Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans and Rice with spicy andouille sausage, creamy red beans, and aromatic garlic, onion, and bell pepper, served over fluffy long-grain rice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound andouille or Kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced into thin half-moons
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed and picked over
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ cups long-grain rice
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook sausage until browned, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Cook onion, bell pepper, and celery in rendered fat until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add broth, beans, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until beans soften, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a slow cooker.
- Place rice and water in a foil-covered loaf pan; nestle into the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until beans are tender.
- Remove loaf pan and set aside. Puree 1 cup of beans; stir puree and sausage into the slow cooker.
- Cook on high until heated through, about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Fluff rice with a fork before serving.