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!
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!
If You Liked My Red Beans and Rice, You Might Like These Too
If you like this type of recipe, you may also like my slow cooker black bean soup.
…and my best chicken recipes for quick and easy dinners.
I just want to know.. if I’m making the recipe for only 4 servings how long should I cook it?
Hi Michelle. The same cook time should apply. If the beans are not tender enough to your liking at the end, put the lid back on and cook for another 15 minutes. Hope that helps!
The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% as much as red kidney beans.
Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by boiling beans for ten minutes; the ten minutes at boiling point (100 °C (212 °F)) are sufficient to degrade the toxin, but not to cook the beans. For dry beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recommends an initial soak of at least 5 hours in water, which should then be discarded.
This was so delicious. I’ve made it twice. I used red beans in place of the kidney beans, just a personal preference and added one 15 oz. can of refried beans to thicken it. I did not mash up any of the good red beans!
Glad you enjoyed it👏🏻
Do I need to soak the beans? If so, how long? Or do I just rinse them in a strainer?
Hi Sarah! No, this is a no-soak recipe. I just rinse mine in a strainer first.✅👌🏻
This might be a dumb question, but do the 7 cups of water go in the crockpot? Or are they for the rice?
The 7 cups goes in the crockpot👍🏻
Now my go to red beans and rice recipe. They only change I did was add extra liquid smoke, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce at the beginning. Followed by more to taste at the end.
So happy to hear that Nate! So much of the flavor depends on the sausage. Adding in a few extras like you mention can get the taste exactly as you like it. 👌🏻
I’m making this for dinner tonight! I did a quick soak on my beans, do I need to adjust the cooking time?
I am sorry I am just now seeing this, and you probably already made it. Hope it turned out okay! Soaking would mean you would need to reduce the cook time and the liquids. I am not sure by how much, but I would say at least a cup less liquid, maybe reduce even more than that.
This looks amazing…that’s why I already pinned this earlier this week! Showed pictures and told the hubby the ingredients and he said, “Yes, I just got a new bottle of salsa!” So, it’s obvious you like hot flavored foods…looking through a few recipes! Just how spicy hot is the chicken andouille sausage? I know this is going to be a winner for the hubby and I…not to mention mostly healthy!
Ha ha. 🙂 Yes, the spiciness probably depends on the brand. I’ve used Amylu’s, Aidele’s and Trader Joe’s and none of those were too spicy for us. I always add extra hot sauce on mine as well. 😆👌🏻 I hope you enjoy it!
Hello, I was wondering if I could substitute chicken thighs for the chicken andouille sausage?
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for your question. 🙂 I would not recommend that. The chicken andouille sausage provides a lot of flavoring that seasons the whole dish. Any other kind of cajun sausage should work, but not plain chicken thighs, since it tends to be pretty bland on its own.
So the 7 cups water is for the ingredients in the crockpot? Correct? You put 2 bay leaves in the crockpot as well?
Correct, the water and bay leaves go into the slow cooker. I hope that you enjoy it!
I only used half the amount of beans and I chose to soak and boil them ahead of time. What I’m wondering is about the amount of water I should use in the crock pot. The recipe calls for 7 but I’m going to try 4 1/2 and see how that works out…Fingers crossed!
Yeah, I am not sure how much water either since I did not test it that way. Significantly less, but I am not sure how much. Let me know how it turns out! Good luck!
Hello how long would you cook this if on high with your crockpot?
I am sorry to say that I am not sure…since I have not tested it on high myself. That would be a good test for me to do one day soon!
Update: I have since made this on high, and it took about 6 hours on my slow cooker. I updated the recipe to reflect this.
I made this today and it was AMAZING!! My Husband is from Louisiana and he can cook, he said this was great and reminds him of back home 🙂 Thank you for sharing, this is going in our recipe book.
Yay! I am so glad that y’all liked it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave that feedback. 🙂
Can I use canned red kidney beans instead of dry? How many cans?
Thanks for your question! 🙂 I would not recommend using canned beans for this recipe. I am not sure that would taste too good or work very well. What makes this taste so good is that it cooks low and slow all day. Plus, using canned beans would decrease the cooking time significantly, reduce liquids significantly, and the other veggies wouldn’t get as tender.
What is the serving size of just the beans and sausage portion (without the rice)?
Good question! That is hard to answer with too much precision, since the veggies (onion, bell pepper, celery) can vary in size. I estimate between a cup and a third to a cup and a half of the bean/sausage mixture. Hope this helps!
Curious. Recipe calls for red beans. Photo shows black beans. Something’s not quite right here.
Hi there! If you read the text above that last photo (the one with black beans), it is describing a similar recipe that you might like – my slow cooker black bean soup. It is another great recipe where you dump everything in the slow cooker, and you do not soak the beans ahead of time. If you like the red beans & rice recipe, you might like this one also. 🙂
Ah! Sorry. That’s what I get for skimming through the text. I’ll try the red beans and rice!
LOL…no problem! The photos are really similar. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This is a huge amount for just my husband & I. Do the leftovers freeze well?
That is a great question! Yes, this recipe freezes well. I would freeze only the bean mixture, and just make as much rice as you need at the time you eat it. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
rice can be frozen. Just portion it off into individual servings and freeze. defrost before eating and heat in the microwave.
Thanks for the heads up Tara! I did not know about this. My crock pot gets pretty hot, so I am guessing that’s why none of us have ever had problems. I am going to update the post with a note to warn of this, though.
Not sure if this will get a reply since it was a year ago y’all discussed this, but will soaking beans and boiling change the cook time or water amount in this recipe?
Yes, it would reduce the cook time and the liquids needed in the recipe. I am not exactly sure by how much🤔
YUM!! This looks amazing! So warm and comforting! And so healthy! I love this! Thanks for the recipe!
xoxo Cailee @ http://hellohealthyeating.com <3
Thanks Cailee! 🙂