Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
- Total Time
- 7½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1large yellow onion, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 3celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 10garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- 1teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ to 1teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon ground sage (optional)
- 1pound dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight (see Tip)
- 3dried bay leaves
- 3sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 12ounces smoked pork sausage, preferably andouille, sliced into 1-inch-thick coins
- 1smoked ham hock (about 10 ounces)
- Cooked rice, for serving
- Sliced scallions, for serving
- Louisiana-style hot sauce, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
613 calories; 23 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 997 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat the oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is limp and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and sage (if using); grind in a generous amount of black pepper and add ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, then remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker.
- Step 2
Add the beans, bay leaves, thyme, sausage, ham hock and 6 cups water. Cook on high until the beans are very tender and creamy, about 7 hours. (See Tip.)
- Step 3
Before serving, add salt or cayenne to taste. Using a fork or the back of a spoon, mash some of the beans against the side of the slow cooker to make the mixture slightly creamy. (It will continue to thicken as it sits.) Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs; you can pick the meat off the ham hock if you like. Top the beans with hot cooked rice and scallions; serve with hot sauce.
Tip
- Red beans should simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes until tender to be safe to eat. If your slow cooker does not have a high setting, simmer soaked beans in fresh water for 30 minutes before Step 1.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
NolaMom
As a New Orleans native and resident, I have been cooking red beans in the slow cooker for at least a dozen years. Definitely easier than the stovetop. In my experience....1) it takes 10 hours on High to achieve the creamy texture. Any shorter than that and you’ll be mashing a lot of the beans to make them creamy. 2) the bay leaf becomes extremely bitter if cooked that long. I no longer use it and we haven’t noticed a difference. 3) No need to sauté the vegetables beforehand.
Lucy Anderson
I get annoyed when I read up front about a 20 minute prep time. Then the recipe calls for 4 different chopped veg and a 5-8 minute sauté. I’m pretty fast but that line will take more than the 20 the recipe calls for.
Margaux Laskey, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking
I hear you. It has a bit more concentrated flavor when you sauté first, but skip it, and toss the raw vegetables into the slow cooker. I do it all the time.
MCVK
I've been using slow cookers for 40 years, so I've owned several, from small to large and cheap to expensive. I've had to adjust heat levels and cooking times because each has had its own character. The recipe says 7 hours on high and NolaMom commented it takes 10 hours. I would check after 7 hours and if need be continue cooking until the beans are creamy. Trust but verify.
Rebecca
Kidney beans have much higher levels of phytohemagglutinin than other beans. That's what causes all the gas from beans. The levels in kidney beans are high enough to really make you feel unwell. Soaking kidney beans then rinsing them decreases those levels.
marnie
Did this in instant pot for 40 minutes and natural release. Reduced extra liquid on sauté function. Would recommend not salting as hocks are quite salty. Served with the rice and favorite hot sauces.
Amanda
Being from NOLA, my mom & I have always used a slow cooker for red beans & rice. Dried cajun trinity (chopped onion, green bell pepper & celery) is my go to for this. Longest prep is slicing the sausage. I've never used a ham hock, just smoked sausage. Hot sauce can go in before cooking. Soaking the beans overnight is important, just put them in the crock with water and cover with the lid. Then in the morning you can throw in the sausage, trinity, seasonings & water quickly, turn it on and go.
RosebudTX
Good and, even though prep took twice as long as noted, still easy! Saw another comment about soaking the beans and realized I unintentionally did NOT soak the beans as indicated, but they were perfect after 7 hrs. The ground sage really came through as a strong flavor, so may do without that optional ingredient next time just to see which way I prefer. Found pork neck bones at the supermarket—inexpensive with lots of meat on them that I removed from the bone and returned to the dish at the end.
Corey
Does this recipe really require three stalks of celery? That seems like a lot. Could it possibly mean three ribs of celery?
Kevin
Prep time was about 40 minutes when done at an efficient but unstressed pace. Remember the 30-minute prep and cook time for the rice if you won't be able to do this step in the last half hour of the slow cook. I cooked for 9 hours on a work day with commute, and it was delicious.
richard paul
The prep notes Step 2 say " Cook on high..." and Step 3 says "If your beans are not bubbling at all by the time they are done cooking, turn the heat up to high" My slow cooker only has one HIGH setting
Tan
The prep time for the ingredients takes closer to 30-45 mins so don’t try this in the morning unless you have time. Left it in the instant pot at slow cook for about 8 hours then pressured cooked it on high another 2. This should easily feed 8 adults, no problem.
Andy C.
It says to cook on high, then if it's not bubbling, to turn up to high. May I safely assume I am to cook on low? I used small red beans instead of kidneys.
CyberJoe
Why do recipes keep perpetuating the myth to soak beans? Give them a good rinse. No need to soak, especially if cooking on high for 7 hours. Smoked andouille sausage is usually precooked. No need to add them until towards the end.
MC
I made this dish with canned kidney beans, cajun seasoning, pork stock and all of the other ingredients listed and it was great! I would definitely eat this again.
Wren
I made this exactly as instructed except that I cooked it stovetop for the duration. It was fantastic. I don’t mind taking a bit of extra time with the chopping. I would allow for 35-40 minutes prep before you can walk away and let it simmer.
allison
10. Mash the meatless half of the beans in its a potato masher. Decide how much to mash based on the amount of liquid. If it’s really soupy, mash half. If not, mash less than half
allison
10. Mash half the beans to a creamy texture with a potato masher. Decide how much to mash based on liquid level. If it’s really soupy, mash more. If it’s not, mash less
Emily
Soaked the beans for 8 hours. Threw it in my slow cooker for 8-10 hours. I used Tony Chachere’s season. Still needed some kick. I added slap your mamma seasoning and little more garlic powder.
Ann
If kombo seaweed is added to the slow cooker, this will eliminate the gas that beans often produce. Plus, the kombu seaweed tastes good.
Jenny Madison
Kind of bland, but maybe I'm just not a RBAR fan? Lots of liquid at the end of cooking so maybe I should have let it sit in crock pot longer? Did 6 hours on high then let it go another 2 on low-ish. Good leftovers, though. Loved Matouk's on it.
Laurence
Hey there, I just wanted to draw attention to a potential food safety issue with this recipe. The "tip" at the bottom to simmer your soaked beans for at least 30 minutes to make them "safe to eat" (ie, not poisonous) is misleading, and badly placed at the end of the recipe. It also doesn't account for differences in altitude, which impacts boiling times. I actually took mine out of the crockpot when I realized this and reboiled for another 30 minutes, as I live 2100 feet about sea level.
kelsey
Used 2 bell peppers, extra celery, and 2 medium onions. Allow onion to lightly caramelize for 15 min before adding other veggies. Added spices as directed plus 1 tsp Kashmiri chili and 1/2 tsp Sirārakhong Hāthei Chillies. Added thyme and bay leaves in bundle wrapped with twine. Placed some pork fat (smoked by Greg) in bottom of pot. Boiled beans 35 min then added with some cooking liquid. Set on high 8h. Blended half the beans (not more!) avoiding veggies. Topped w sliced sausage and smoked pork
Christianna
Cook on LOW not high!!!
needs salt
Honestly the boxed stuff was way better. This needed a lot more salt and seasoning than it had.
Richard L. Floyd
This is a very good recipe. My only tweak was I added a little ground white pepper, which is featured in many Cajun spice mixes. Definitely pick the meat off the ham hock; it's delicious. I buy smoked hocks in three packs, break them out, and put them in individual freezer bags. They are a great flavor enhancer for soups and stews and add that lovely silky thickener. Make this in the morning. At dinner time make a Sazerac cocktail, put some Louis Armstrong on, and take a trip to NOLA!
Lillian
If you can't find a good Andouille sausage, a good hot Italian sausage is delicious in red beans and rice. Red beans are a tasty, creamier bean without the tough skin of kidney beans.
shoshana
Soaked beans after boiling them with 3 tablespoons of salt overnight as per cooks illustrated. Cooked six strips of turkey bacon first then Sautéed vegetables. Added thyme oregeno paprika and Cajun spice mix and cayenne pepper spice to the beans and vegetables added 5 cups water and one cup broth. Put on high for seven hours. Last hour boiled down and added one capful of red vinager and boiled down. Creamy spicy goodness Served with jerk chicken coleslaw and vinegary green beans &cornbread
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
