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Red Beans and Rice is a hearty, flavorful recipe that comes together easily in the crockpot. Add ham and sausage and you’ve got a scrumptious supper or side dish!
Featured with this Recipe
This is one of our favorite easy suppers to make any night of the week. This Crockpot red beans and rice recipe originally came from my friend, Becky, who made it for my family one evening. We could not get enough! I’ve tried many Red Beans and Rice recipes over the years and this is hands down my favorite! There’s something about the blend of flavors and textures in this dish that is so satisfying. My family loves the extra veggies and the smoky sausage that adds such flavor dimension. Whether you’re celebrating Mardi Gras or just craving some good old fashioned New Orleans comfort food, this recipe is the perfect one for you!
Ingredients in Red Beans and Rice
- Meaty Ham Bone – a leftover spiral ham bone from Easter or Christmas dinner works great. The leftover ham on the bone becomes so tender and flavorful when you let it simmer. You can also use a few ham hocks in place of a ham bone.
- Chicken Broth – or chicken stock.
- Water
- Onion
- Celery
- Bay Leaves
- Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning – this seasoning is the best!! However, if you can’t find it, you can use any Cajun seasoning blend. Cajun seasoning typically consists of paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, white pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, and dried thyme. Sometimes Cajun dishes also feature sage and fresh parsley.
- Red Beans – or red kidney beans. We usually buy canned beans, but you can soak and cook your own as well.
- Smoked Turkey Sausage – we like to add sausage for a little extra protein and flavor.
- Carrots
- Green Bell Pepper
- White Rice
Suggestions for this Recipe
- For an added spicy kick, try Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. It adds just the right amount of spice to this recipe and so many others. We love this stuff! We sprinkle it on eggs, pizza, pasta…pretty much anything.
- To kick up the heat even more, add a few shakes of cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, or your favorite hot sauce.
- If you have leftover ham for any reason, toss it in! It adds so much flavor to the beans. But no need to rush out and buy a ham bone. Because it cooks all day in the Crockpot, the recipe is definitely savory and flavorful without.
- Red beans and rice with sausage is my favorite! We use either smoked chicken or turkey sausage. It’s lower in fat so it keeps the calories down and allows me to have an extra bowlful or two. But you can use any kind of sliced sausage you like. My husband likes a super spicy Andouille sausage in this recipe too.
- This recipe calls for carrots, green pepper, onions, and celery, but you can add other veggies too! Or serve with a side of corn on the cob or collard greens for a well-rounded meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Red beans and kidney beans are actually two different types of beans. Red beans are smaller and look more like pinto beans but red in color. However, they are still pretty similar in flavor and texture, so if you don’t have red beans you can absolutely substitute kidney beans in this slow cooker recipe.
We usually serve red beans and rice with corn on the cob and collard greens. Some people serve red beans and rice with cornbread or fried green tomatoes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Read Next: 35+ Quick and Easy To Follow Dinner Ideas Your Family Will Surely Love
More Crock Pot Recipes
Slow Cooker meals are a terrific way to get dinner on the table with very little effort. Try a few of these savory and oh-so-satisfying suppers:
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Au Gratin Potatoes and Ham
- Crock Pot Beef Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew
- Crock Pot BBQ Baked Beans
How to Make Crockpot Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans and Rice
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- meaty ham bone (a leftover spiral-sliced ham bone works great)
- 2 cans chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
- 2 cans red or kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 12 ounces smoked turkey or chicken sausage ring lower fat, sliced
- 3 carrots shredded
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 4 cups cooked rice any rice will work, I like Calrose rice
Instructions
- Place meaty ham bone in a large crockpot. Add chicken broth, water, onion, celery, bay leaves, and Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning.
- Cook for 4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low.
- Remove ham bone. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off the bone and coarsely chop into bite size pieces. Discard bone and return chopped ham to crockpot.
- Add kidney beans, sausage, shredded carrots, and chopped green pepper to the crockpot and stir.
- Cook another 1 hour on high setting.
- Cook rice on stovetop or in rice cooker.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Serve in bowls over hot, cooked rice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, extra Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, or tabasco sauce.
Notes
- For an added spicy kick, try Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. It adds just the right amount of spice to this recipe and so many others. We love this stuff!
- To kick up the heat even more, add a few shakes of Tabasco sauce.
- If you have leftover ham for any reason, toss it in! It adds so much flavor to the beans. But no need to rush out and buy a ham bone. Because it cooks all day in the Crockpot, the recipe is definitely savory and flavorful without.
- Red beans and rice with sausage is my favorite! We use either smoked chicken or turkey sausage. It’s lower in fat so it keeps the calories down and allows me to have an extra bowlful or two. But you can use any kind of sliced sausage you like. My husband likes a super spicy Andouille sausage in this recipe too.
- This recipe calls for carrots, green pepper, onions and celery, but you can add other veggies too! Or serve with a side of corn on the cob or collard greens for a well rounded meal.
Nutrition Information
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This recipe is got all the ingredients my family loves, A great side to go with ham, or all by itself. I’ll make ham, mac and cheese, rolls, potato salad and devil eggs . yummy, can’t wait!
These beans and rice look so good! Can’t wait to try it with my family!
So simple and the entire family loved it!
Love your pages so yummy.
The ingredient list shows sausage but I don’t see that in the instruction list.
Thank you for catching that Chris! I’m sorry I left that out. The sausage goes in at the same time as the Kidney Beans and shredded carrots. I fixed it on the recipe.
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a Super-Duper Week!