Slow Cooker Recipe for Louisiana-Style Red Beans and Rice

By lamarandrose

Southern red beans and rice is a dish that is full of rich, hearty flavor. You can now make this delicious dish in your slow cooker with this recipe for Slow Cooker Louisiana-Style Red Beans and Rice. Kidney beans cook together with sausage, stock, and Creole seasoning. After the red bean mixture has cooked for several hours, you will be ready to serve it up with a big scoop of white rice. This New Orleans favorite is bound to become a hit with your family.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced small
• 2-3 tsp. olive oil
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (or other Creole seasoning of your choice)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• salt and black pepper to taste (I didn't use salt because the Tony Chachere's seasoning has salt, and I only used a little bit of pepper)
• 4 cups cooked small red beans (or use 3 cans red beans, rinsed and drained and add 1/2 cup more chicken stock)
• 3 cups diced lean ham or Louisiana Hot Sausages (dice into pieces about the size of the cooked beans)
• 3 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce (or use a smaller amount of red Tobasco)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 3 cups cooked white rice for serving

Preparation

Step 1

If using dried beans, soak overnight and cook on stove until they are fairly soft, or cook in pressure cooker about 25 minutes.
Drain beans.
If using canned beans, rinse with cold water until no more foam appears, then drain.

Cut ham or sausage into small pieces, about the size of cooked beans.

Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan,
then saute diced onion about 5 minutes, or until onion starts to brown. Add garlic and saute 1 minute, then
add Creole Seasoning, dried thyme, and dried oregano and saute 1-2 minutes more.

Put onion mixture into small crockpot.
Add cooked beans and diced ham or sausage.
Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, bay leaves, and red wine vinegar, and stir to combine.

Cook on high for 4-8 hours, until the beans are dissolved as much as you prefer.
I like this best when the beans are at least 3/4 broken apart and dissolved into the liquid. Canned beans are usually softer and will break apart more quickly.

Serve hot, topped with white rice.
In New Orleans this is usually served in a bowl filled about 2/3 full of the soupy bean mixture, then topped with a scoop of rice.

I used a 3.5 quart slow cooker to make this, but a slightly smaller quart size would work. This freezes well, so you might want to double the recipe and use a larger crockpot.