You are going to LOVE this red beans and rice in the slow cooker because it is so delicious and easy!
You can make it by throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker/ crock pot in the morning, and poof! Dinner practically prepares itself.
It’s like kitchen magic! 🙂
And PS: You do not have to soak your dried beans ahead of time! Yes, you heard me right. This article from the LA Times explains why.
I did rinse mine, but I did NOT soak them, and this turned out perfect. I use this same method for my slow cooker black bean soup too, and it also is a gem of a recipe.
Note: Since they are not pre-soaked you will need to allow plenty of time to cook. I would suggest at least 10 hours on low, or at least 6 hours on high. This might vary a little if your slow cooker is different than mine.
Update Note: Please make sure your crock pot heats up hot enough to eliminate any potential toxins, as explained here. My crock pot gets very hot, so it works out fine for us to cook them this way. If you are in doubt, go ahead and soak your beans first just to be safe. I do not want anyone to get sick from this recipe!
My slow cooker (<- Amazon affiliate link) is one of my most used kitchen appliances. It is SUCH a valuable tool for making really yummy food that is easy to set and forget. Perfect for busy folks! Which, aren’t we ALL?!
Enter: red beans and rice, which is known for cooking low and slow. And LONG. You could totally make this low and slow on the stovetop, but the slow cooker is my cooking method of choice here. It is just so easy!
Side note: If you want to make this dish quicker (like less than 2 hours, starting with dry beans), check out my Instant Pot red beans and rice recipe!
You can use any type of cajun sausage, but I am using Amylu’s chicken andouille sausage that I found at Costco. I had never used this in any recipe before, and I bought it on a whim…as I so often do at Costco! (<- anybody else?? I am a sucker for the sample pushers too.)
Usually, Costco doesn’t let me down. Nine times out of ten I absolutely LOVE everything that I ever try there. And they are good about letting you return stuff, too, which is awesome.
Anyway, I liked it! The chicken andouille sausage has all the flavor, while being kinder to the waistline. Win!
More Cajun Recipes You May Enjoy
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice – tastes like this version, only quicker!
- Chicken and Sausage jambalaya (one pot recipe)
- Cajun shrimp and grits
More Slow Cooker Recipes You May Enjoy
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
Note: These are Amazon affiliate links.
- Slow cooker
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Bowl (for soaking the beans)
- Strainer (for draining the beans)
- Optional – rice cooker. You can also just prepare the rice on the stovetop, according to package directions.
Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker Recipe
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Pin it if it looks good to you.
Red Beans and Rice in the slow cooker
You are going to LOVE this red beans and rice in the slow cooker because it is so delicious and easy! Throw the ingredients into your slow cooker, and dinner practically prepares itself.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pounds ¼ chicken andouille sausage cut into thin slices, I used Amylu brand
- 1 pound dry red kidney beans
- 1 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp white pepper optional
- 1 tsp hot sauce I used Texas Pete
- 1 tsp fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 leaves bay
- 7 cups water
- 10 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Rinse the kidney beans and drain.
- Add all the ingredients (except the rice) to the slow cooker.
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for either 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low (total).
- Optional: When there is one hour remaining, use a potato masher to go in and mash up some of the beans, then let it cook the remaining hour.
- Cook the rice in a separate pot, according to package directions. I used white jasmine rice and cooked it in my rice cooker.
- Serve with 1 cup rice in each serving.
Recipe Notes
*Nutrition information includes 1 cup cooked rice.
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Adapted from The Weary Chef.
Update Note: Please make sure your crock pot heats up hot enough to eliminate any potential toxins, as explained here. My crock pot gets very hot, so it works out fine for us to cook them this way. If you are in doubt, go ahead and soak your beans first just to be safe. I do not want anyone to get sick from this recipe!
Carolyn says
If I choose to soak the beans, do I need to adjust the 7 cups water?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Carolyn! Yes, you’d need to reduce liquid and reduce cook time as well. I am not sure by how much.
Sharon Lurie says
Would you confirm how much sausage to add, please? Is it one pound or one-and-a-quarter?
Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Sharon! Either would work. I just use one package right around 1 pound, whatever the store has. I hope you enjoy it!
Lisa Chappell says
You said it was 10 servings, but what size were the servings?
Lindsey McNamara says
my girlfriend made this recently and I couldn’t get enough of it – we sprinkled extra Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning on it and it has become one of my favorite comfort foods!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Lindsey! That is so great to hear. 💖🙌🏻
Heather Sand says
I just made this last night and my husband loved it! I didn’t use any of the spicy seasoning as I didn’t have any but I added extra bell pepper onion and a little bit of salsa and it was wonderful thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad to hear that y’all enjoyed it.
Janicej says
EXCELLENT WILL TRY AGAIN
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
💖🙌🏻
DeShauna says
Made this a while back and my husband has requested it for his Father’s Day dinner with gizzards and jalapeño cornbread
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That makes me so happy to hear, DeShauna! Happy Father’s Day to him.💙 And thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback.🙏🏻
Katy says
Can I use canned kidney beans instead? I don’t have dry on hand.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Katy! I would not recommend canned beans for this particular recipe.
Heather says
What size crockpot do you use?
Thanks!
Rachel says
I’m really looking forward to making this recipe. It looks delicious! I have a pound of pinto beans already. Do you think that would work fine in this recipe?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Rachel! The flavor will be slightly different, but still really tasty with pintos. I hope you enjoy it!
Nicole Nixon says
I made this using my new slow cooker (new as in I got in last year but am finally using it, LOL). I was afraid (from reading the comments) it wouldn’t turn out well, or that the beans wouldn’t cook all the way through. I’m not super familiar cooking with beans regardless.
With some adjustments, this recipe turned out super well. Instead of using 7 cups of water, I used 6 chicken bouillon cubes + 6 cups of water. I read some comments that said it was too watery, and I wanted to avoid that. Fortunately, cutting back on the water even by a cup worked out well. I also decided to use the cubes because I wanted more flavor. I didn’t even have to worry about too much salt either. I also added one jalapeno, which I removed the sees and white part. I also used less sausage because I didn’t notice until later that the recipe calls for 1 – 1.5 lbs of sausage–I just was a 12 oz package. I allowed this to cook for the full 10 hours and everything turned out delicious.
I’m definitely adding this to my rotating list of slow cooker recipes.
Gaelynn says
I hope this turned out ok. I used raw chicken sausage so it looks nothing like the pictures. Is it still safe to eat? Also, there is sooo much liquid left, is that right?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am not sure about the raw sausage.😬 That would give off some liquid. If you choose to make it again, next time I would suggest browning and draining the sausage first.
Ellen Morrison says
Can this meal be cooked ahead of time and frozen?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Ellen! Yes, this recipe makes a lot of beans. So we often end up freezing about half of it. The only thing I recommend would be to make fresh rice for when you thaw and reheat the bean mixture.