This Red Beans and Rice Slow Cooker recipe is a simple, hearty dish that works as either a side dish or a full main course. It’s filled with chicken sausage, red beans, and veggies in a tasty sauce that tastes amazing over rice with your favorite fixings.
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Slow Cooker Beans and Rice
This dump-and-go Slow Cooker Beans and Rice recipe is full of chicken sausage and veggies, giving it great flavor while it cooks. Serve over long grain white rice and top with sour cream, diced avocado, and fresh cilantro for a hearty complete meal. It can also be enjoyed as a simple side dish.
Below, you will find tips on recipe substitutions, how to cook Red Beans and Rice on the stove top, how to use dried beans, and more. It’s also a great recipe to freeze for later, so be sure and make plenty.
Red Beans and Rice Slow Cooker Ingredients
- Onion - you will need 1 whole yellow or white onion, diced finely.
- Bell Pepper - I like to use red bell peppers, but any other color would work great.
- Celery - you will need about 3 whole stalks of diced celery for this recipe.
- Chicken Sausage - I like to use Andouille sausage, but any similar sausage will work. It should be sliced before adding to the slow cooker.
- Beans - red kidney beans work great, although black beans and rice are also delicious. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans before adding them. Note that the cook time in this recipe is for canned beans. See below for more information on using dried beans in this recipe.
- Salt and Pepper
- Hot Sauce - I love using Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, but if you like another use that instead.
- Herbs and Spices - this recipe calls for dried thyme, garlic powder, and bay leaves. You could use fresh thyme if you have it. A little bit of Old Bay Seasoning would also taste great. To make things a bit spicier, add a little chili powder or cayenne pepper.
- Chicken Broth - any type of chicken broth works great. If you are making this into a vegetarian recipe, just substitute vegetable broth.
- Rice - any kind of long grain cooked rice will work great.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beans and Rice
- Add ingredients to the crock pot. In a slow cooker, add the onion, red pepper, celery, sliced chicken sausage, beans, salt, pepper, hot sauce, thyme, garlic powder, bay leaves, and chicken broth.
- Cook. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for about 3-4 hours, on high for about 2 hours, or until the onions are tender. Once cooked, remove the bay leaves and add more salt and pepper to taste if desired.
- Serve. To serve, add about ½ cup of your favorite cooked rice to each bowl and top with the beans and sausage. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can absolutely use dry beans in this recipe. However, you will either need to cook the beans separately first (read our entire post on how to cook beans in a slow cooker here) or extend the cook time to about 8 hours on low heat or 6 hours on high heat.
Yup! It won’t be quite as hands-off, but making Red Beans and Rice on the stove top is still very simple and quite fast. Just saute the onion, pepper, and celery in a little cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat first. Next, add the sliced sausage and cook, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer gently until warmed through.
If you use canned beans, it should take around 3-4 hours on low or about 2 hours on high for the onions to become tender. If you use dry beans, plan on increasing the time to about 8 hours on low heat or 6 hours on high heat.
You can try adding the uncooked rice to the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. Just increase the cooking time to about 4-6 hours on low or about 3-4 hours on high - until the rice is cooked. You may need to add 1-2 cups of water to the mixture so keep an eye on it while it cooks.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator: allow beans to cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: freeze the beans and sausage mixture in an airtight container (or freezer bags) for up to 2 months. You’ll want to transfer to the refrigerator overnight (or at least 6 hours) before using.
- To reheat: transfer to a saucepot and add a splash of water. Heat over medium stirring occasionally until the beans are warmed through. If you are reheating a small portion, you can also reheat in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds on high.
Slow Cooker Beans and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 1 medium Red Bell Pepper diced
- 3 stalks Celery diced (or about 1 cup)
- 1 pound Chicken Sausage Andouille or similar, cut into slices
- 3 15-oz cans Red Beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce
- ½ teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 3 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 large Bay Leaves
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 6 cups Cooked Rice
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, add the onion, red pepper, celery, sliced chicken sausage, beans, salt, pepper, hot sauce, thyme, garlic powder, bay leaves, and chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for about 3-4 hours, or until the onions are tender.
- Once cooked, remove the bay leaves and add more salt and pepper to taste if desired.
- To serve, add about ½ cup of your favorite cooked rice to each bowl and top with the beans and sausage. Enjoy!
More Recipes That Use Beans
- Baked Beans
- How to Cook Pinto Beans
- Chipotle Black Beans
- Easy Refried Beans
- Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Cheesy Bean Dip
- 7-Layer Bean Dip
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls Recipe
- More of the Best Side Dishes
- More Slow Cooker Recipes
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This Slow Cooker Beans and Rice recipe is an easy dump-and-go meal that everyone loves. It's full of sausage, red beans, and veggies and couldn't be easier to make.
Peacejen
Very tasty!
The whole family loved it. Only had Italian sausage, but it was still great!
When I make it again, I will use less broth because it came out very soupy.