Best Crockpot Red Beans and Rice Recipe (2024)

Posted: Feb 20, 2014 · Updated: May 19, 2023 · By Chrysa

Celebrate Mardi Gras or just make a delicious and easy weeknight dinner with this slow cooker Red Beans and Rice with Sausage recipe.

In honor of Mardi Gras, I’m sharing this recipe for Crockpot Red Beans and Rice. This is a hearty, inexpensive meal that feeds a crowd or is great for leftovers!

And a big plus is that this recipe is super easy to make, so you don’t just need to wait for a special occasion, it’s perfect for dinner any night of the week.

Just set up the slow cooker in the morning and you’ll have a hot and delicious meal when you get home in the evening.

There are a lot of “optionals” in this recipe. If you don’t want to add all of the individual spices I have listed, you can replace them all with 2 Tbsp of cajun or creole seasoning. You can use a packaged seasoning or use our recipe for homemade Cajun seasoning!

Also, you can reduce or omit the cayenne pepper if you don’t want it spicy, or add more cayenne along with red pepper flakes if you want it really spicy.

Also, sautéing the sausage and veggies before adding them to the Crockpot is totally optional – I just like the browning.

Another option for this slow cooker red beans and rice with sausage dish is using chicken stock in place of some of the water for a more rich flavor. It’s a very versatile recipe!

You might want to consider using aslow cooker liner for this dish. We all know how hard it can be to clean up anything that has been cooking all day! You can find them here.

Once you are done cooking and serving, just pull the liner of the pot and throw away. You’ll be left with a totally clean slow cooker with nothing to wash!

Crock-Pot 20-Ounce Lunch Crock Food Warmer

One more tip is that this meal makes DELICIOUS leftovers. They’re perfect for packing to bring to work for lunch. An easy way to do this is packing the leftovers in this Crock-Pot Lunch Crock Food Warmer. You can leave the warming base at work and use the removable food container to transport your lunch from home.

The warming base will keep your food warm or heat your foods over time. It’s a good way to avoid standing in line to use the office microwave (which is usually pretty filthy inside anyway!) My husband loves this thing at the office!

Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

1 pound dry read beans
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups hot water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
4 cups cooked white rice

How to make crockpot red beans and rice:

• Soak beans overnight. In the morning, drain off the water and rinse. Add to crockpot.
• In a frying pan, sautee sausage, pepper and onion in olive oil until starting to brown. During the last 30 seconds, add in the garlic.
• Move contents of frying pan to Crockpot. Add in all remaining ingredients except for the salt and cooked rice.
• Cook for two hours on high, then turn Crockpotto low and continue cooking 4-5 hours or until beans are tender.
• Add salt at the end or during the last hour or two of cooking. (Adding at the beginning can make the beans tough.)
• To thicken sauce, smash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the slow cooker. If you want it even thicker, turn Crockpot to high and leave off cover to reduce the liquid. Or mix 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp of hot water and stir into beans before letting it cook another 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves before serving over the cooked rice.