New Orleans Red Beans


3.7 of 5 (98)
editors choice
Nutritional Info
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 187.2
  • Total Fat: 0.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 1,016.8 mg
  • Total Carbs: 35.4 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 13.7 g
  • Protein: 10.9 g

View full nutritional breakdown of New Orleans Red Beans calories by ingredient

This is a SparkPeople.com Recipe (what's this)

Introduction

This vegetarian main dish is cholesterol-free, virtually fat-free, and chock full of vegetables. This vegetarian main dish is cholesterol-free, virtually fat-free, and chock full of vegetables.

Ingredients

    • 1 lb. dry red beans
    • 2 quarts water
    • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
    • 1 cup chopped celery
    • 4 bay leaves
    • 1 cup chopped green pepper
    • 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
    • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
    • 2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Pick through beans to remove bad beans; rinse thoroughly.



2. In a large pot combine beans, water, onion, celery, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir. Mash beans against side of pan.



3. Add green pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cook, uncovered, over low heat till creamy, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves.



4. Serve with hot cooked brown rice, if desired.



Yield: 8 servings--Serving Size: 1-1/4 cup

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Member Ratings For This Recipe


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    Very Good
    10 of 11 people found this review helpful
    Hubby and I liked it! We like spicy so added peppers and used a ham bone for more flavor. Used a splash of red hot sauce at the end for more spice and a little vinegar kick. Blended half the mixture too and ate with rice. - 4/21/09


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    O.K.
    10 of 11 people found this review helpful
    The recipe should say to soak the beans over night or it will take longer to cook! I've made this several times and I finally remembered to soak them over night for an accurate cooking time. Other than that, the recipe was ok. - 4/13/09


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    Good
    9 of 9 people found this review helpful
    IF cooking in a crockpot, just toss all ingredients in and cook for 8 hrs, no-peek! If stovetop cooking, try bringing dry beans to a boil, turn burner off, leave pot on burner and let stand for a few hours,, beans will be soft and ready to go! Cominos and garlic are a must! - 12/9/09


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    Incredible!
    9 of 10 people found this review helpful
    i loved it!! But i did read the reviews before i made it and added some Creole Seasoning and hot sauce to it. so i didnt actually make it as is. i also halfed it. My kids even ate it. served over rice and with cornbread. - 11/15/08


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    6 of 6 people found this review helpful
    I am from the New Orleans area and do some things differently. First, I would soak the beans overnight making them softer and less time to cook. Second, I use basil and oregano instead of the thyme. Can be cooked in a crock pot. Just throw everything in the pot and let cook for 8 hours or more. - 5/6/08


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    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    Its always a good idea to soak and RINSE the beans before cooking them. This helps to eliminate some of the undigestable sugars that cause the embarrassing after effects of beans! - 5/3/09


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    Very Good
    4 of 5 people found this review helpful
    Made this afternoon to go with dinner. I tasted it and it is wonderful! Looking forward to dinner to have more than a very small taste. - 3/27/09


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    3 of 6 people found this review helpful
    I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with a few alterations: First, I'll have to cook the beans in my pressure cooker because we live at 5500 feet above sea level, and beans will never cook in this amount of time. I'm going to substitute cilantro for thyme and eliminate the salt. - 5/3/09


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    Very Good
    3 of 4 people found this review helpful
    Although its great as a vegetarian dish, I now use this as a bolgenaise as well as a taco/nacho mix! It is so versatile and is permanently in my recipe book! - 7/9/08


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    Good
    3 of 3 people found this review helpful
    It was good and filling. I did add some hot salt, creole seasoning and tabasco to it to spice it up just a little. - 5/3/08


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I made the red beans with turkey sausage and brown rice. Its ws good. I also baked it in the oven in my bean pot from home interiers. - 12/18/09


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    Very Good
    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    very filling - 12/8/09


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    Very Good
    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    great basic recipe - can't believe # of calories is so low - 5/16/09


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    Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    First time I have tried this type of cooked beans.....reminded me a bit of Mexican refried beans. Will cook it again - 5/7/09


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    very good indeed - 5/4/09


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Great recipe. Thanks - 5/3/09


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    Very Good
    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    Very good, but you could get away with making about half as much. It's a HUGE amount. - 9/8/08


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    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Delicious! I cooked mine in the crock pot for a few hours. Yummy! - 7/29/08


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Loved this recipe. Easy to make, tasty and great over brown rice - 6/7/08


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    It was tasty and could easily be spiced up with some Tabasco. Fairly easy to make, just takes a long time. Something for a weekend dinner. - 5/20/08


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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    I haven't made this yet, but I believe the sodium content in the nutritional info is incorrect. Dry red beans only have 4mg of sodium per 1/2 cup. The salt would only account for 250mg per serving. - 5/4/08


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Great! We only eat fish or chicken 3 times a week, so beans are a wondrful source of protein. I used cilantro in place of thyne, but any herb would do. - 5/3/08


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    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Yes it may have been a bit bland, but that's why I loved it! So many recipes with New Orleans in the name are way too spicy for me. This was perfect! Thanks. - 5/3/08


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    As with others, had to add some more spices to liven it up. Ate it with brown rice. With extra spices, & pepper jack cheese (since that's what I had in the house), it was great. Very filling & tasted good too! - 1/15/08


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    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    fast and easy ! Good as well ! - 12/12/07


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Loved it,,,added near the end some safron threads soaked in half-cup of warm water....which kicked up a little the flavor... - 11/28/07


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    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    AWESOME!! - 11/14/07


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I just brown the onion, garlic and celery a bit for more flavor, and add some fresh herbs, basil, sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, and maybe a dash of chili powder.. a good for you meal. - 10/31/07


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    Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    For extra flavor, I browned the onion and celery before adding beans & water. Very tastey..even my bean-hating partner loved it! - 10/30/07


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I made this last night and it was extremely easy to make and very filling, but next time I will need to add a few more spices, my roommates agreed it was a little bland. - 9/7/07


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Very good and very filling with a cup of brown rice. - 8/18/07


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    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Love it! - 5/3/07


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    delicious meal. Very good fiber and protein
    great     - 5/3/07


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    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    This was simple to make and tastes great, especially with a little cheddar on top. - 3/20/07


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
    Delicious recipe - loved it! - 3/16/07


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    a good stand alone dish or a side dish for pork, beef, shrimp, or chicken. - 10/4/10


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    Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    It is good------but I read the other posts and added extra garlic and my husband added hot peppers to it---really spruced it up!!---Yes, I'll make it again-- - 10/4/10


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    Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    On my palate, the garlic overpowered everything else. To my individual servings I'm now adding red pepper flakes, salt & a tiny bit of sugar--it helps! My taste does run to spicier foods. - 9/28/10


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    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Good basic recipe for cooking just about any type of bean and most field peas. - 7/19/10


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    These came out really great. As mentioned by some of the others I adjusted the spice for my taste. But, I'm not understanding where all of the sodium is coming from. Thanks - 3/22/10


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Like others, I will spice this up! This will be a great dish for Super Bowl Sunday, I have vegetarian friends that will enjoy this very much. - 2/1/10


  • no profile photo

    Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    This was more watery than I expected and I hadn't read the comments so I hadn't soaked the beans so they took a long time. I like things spicy so I added some red hot, cumin, cayenne, hot pepper flakes, chili powder and substituted cilantro for the thyme (skipped parsley). I mashed the beans also. - 8/17/09


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    Very Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Oops! A whole jar of red pepper flakes poured into this, so I fished out as much as possible. Oh what a burn it still had. We liked them and I will cook them again. It came out more like a soup, but I did not measure the water. Recipe did not mention to presoak beans overnight. Veggies good. - 7/20/09


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    Incredible!
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    This is an oldie but goodie!!!! - 5/3/09


  • no profile photo

    Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Add a can of Rotelle Diced Tomatoes and it gives a spicier moreNOLA whang
    - 5/3/09


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Looking forward to making this tonight. - 11/22/08


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I cook this recipe all the time. Some times I add a piece of smoke sausage to the beans. It is fantastic. - 11/21/08


  • no profile photo

    Very Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I add spices to this to make it a true New Orleans style and serve it with rice. Um red beans and rice are a favorite. - 10/30/08


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    Incredible!
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I love red beans and rice. I throw a small handful of rice into the pot for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Must stir a few times during these last 30 minutes.Hubby put in Creole spices in his. It is best the second day. - 10/30/08


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    Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I wouldn't call this New Orleans, it has no kick, but it IS quite good. Though next time, I may back down on the thyme a bit. It's kinda over powering. - 8/20/08


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    Bad
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Maybe I did everything wrong but...no thank you. - 7/10/08


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    Very Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I agree it wasn't as spicy as I would have preferred, but was perfect for my daughter! Loved this dish, next time we'll make it in the crock pot! - 6/13/08


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    Very Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I wound up using extra spices, and it was great. Otherwise, it was a little bland. (I had canned kidney beans on hand, so I used those. Worked fine.) - 6/10/08


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    O.K.
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Easy to make, smelled great, but needed something more. May try it later after my rural southern taste buds have stopped expecting all vegetables to be cooked with fatback in them and with some of the other reviewers' suggestions. My neighbors loved it, even though my family didn't. - 6/2/08


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    1 of 3 people found this review helpful
    I doubt I'd make this just due to the high salt content per serving. - 5/3/08


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Husband and son ate it all up! I used cans of beans instead of cooking from dry beans (2 cans for half a recipe) - 8/1/07


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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    loved it - 6/13/07


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    O.K.
    - 1/30/16


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    O.K.
    As is, this recipe was too bland for my family and I. I think I'm going to try adding Tabasco sauce next time! - 1/3/13


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    I like to use red and orange sweet peppers and add a bit of smoked paprika and/or Wright's Liquid Smoke. Also it is good to soak the beans overnight and discard the soaking water to lessen the gas producing effect of beans. Great recipe, thanks! - 9/12/11


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    Good
    This was good. I served it over brown basmati rice. I had to use pink beans because that's all I had. Since I am trying to watch my fat, I will make this again. - 10/10/10


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    do you much all the bean or do that just to check to see if they are done? - 10/8/10


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    I'm looking forward to making these, but I'm like the others asking where did all the sodium come from? - 10/5/10


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    I love any recipe with red beans - 10/4/10


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    Incredible!
    Just Excellent! I did add more onions and spices. This is good with or without rice. - 10/4/10


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    Incredible!
    Delicious! I cooked mine in the crock pot for a few hours and add 2 big hot peppers. Yuuuuummmmmmmmy!
    - 10/4/10


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    Sounds good, will make this. But how on earth, with only 1 tsp salt in the entire recipe, did the calculator come up with 1,016 mg sodium per serving? Whoa. - 10/4/10


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    Beans are so good for you,I add Mrs.Dash to our pot - 10/4/10


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    Not bad. - 10/4/10


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    Sounds perfect for the crockpot, thanks. - 10/4/10


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    O.K.
    0 of 2 people found this review helpful
    Very bland. Better things to eat than this. - 11/12/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    It was a bit bland for my taste. Also had to cook much longer then stated on the recipe. I had to thicken it up a bit with constrach - 8/18/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    sounds yummy, will try soon - 6/15/09


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    O.K.
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I found this dish to be very bland. It definitely needs some added seasoning or the addition of maybe turkey smoked sausage to up the flavor without too many added calories. A can of green chilies or maybe some creole seasoning. And definitely soak your beans overnight to make sure they're softened! - 5/21/09


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    Incredible!
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I want to try this! I love Louisiana cuisine and I love beans... - 5/4/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Why is sodium so high? - 5/3/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Looking forward to making this - 5/3/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I love recipes like this one - 5/3/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    On the beginning page it says a serving is 1.75 cups and then when you go to 'print' the recipe it states it is 1.25 cups -- wish things like these could be proofed. You never know which is actually right. - 5/3/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I will add this to my recipe file and try it tomorrow for dinner. I think I will add some other spices as others have recommended and cook it in the crock pot. I'll soak the beans overnight, too.
    - 10/30/08


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Why is the sodium content so high per serving so high? - 9/21/08


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    Bad
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I'm a true New Orleans girl born and raise in the Big Easy. This recipe has no kick to it. If it doesn't have the kick, its not New Orleans. Sorry - 5/12/08


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    Incredible!
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    this sounds good and I am printing it out now. I will make it this evening. Thank you. - 5/6/08


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    Good
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    This was okay. It was hearty and filling, but this recipe as it is was pretty bland for my spice-loving palate. I added in some liquid hickory smoke, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and a lot of red and black pepper. Vinegar also helped brighten it up. - 5/3/08


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    will make this. Can't we have the recipes printed so they fit on a single page. - 5/3/08


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Anyone know how to make this is a crock pot? - 5/3/08


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    If recipe lacks flavor, I think beans should be cooked in fat-free chicken broth or a couple of packets of sodium-free bouillon. - 5/3/08


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    O.K.
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    We just thought it was OK. Quite bland, but edible. - 2/27/08


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    O.K.
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    The recipe took longer to cook and was very bland. It also seemed very watery to me. I had to add more spices for flavor. - 12/20/07


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    Bad
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    The recipe had no punch. I was extremely bland. I jazzed it up w/more spices and it took longer to cook. - 10/30/07


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    O.K.
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I prefer more a more spicy tasting red bean recipe but over all ok - 10/30/07


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    Good
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    We liked it but felt it was a little bland. Next time I will add more garlic! - 6/18/07