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Hearty and packed with veggies, this slow cooker red beans and rice recipe is a perfect comfort meal for a cold night. It’s rich, filling, packed with protein, and has the perfect kick of spiciness.
Red beans and rice is one of my favorite comfort foods. It’s so soothing, hearty, and filling. A steaming hot bowl of slow cooker red beans and rice it just good for the soul….and taste buds.
This crock pot red beans and rice recipe is my favorite version of this classic dish. It has a perfect kick of heat and smokiness from cajun seasoning and andouille sausage. It is loaded with bell peppers and celery with a rich sauce.
Why You’ll Love Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice
This smoky and spicy recipe is one that you’re bound to make time and time again. Here’s why these red beans and rice are a must-try recipe.
- So easy. This is about as easy as dinner gets. You do brown the sausage, and then just dump and let it cook.
- Intensely flavorful. Despite being so easy to make, this recipe is exploding with flavor. The spicy and smoky Cajun seasoning permeates the meat, beans, and sauce, and adds so much richness and complexity to the dish.
- Comforting. Hearty beans, smoky sausage, veggies, and a rich sauce, all served over white rice is my idea of a perfect dinner.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Andouille sausage
- Dried small red beans
- Celery
- Green bell pepper
- Onion – A yellow onion is best, but you can also use a white onion, red onion, or shallots.
- Garlic
- Canned tomato sauce
- Chicken stock
- Cajun seasoning
- Cooked white rice
How To Make Slow Cooker Red Beans And Rice
- Slice the meat. Cut the andouille sausage into bite-size pieces.
- Brown the sausage. Cook the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat to brown it.
- Add all the ingredients. Place the sausage and the rest of the ingredients, except the rice, in your slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cook. Turn on the crock pot and cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high heat for 6 hours.
- Serve. When the red beans and rice are done cooking, serve over white rice. You can mash the beans a little bit if you’d like a thicker consistency.
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Use different sausages. Andouille sausage is traditional, it gives the classic spicy and smokey flavor. But you can use any type of sausage that you prefer.
- Really brown the meat. The best way to get flavor out of meat is to brown it. When cooking the sausage at the start of the recipe, make sure that the pan is hot enough that the meat is browning. That will add so much more flavor to the sausage, and that flavor will meld into the rest of the recipe in the crock pot.
- Use kidney beans. I like to use the traditional small dried red beans for this recipe, but you can also use dried kidney beans if you prefer. However, kidney beans take longer to cook, so boil them for 10 minutes before adding them to the slow cooker.
- Make it spicier. This recipe has a nice amount of heat from the andouille sausage and cajun seasoning. But if you’re a fan of spiciness, you can kick it up a notch by adding diced jalapeños, hot sauce, or chili powder.
Serving Suggestions
Slow cooker red beans and rice are so rich and hearty. Because of that, I like to serve this dinner with a lighter vegetable side dish, to make the meal a little more fresh and complete. Here are a few of my favorites.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover red beans and rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments, or on the stove over medium heat until warm throughout. You can also freeze this cozy and hearty meal in an airtight container for 3 months. Make sure to fully defrost or thaw the beans and rice before reheating.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Air Fryer Boneless Pork Chops
- Crockpot Chicken Alfredo
- Taco Casserole
- Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Onion Soup Meatloaf
Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound andouille sausage
- 1 pound dried small red beans
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- Cooked white rice for serving
Instructions
- Slice the andouille sausage into bite-size pieces.1 pound andouille sausage
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat, then add the sausage. Cook until browned.
- Add the sausage to the slow cooker, then add the dried beans, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chicken stock, and cajun seasoning.1 pound dried small red beans, 2 stalks celery, 1 green bell pepper, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce, 4 cups chicken stock, 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- Cook in the crock pot on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
- When the red beans are done cooking, serve over white rice. You can also mash some of the beans to make the sauce thicker.Cooked white rice for serving
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.
- Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments, or on the stove over medium heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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