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Red Beans and Rice · Slow Cooker

Slow-Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Dried red beans simmer all day with smoked sausage, the holy trinity and Creole spices until they turn creamy. A short boil before they go in the cooker keeps them safe.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
8 hr 35 min
Total
16 hr 55 min
Serves
8
Level
Easy

Ingredients

Beans

  • 1 lb dried red kidney beans, or small red beans, picked over and rinsed

Pot

  • 12 oz andouille sausage, fully cooked, sliced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 smoked ham hock (optional)
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, add at the end, to taste

To serve

  • cooked long-grain white rice
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • hot sauce

Steps

  1. Put the beans in a large bowl, cover with 3 inches of cold water and soak overnight.
  2. Drain and rinse the beans.
  3. Put the beans in a large pot, cover with fresh water by 2 inches and bring to a full boil over high heat.
  4. Boil hard, uncovered. This step matters: raw kidney beans contain a natural toxin, and a slow cooker alone may not get hot enough to destroy it.
  5. Drain the beans in a colander and put them in a 6-quart slow cooker.
  6. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, ham hock, broth, water, bay leaves, thyme, smoked paprika, cayenne and black pepper. Stir.
  7. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours (or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours), until the beans are very soft and break apart easily.
  8. Remove the bay leaves and ham hock. Pull any meat off the hock, chop it and return it to the pot.
  9. Use the back of a spoon to mash about a cup of beans against the side of the cooker, then stir. This makes the sauce creamy.
  10. Stir in the salt, cover and cook on HIGH to thicken a little more.
  11. Taste and adjust the salt and cayenne. Serve over rice with green onions and hot sauce.

Tip: Salt the beans at the end. Old beans or very salty broth can keep them from softening.

Tip: If your beans are still firm after 9 hours, they may be old. Switch to HIGH and give them another hour.

Storage: Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. It thickens as it sits; loosen with water when reheating.

Make ahead: Even better the next day. Make it a day ahead and reheat on the stove.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 350 calories · protein 19 g · carbohydrates 40 g · fiber 10 g · sugars 4 g · fat 13 g (saturated 4 g) · sodium 1,160 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 15 of 15 ingredients.