{VIDEO} Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

Red beans and rice is a hearty Creole dish. With the sausage added, it’s a one-pot meal. Make this high-fiber recipe in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.

PIN FOR LATER

Updated 2020 with Instant Pot instructions

My Mom made red beans & rice fairly frequently when I was growing up but never in the slow cooker (Instant Pot didn’t exist back then). I don’t know why not, this is a great slow cooker recipe! The beans cook for a long period over low heat….slow cooker.

before (slow cooker)

What Are Red Beans & Rice

Red bean 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.

after (slow cooker)

Dry Or Canned 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 andouille sausage or some sort of ham meat. For the FitSlowCooker version, you can use 12 ounces of your preferred smoked sausage. What you see here is a generic beef sausage from my local grocery store. Of course if you want to add more sausage you can. You can safely add up to 20 ounces of sausage without having to make any changes to the other measurements.

How To Serve This

Over rice! I mean, it is called red beans and rice. The rice is cooked separately.  However you want to cook your rice is up to you. I served this over white rice but brown rice and cauliflower rice work too! Heck, if you don’t want to serve this over rice you don’t have to. The addition of red beans might be hearty enough for some people. If that’s the case, eat it as-is with a side salad or some veggies.

I like to use 7 cups so there’s enough broth for each serving. If you want less broth, use 5-6 of water. If you want more broth then use 8 cups. For a more flavorful broth, when the recipe is done, mash some of the cooked beans in the slow cooker or Instant Pot using the back of a large spoon.

PIN FOR LATER

I use a 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot to make this recipe.

{VIDEO} Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice

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

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups cooked rice (for serving)
• 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 stalks, sliced
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or more)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cups 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

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