This traditional Creole red beans and rice recipe is made extra easy in the slow cooker!
Oh, rice and beans.
These two simple ingredients are such a staple around the world. And I love how it seems like every different country — heck, often every different culture within a country — has their own totally unique way of making them.
When I lived in Costa Rica, for example, they called rice and beans “gallo pinto”, which was white rice stirred together with black beans and a few veggies and salsa lizano, and was served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I was in Jamaica, I loved how they simmered their white rice in sweet coconut milk and served it with pigeon peas or kidney beans. When I was in Mexico, I couldn’t get enough of their classic refried beans, and some well-seasoned Mexican rice can’t be beat. And the list goes on and on…
But. I’m pretty sure that my favorite take on rice will forever-and-always be the classic, zesty, Creole dish that I can’t get enough of — Red Beans and Rice.
Even better? Red Beans and Rice made extra-easy in the Crock-Pot®.
Red Beans and Rice Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Mmmm hmmmm.
No boring rice and beans here. Just take a look at all of those vibrant ingredients!
The main ingredients here, of course, are the “trinity” — onions, bell peppers, and celery — which is kind of the Creole version of mirepoix, or sofrito, etc. So delicious. Then I added in some flavorful Andouille sausage (or you can use smoked sausage, if this is unavailable at your grocery store), tons of garlic, Creole seasoning, and bay leaves. And yes, an entire pound of dried red beans.
The brilliant thing about slow cooking this recipe is that you don’t have to babysit a pot on the stove for hours while those red beans cook completely to perfection. Just toss everything in the Crock-Pot® slow cooker (here’s the one I use) and give the mixture a good stir. Then about 6-8 hours later, this big pot of goodness will be yours to enjoy.
Seriously, it’s so simple! I served mine over traditional white rice, but brown rice (or even quinoa or farro) would work well here. Or you can also serve up a little bit of it for breakfast in a mug, which I also did the next day for leftovers. Delicious at all hours of the day!
So if you happen to love red beans and rice as much as I do, give this one a try! And bonus — if you happen to be in the market for a new slow cooker, Crock-Pot® is giving a sweet discount to Gimme Some Oven readers today who click over to their site. This Crock-Pot® 6-Quart Slow Cooker with a Stovetop-Safe Cooking Pot is the one I own and use most, and totally recommend.
Enjoy!
Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked (dry) red kidney beans
- 3/4 pound (12 ounces) Andouille sausage, sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
- 1 bell pepper, cored and diced
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or more/less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- for serving: cooked white or brown rice, thinly-sliced green onions
Instructions
- Rinse the kidney beans thoroughly under water.
- Add the kidney beans, sausage, garlic, celery, onion, bell pepper, Creole seasoning, hot sauce, dried thyme, bay leaves and chicken stock to the bowl of a large slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or until the kidney beans are soft and cooked through*. Taste, and season with however much salt and pepper you’d like. (I used about 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.**) If you’d like a spicier dish, feel free to also add in more hot sauce. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- Serve immediately over rice, garnished with green onions.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!This post is sponsored by Crock-Pot®, maker of my beloved slow cooker. Thanks for continuing to support the brands who help make this site possible!
I made this tonight (my husband and I are both huge fans of Cajun and Creole cuisine), and it was wonderful! My husband said it was of the best meals I have ever made (And I agree. It was amazing!) He ate 3 bowls. I didn’t add any salt or pepper at the end, because the salt and spice level were perfect. This will be put in the dinner rotation for sure!
I never got an answer on my original post/question on substituting ground cayenne pepper for the hot sauce. But I’ve made this recipe three time now doing that and it works out fine.
I also wait to add all the spices, diced celery and pepper. I add them at the 5 1/2 hour point and the flavor is better and at serving time and the celery and peppers are not mushy.
Great Recipe! I doubled the meat and my 3 teenage boys could not get enough! I did not add any hot sauce, and it still had enough heat.
Awesome, so happy to hear it!
Made this last night and we all loved it! Thanks for a yummy recipe. :)
We’re so glad to hear that, Adelaide, thanks for sharing! :)
I am so excited for this. I live for a crockpot. I know it’s summer but I’ve gotten a hankering for red beans and rice. I am trying to cut down on my caloric intake though and I was thinking about doing 1/2 lb beans instead. If I am using 1/2 lb do you think I could still dump them in at the beginning? Or do you think they would overcook?
Thanks!
Thanks, Rachel, we hope you enjoy the recipe! Hmmm, we haven’t tried just using half the amount of beans in this. We don’t think they would overcook though.
Hubby and I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious. We froze half of it for another day. I diced all the vegetables the night before except the garlic and sausage, which I did just before putting everything in the crock pot this morning.Such an easy and tasty recipe. It took some convincing on my part to get my hubby to try this. He uses a recipe from a Creole cookbook and spends what seems like all day to make beans and rice. He is on board with this recipe and said we would make this again.
Thanks for sharing with us, Gail, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed it!
Since I’ve printed the recipe, it has become my ultimate favorite! It’s the best with chicken stock.
Thanks, Tabby, we’re so glad to hear that!
Can you used canned beans? How would it change the recipe or cooking time? Thanks for the help! Janet
Hi Janet! We wouldn’t recommend canned beans for this. We’d say you could put them in towards the end, but a good portion of the liquid in this is to help the dried ones cook, so that would throw off the liquid amount.
Hi there,
I’m in Australia and weirdly we can’t easily get Andouille sausage here (I fell in love with it’s delicious smoky flavour whilst visiting New Orleans and I’m heartbroken that I can’t find it here!). Are you able to suggest an alternative type of sausage? Thanks in advance!
Hi Ellen! We’re sorry you aren’t able to get any Andouille sausage where you are. :( The closest alternative would be kielbasa or another smoked sausage. You could also try chorizo if you wanted, but the flavor isn’t quite as close. We hope this helps!
Made this recipe twice now and it turned out perfect both times! No changes needed! I just followed the instructions and had extra hot sauce on hand for my family that likes things extra spicy. Thank you so much for posting this wonderful recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Nealy — we’re so happy it was a hit! :)