READY IN 8+ hrs

Authentic, No Shortcuts, Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

Read Reviews (110)

"This is my take on a Louisiana classic. No shortcuts! Put everything into the slow cooker in the morning and you will have your meal ready in the late afternoon or evening, whenever you are ready. This recipe will feed a lot of people." — Melissa S.

Directions

Place the beans and water into a slow cooker. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage in the skillet; remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and transfer to the slow cooker. Reserve drippings. Add onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper and garlic to the drippings; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer everything from the skillet to the slow cooker.
Season the mixture with pepper and Creole seasoning. Add the fresh basil leaves and ham hock. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until beans are tender. If the bean mixture seems too watery, take the lid off the slow cooker and set heat to High to cook until they reach a creamy texture.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 20 mins
COOK 8 hrs
READY IN 8 hrs 20 mins

Footnotes

When making your rice, if you have the time try it this way: Boil your rice until nearly done, drain in a metal strainer and rinse with cold water. Add about an inch of water to the pot you boiled the rice in and place the strainer full of rice on top of the pot. place on stove on medium heat, cover and steam the rice for about 15 minutes. This is a little time consuming, but it makes perfect rice.

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Jan 28, 2009

This is the best recipe for red beans & rice on this site. It does need tweaking for your individual tastes, though. To make these red beans taste like the ones I grew up on in Louisiana, I did the following: Omitted the jalapeño. Cut the bell pepper by half. Used a generous amount of Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning. Subbed chicken broth for water & cut it down to 7 cups. Used the back of my spoon to smash up enough beans to make the whole pot creamy. Must! Use! Andouille! even if you have to order it online this is the ONLY way to get the authentic and unique flavor of the sausage right. Regular sausage just isn't seasoned the same way or contains the same amount of spiciness. My central Texas grocery store has started carrying it, as does Whole Foods and other "specialty stores". I only had ham scraps instead of a ham hock but the andouille adds smoky flavor so I didn't miss the hock. Normally I'd use both the andouille & the ham hock. For those omitting celery, you really need the "holy trinity" of onion, celery & bell pepper to call it authentic. Mince it finely and sautee it first if you have to. Me, I just do a fine dice on the veggies and let them cook down in the pot.

—Kay

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Aug 12, 2009

This isn't a Louisiana recipe, must be from Texas--jalapenos?? never! My mother cookd red beans & rice every Monday, always two bay leaves (left in the pot) whoever got a leaf was lucky. Usually there would be sausage in it, but if had been a good week we would have fried pork chops. There was no such thing as Creole seasoning back then, if you wanted it hot you add Louisiana Hot Sauce (not Tabasco) to your bowl not the pot. Red beans were usually cooked on Mondays so mothers could do the laundry without worrying about what was cooking on the stove.

—NJEANBURNS

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137 Ratings

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Aug 12, 2009

In N'awlins, everybody has her own touch for red beans and rice, so whatever works for you is great. They are ALL creamy, though, accomplished by smashing beans as noted by several folks. Most restaurants serve smoked sausage on the side and season the beans with ham or a little andouille. One tip--don't add the salt until the end or it will prevent the beans from getting soft.

—ks

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May 31, 2008

If you can't find andouille sausage, smoked keilbasa is a great substitute. We always add a bay leaf or two to our pot of beans. Got to have the bay leaf.... Good recipe. I like slow cooker idea. Thanks for the recipe.

—CJ McD

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Dec 31, 2007

I have been looking for a real red beans and rice recipe ever since I visited New Orleans a couple months ago. This is the closest I have found to what I had there. I liked it much more the second day. Next time I will make it a day before I want to eat it. I also had to add more spice (cayenne pepper) to get the heat my family likes. Other than that, this is an excellent recipe that I will definitely make again!

—HOLLY

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Jul 22, 2008

I live in Louisiana and have never attempted to make red beans..this recipe tasted so good and just like all the red bean recipes here in Louisiana! Next time I would cut the water back to 9 cups, it was a little thin but the next day it thickened up. I also would not cook te sausage ahead of time and just put in the crock pot and it will cook up in there. I added just a little cajun seasoning for an extra kick! Thanks for the great recipe I will be making for years to come!

—Nicole B.

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Feb 21, 2008

This is really a pretty good recipe. I adjusted the spices to suit my families taste, and made a couple of substitutions due to location and price. I subbed hot sausage (from Hillshire Farms) for the andouille sausage, and I used ham boullion instead of a ham hock. My only thing is that in the slow cooker the thing would not thicken- so I ended up pouring it into a pan and simmering for about 20 minutes to reduce the liquid. Next time I'll just use less liquid- probably more like 7-8 cups of water. Over all though it is a really tasty recipe that is pretty forgiving when it comes to adjusting here and there for your own taste.

—erinid

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Feb 13, 2008

Tasty, with some nice bite to it, but has too much liquid. I used 1/2 lb beans and 4 1/2 cups water, but next time I'll use only 3 cups water.

—Alexandra

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Nutrition

Calories
556 kcal
28%

Carbohydrates
61.5 g
20%

Cholesterol
50 mg
17%

Fat
22.3 g
34%

Fiber
15.2 g
61%

Protein
27.2 g
54%

Sodium
615 mg
25%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Authentic, No Shortcuts, Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 556
Calories from Fat: 201

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 22.3g 34 %
Saturated Fat 7.5g 38 %
Cholesterol 50mg 17 %
Sodium 615mg 25 %
Potassium 1079mg 30 %
Total Carbohydrates 61.5g 20 %
Dietary Fiber 15.2g 61 %
Protein 27.2g 54 %
** Sugars 2.5g
** Vitamin A 3 %
** Vitamin C 30 %
** Calcium 15 %
** Iron 65 %
** Thiamin 84 %
** Niacin 78 %
** Vitamin B6 37 %
** Magnesium 39 %
** Folate 154 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.