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Delicious and Easy Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker

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You are going to LOVE this red beans and rice in the slow cooker because it is so delicious and easy!

Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker | APinchOfHealthy.com

You can make it by throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker/ crock pot in the morning, and poof! Dinner practically prepares itself.

Note: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy here.

Side note: If you prefer to make this traditionally on the stovetop, see my stovetop red beans and rice.

How to make slow cooker red beans and rice

First, gather your ingredients.

Ingredients

For tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients you have access to. To make this slow cooker red beans and rice recipe, you will need the following:

  • onion
  • bell pepper
  • celery
  • garlic
  • chicken andouille sausage (or your favorite andouille sausage)
  • dry red beans (or red kidney beans work well too)
  • salt and pepper
  • white pepper (optional – still good without it)
  • hot sauce
  • thyme – fresh or dried
  • bay leaves
  • water
  • 10 cups cooked rice (prepared just prior to serving)

Assembling this recipe

After you prep/ chop and measure your ingredients, just add them to the slow cooker. Except for the rice! I cook that just prior to serving at meal time.

Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker | APinchOfHealthy.com

Slow cooking red beans and rice

So how long does the red bean mixture need to cook? It depends on which setting you use.

On high, it will need to cook for about 6 hours. On low, it will need at least 10 hours. Of course slow cooker can vary a little bit, so it wouldn’t hurt to plan some buffer time. The beans will keep warm for a while if needed, no problem. And if they need extra cook time, make sure the pot is turned to high, and cook a bit longer.

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?!

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!

Serving

Like I mentioned, I cook the rice just ahead of meal time so that it will be ready in time to serve. I have a rice cooker, but you can also prepare it on the stovetop.

Serve with some diced green onion, extra hot sauce if you wish and a side of southern skillet cornbread.

Important cooking tips and notes

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!

What type of sausage should I use?

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.)

You can use any type of andouille or cajun sausage though – pork, chicken or even vegan andouille sausages work great.

Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker | APinchOfHealthy.com

More Cajun Recipes You May Enjoy

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Tools Used to Make This Recipe

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Red Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker | APinchOfHealthy.com
4.53 from 17 votes
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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.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Cajun
Keyword crock pot red beans and rice, slow cooker red beans and rice
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 8 hours 45 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 461 kcal
Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

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

  1. Rinse the kidney beans and drain.
  2. Add all the ingredients (except the rice) to the slow cooker.
  3. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for either 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low (total).
  4. 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.
  5. Cook the rice in a separate pot, according to package directions. I used white jasmine rice and cooked it in my rice cooker.
  6. 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!

Nutrition Facts
Red Beans and Rice in the slow cooker
Amount Per Serving
Calories 461 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 735mg32%
Potassium 747mg21%
Carbohydrates 77g26%
Fiber 8g33%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 600IU12%
Vitamin C 19.9mg24%
Calcium 69mg7%
Iron 3.9mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robin says

    Hello. I’ve been making this recipe for a few years and my family loves it. However it’s just my husband and I now so I was going to half the recipe…I used the scale on the serving size and moved it down to 5. It adjusted the measurements so I’m excited about that but I was wondering if I should adjust the cook time? I normally put it on 10 hours on low and let it cook all day while I’m at work but wasn’t sure if that would be to long with halving the recipe. TIA

    Reply

    • Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says

      Hi Robin! So glad you are enjoying it.💖 It would be basically the same cook time as a full batch. The only difference would be that it heats up faster initially. But there is no need to adjust cook time for that. Alternatively: the bean mixture freezes really well! I always make fresh rice, but we freeze the beans all the time.

      Reply

      • Robin says

        I wasn’t sure about the freezing but thank you very much for confirming I could and for getting back to me.😊

        Reply

  2. Julie says

    Has anyone made this in the instant pot? I will try to do a bit of research, but if anyone knows the cook time for the IP, that would be helpful! Most of the beans I cook in the IP cook between 40 minutes to an hour. Some take longer (even when fresh-I’ve noticed that the time varies a lot for mayocoba beans).

    Reply

  3. Debbie says

    STAR, STAR, STAR, STAR, and STAR!!!

    If I could give you 10 stars I would! I can not get enough of this, Red Beans and ice by Slow Cooker! I use canned Dark Red Kidney beans. Like 5 cans worth. I will be making this and an apple cobbler for my son’s family tomorrow and I printed your recipe so they can make it on their own! My taste buds can’t wait for this to finish cooking! I am making this recipe probably 6th or 7th time now!

    Reply

  7. Lindsey McNamara says

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply

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