Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated September 7, 2023

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
7½ hours
Rating
4(1,246)
Comments
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This slow cooker version of New Orleans-style red beans requires about 20 minutes to toss together in the morning and can be ready to eat when you walk in the door after work. Creamy and comforting, it is traditionally flavored with a leftover pork bone, so if you happen to have one, feel free to throw that in instead of a ham hock. And if you have a favorite Cajun or Creole spice mixture on hand, use 1 heaping tablespoon of it in place of the sage, cayenne, garlic, onion and paprika powders, and taste before adding any salt, as seasoning blends contain a varying amount of sodium. Adding hot sauce at the end is key: The best kind to use is a vinegary, cayenne-based, Louisiana-style sauce, like Crystal, Louisiana brand or Tabasco. (Here is a vegan version of this recipe.)

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 3 celery stalks, finely chopped

  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

  • 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

  • ½ to 1 teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste

  • ½ teaspoon ground sage (optional)

  • 1 pound dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight (see Tip)

  • 3 dried bay leaves

  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 12 ounces smoked pork sausage, preferably andouille, sliced into 1-inch-thick coins

  • 1 smoked 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)

68 grams carbs; 43 milligrams cholesterol; 613 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 23 grams fat; 14 grams fiber; 997 milligrams sodium; 34 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

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.

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Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. 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.)

  3. 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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,246 user ratings
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Comments

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.

Pam

I used dried red beans (not kidney) which I had soaked overnight. I did not saute the veggies before putting them into the crockpot. Also left out the bay leaf and used 2TB of Emeril's essence instead of the seasoning blend. Leftover hambone from Easter and a couple links of Hungarian sausage were the meats. Very good, will definitely make again.

Chelsea K

I made this and it was delicious! My husband loved it and said he wanted to eat the leftovers all week.

DennisD

This meal was absolutely amazing! Not sure why it only received 4 stars, while a very similar recipe - 'Red Beans and Rice' by Johnson & Severson - had a 5-star rating. I made it as written, except for two minor changes: 1. I used a pound of smoked beef Kiolbassa (Kielbasa) and four ounces of Harry & David's pork-and-beef summer sausage, but no ham hocks; and 2. I added two teaspoons of dried basil. It cooked in a crockpot for seven hours. Wow! This was GOOD!

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