Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine (not originally of Cajun cuisine) traditionally made on Mondays with small red beans, vegetables (bell pepper, onion, and celery), spices (thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf), and pork bones as left over from Sunday dinner, cooked together slowly in a pot and served over rice.

A similar vegetarian dish rajma chawal[2] (which translates literally to red beans and rice) is popular in North India.

When the Haitian Revolution ended and the First Empire of Haiti was established in 1804, thousands of refugees from the revolution, both whites and free people of color (affranchis or gens de couleur libres), fled to New Orleans, often bringing African slaves with them, doubling the city's population.

They also introduced such Haitian specialties as the red beans and rice and Chayote (or called mirliton; a pear-shaped vegetable) to the Louisiana Creole cuisine.

Many neighborhood restaurants and even schools continue to serve it as a Monday lunch or dinner special, usually with a side order of cornbread and either smoked sausage or a pork chop.