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!
My husband liked this but I thought it lacked flavor. “If” I try this again, I will cut back on the liquids and try using a different broth, which could add more flavor. I may even try adding Worcestershire sauce which I found to be common in similar meals. My favorite part about the recipe was the sausage itself, but that doesn’t say much because I could have eaten the sausage on its own before I threw the ingredients together! I wanted to like this, but will have to keep searching for my perfect beans and rice mix.
The recipe as is was great! My adult kids LOVED it, and we are rather familiar with red beans and rice as a staple dish. This recipe is now the favorite.
I almost didn’t try this recipe because of some of the posts. But so far all of the recipes I’ve tried from this website has been fantastic ! I’m glad I made this dish and according to the recipe. The rice and peas taste amazing! For those who made comments about too much liquid, the liquid (chicken stock) was perfect. The peas end up soaking up the liquid after it cools a little leaving just enough liquid. I made brown rice separately and afterwards served the peas over the rice. Everyone loved it and I’m going to mashed it again.
To soak or not soak the beans? Your recipes doesn’t mention so I think you don’t but can you clarify?
No need to soak if cooking in a crockpot. I’ve made this several times and it is delicious.
I have made this recipe many times. The best thing about many slow cooker recipes is that they’re made in the slow cooker. This is actually delicious, and the fact that I can use my crockpot is a bonus.
Soak the beans over night in water and then rinse. If you want to thicken smash some beans or add a little instant potato flakes. NO hot sauce!! I use Slap Ya Mama, Original Blend Cajun Seasoning in this .
Not a good recipe, imo. It was watery and flavorless. I did not differentiate any from the recipe. What this made was an oniony tasting, watery mess. Dumping the who thing out. That’s all I can do with it. Did you even try this recipe? Because your pictures are NO WAY this recipe.
This recipe will give you horribly overcooked and inedible sausage. There is no need to have the slow cooker on high for eight hours with the sausage already added. Should advise to add that (fully cooked already product) in the last hour on low, or just use the low setting the whole time for a far better result.
I can’t find a recipe for cooking red beans and rice together in a Crock-Pot. I have beans n rice from, focus hope, and i suck at cooking rice.
The secret i found with rice is make sure water is boiling before you add the rice, drop to simmer(VERY LOW HEAT-2)cover and cook for 20 minutes, turn off, wait 10 minutes with cover on. PERFECT!!
AND I USE BASMATI RICE!!
GOOD LUCK!
Too watery and not a lot of flavor. Even with 2 teaspoons of Creole seasoning onions, garlic, Bay leaves, thyme and oregano. Used smoked beef sausage as New Orleans style not available in rural South Carolina. Cooked on high for 6 hours. Beans were very tender. Smashed some but still too much liquid. Had to serve with slotted spoon so the hot rice will not be drown.