Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice + VIDEO

Slow cooker red beans and rice is an affordable and hearty Creole dish. Using inexpensive ingredients, this budget-conscious meal uses dry red beans that do not need to be presoaked first. That’s right, no presoaking. Add everything to the crockpot and let it cook. Serve this versatile dish over your preferred rice for an easy one-pot recipe. Instructions to make this red beans and rice in the Instant Pot are also included. 

Ingredients For Crock-Pot Red Beans and Rice

• Dry Red Beans
• Smoked Sausage
• Onion
• Bell Pepper
• Celery
• Garlic
• Water (or Chicken Broth)
• Seasonings: Creole seasoning, dried thyme, salt, pepper
• Rice for serving

How To Make Red Beans and Rice In The Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker

1. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
2. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.
3. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Instant Pot

1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add the oil, onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
2. Stir in all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cooked rice.
3. Close lid and seal valve. Cook high pressure for 45 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.
4. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

What Is Red Beans and Rice?

Red beans and rice is a Creole dish commonly served in New Orleans. The main ingredients to red beans and rice include red beans, pork meat, celery, onion, bell pepper, and seasonings served over rice. Red beans and rice is not supposed to be a fancy recipe; one of the best things about it is that the ingredients are fairly inexpensive. Outside of the main ingredients, you can make the dish your own. I kept this version basic. Suggested additions would be to add Creole or Cajun seasoning or some heat like hot sauce or red pepper flakes.

Dry Or Canned Red Beans

This red beans and rice recipe is best made with dry red beans. The best part…NO pre-soak! That’s right, after you rinse the dry red beans, add them directly to the slow cooker or Instant Pot. You can use canned beans.  If you choose to use canned beans, be sure to buy enough. 15 ounces of canned red beans is not the same as 16 ounces of dry red beans. You will need at least four 15-ounce cans of red beans. Canned red kidney beans are cooked so if you use canned, you can cut the cooking time by an hour for the slow cooker and 20 minutes for the Instant Pot.

What Type Of Sausage To Use

Traditionally, red beans and rice is made with smoked sausage or some sort of ham meat. Like all of my recipes, I encourage you to use the ingredients that you like and can afford. Use 12 ounces of your preferred smoked sausage. What you see here is a generic beef sausage from my local grocery store. You can add up to 20 ounces of sausage without having to make any adjustments to the recipe. 

FAQs & Tips

• Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or the freezer 3 months. 
• Serve this over your preferred rice. 
• When cooking is complete, mash some of the beans into the slow cooker or Instant Pot using the back of a large spoon. This will make the broth more flavorful. 
• I use a 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot to make this recipe.

Creole/Cajun Recipes 

• Gumbo

• Creole Beef

• Cajun Chicken & Sausag

• Creole Shrimp Au Gratin

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

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Slow cooker red beans and rice is an affordable and hearty Creole dish. With inexpensive ingredients, this budget-conscious meal uses dry red beans that do not need to be presoaked first. That’s right, no presoaking. Add everything to the crockpot and let it cook. Serve this versatile dish over your preferred rice for an easy one-pot recipe. Instructions to make this red beans and rice in the Instant Pot are also included.

• Author: Shannon Epstein
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 15 mins
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 16 ounces dry red kidney beans, rinsed
• 12 ounces sausage, cut into 1-inch rounds
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Creole
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper to taste
• 6 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 tablespoon oil of your choice (for Instant Pot)

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Instructions

Slow Cooker

1. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
2. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.
3. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Instant Pot

1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add the oil, onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
2. Stir in all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cooked rice.
3. Close lid and seal valve. Cook high pressure for 45 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.
4. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Notes

nutritional info includes the rice

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 577
• Sugar: 3 g
• Sodium: 1300.2 mg
• Fat: 29.5 g
• Saturated Fat: 9.6 g
• Carbohydrates: 51.4 g
• Fiber: 9.1 g
• Protein: 26.5 g
• Cholesterol: 62.2 mg

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