Blue Runner Creole Cream Style Red Beans are the #1 brand of choice in Louisiana. Over 60,000,000 times a year, someone from Louisiana sits down to a plate of red beans and rice and more people eat beans prepared by Blue Runner than any brand.

A big pot of red beans served over rice with sausage has been part the Southern Louisiana culture for hundreds of years. Its origin is not exactly known, however several facts are commonly believed.

During the 1400s when slave trading began, enslaved Africans survived on small portions of beans and rice during the long trip to America. It was an inexpensive and nutritious meal then, and still is today. Eventually the slaves took over the kitchen in many southern plantations, and their style of cooking gradually worked its way into our culture.

Like many other commodities in New Orleans, a major port city, beans were in plentiful supply. This combined with a large population of people looking for inexpensive and great tasting foods, soon moved red beans and rice to the main table for all classes of people.

Red beans and rice were traditionally served on Monday, washday. The lady of the house could place a pot of beans on the stove and slow cook them all day as she tended to the weekly laundry. By the end of the day, both the cleaning and dinner were finished.

The large Creole population of New Orleans like their red beans creamy, cooked until the red kidney beans break down and thicken up. This process can take many hours of cooking and stirring. The Cajun people populated in the Acadian parishes prefer their beans less thick, more like gravy. As you cross the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, the style of red beans and rice changes with you.