/4. (How can that be?
    ; })

    Thanks so much for sharing this for MLLA8!

  9. I’ve seen these in the expensive gourmet aisle here in the supermarket for US$7.50 for 12 oz.

    I wish we got andouille sausages here.

  10. Oh Giff! You’re the bean expert. Period. Gotta love Rancho Gordo and a good earthy bean stew with nice sausages.

  11. Andouille yes, red eye beans – those must be added to the pantry. You’ve got comfort food down to a T!

  12. Thanks for the inspiration! Used this recipe as the basis for tonight’s dinner. I’m afraid I rarely follow recipes to the letter, but I love reading them and using them to inspire me. I subbed some kielbassa instead of andoille (since that’s what I had), subbed Good Mother Stallard’s beans from Seed Savers Exchange, added some red cabbage and potatoes to the mix, and had an absolutely delightful meal that will be even better tomorrow! You also inspired me to place an order with Rancho Gordo for some of their wonderful beans. I recently discovered your blog, and I love the recipes and the beautiful food photos. I’ll be spending many a weekend morning reading your posts and thinking about meals to come. Thanks again!

    Jeannine from Pittsburgh

  15. I actually gasped out loud when I saw the photo with this post.
    Is there anything better than sausage with beans?
    I need to do some batch stew cooking today; if dealing with the meat does not seem to complicated, I’ll try this recipe.
    Fortunately, my husband hates beans, so I’ll probably get the whole pot of stew to myself. I’m so evil.

  16. As I read over your post a second time, I see the bean source. Thx.
    They’ll soon be getting an order fr/ me.

    Round-up will be online in a few more days.

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