New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice Recipe

This slow cooker red beans and rice recipe brings you creamy, New Orleans-style beans the easy way! Red Beans and Rice with sausages is my family’s favorite meal. They love it for its marvelous taste, and I love it for its simplicity. It’s so comforting and delicious. Not to mention that the ingredients for this satisfying meal are inexpensive, readily available in every store, and usually found in most stocked pantries. With these conveniences, making these dishes will be easy. You will have a great time making it. At the same time, enjoying the dish with your family is a great treat. Prepare to surprise yourself with this dish!

According to Camellia Brand, New Orleans red beans & rice recipe dates back to the 1930s in New Orleans, Louisiana. Red beans and rice cooked in the style of Orleans are incredibly tasty, smoky, hot, filling, and completely pleasant. It can be difficult to understand that beans and rice represent a meal in and of themselves in various countries around the world for someone used to having a large portion of protein in the middle of their plate for every meal. The recipe from New Orleans might be the one to impress you.

Everything was put off till Monday because Sunday was also a day for worship and rest. Laundry, ironing, sewing, and other tasks kept everyone busy, so Monday was scheduled as the day to do them all. The domestic helpers of New Orleans and southern Louisiana had to wash every piece of clothing by hand because there was no washing machine at the time. It was a time-consuming process that consumed most of the day. The meal was traditionally served for dinner on Mondays, the day after laundry. While the cook was occupied with the laundry and other tasks, the beans might boil. It was the ideal solution because it could quickly feed a large group of people and was adaptable enough to utilize what was in the pantry.

Serving the Recipe

Serve these delicate, savory red beans with some of our perfect skillet cornbread and collard greens after you’ve poured them over fluffy rice. The Southern-style sides elevate this New Orleans red beans and rice. Beans were readily available and provided a quick and easy method to make a cheap dinner. Red beans were added to the pot, along with the ham bone left over for seasoning, and let to simmer slowly while the duties were being completed.

The traditional Cajun tastes you know, and love from the traditional cuisine are all present in this red beans and rice recipe from New Orleans. The dish has a hearty, delicious flavor thanks to the andouille sausage and smoked ham hock. The cooking process and ingredient list are rather straightforward for a dish with such nuanced flavor. Vegetables, fresh herbs, common pantry spices, ham pieces, and some red beans.

My Experience With the Red Beans and Rice Recipe

I grew up eating two different kinds of red beans and rice. My mom made her own slow cooker version with canned large red kidney beans and tomatoes, which had whole beans and a thin broth. At Southern restaurants and the good ol’ Mississippi State cafeteria (loved that place), I had the thick, creamy version with mostly mashed beans. It was something that I will never forget when my mom cooked for me. It was flavorful. I can still feel the taste of the dish just thinking about it.

Both versions were delicious, but I only knew how to make my mom’s kind until I tried Emeril’s recipe for New Orleans Red Beans and Rice. That recipe is spot on for the cafeteria-style dish I remember, but I wondered if I could make creamy red beans in the slow cooker.

How to Safely Prepare Dry Red Kidney Beans?

Originally, I wrote this as a no-soak recipe, meaning I rinsed and sorted the dry beans and put them right into the slow cooker without soaking or pre-cooking them at all. However, a reader pointed out to me that uncooked red beans contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin (also called PHA, or kidney bean lectin). Therefore, it can cause severe GI upset. It turns out undercooked red beans are even higher in this toxin than dried beans. Yikes!

Truth be told, I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times without soaking the beans, and as far as I know, no one has ever gotten sick from it. The problem is, if those beans don’t get cooked for at least 10 minutes at 212 degrees F or hotter, there can be enough of the toxin left to cause illness.

However, only to be safe: the FDA recommends these steps for preparing dry red kidney beans:

• Soak the beans for at least five hours in water. Changing the water periodically is not a bad idea, but it’s not necessary for safety.
• Drain the beans from the final soaking water.
• Boil the beans in a pot of fresh water for at least 30 minutes. Note: Research indicates that the toxin is destroyed when boiled at 212 degrees F for 10 minutes, but scientists recommend 30 minutes to be certain the beans reach the proper temperature for the amount of time necessary. Don’t use a slow cooker: It likely won’t get hot enough.

Soaking and Cooking the Beans

I for sure don’t want any of you (or me!) to get sick from my recipe, so here’s what we’re going to do:

• Soak the dried beans overnight. The next morning, put them in a pot on the stove, and cover them with a couple of inches of water. Bring the pot to a boil, and boil them for 10-30 minutes. Carefully drain them, and then put them in the slow cooker. You could do the boiling while you dice up your other ingredients, so it hardly adds much work or time.
• OR, You can use drained, canned red beans. I’d say about 6 cans. You can put those right in the slow cooker and make the recipe as written. You’ll only need to cook it for 6-8 hours, and you’ll want to cut back on the added salt since the beans might be salty on their own. Just salt to taste at the end.
• OR, You can follow this recipe except cook it on the stove. I’ve done it that way before, but it takes a few hours and more monitoring since you can’t really leave a pot on the stove unattended all day. I vote for one of the previous two options.

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

• The good news about soaking and pre-boiling the beans is that the recipe can be ready faster. With the no-soak method (besides the potential poisoning), sometimes it would take 10-12 hours for the beans to be completely tender.

• Soaking them ahead of time or using canned beans will definitely speed up the process. You really want soft, mashable beans for this version of crockpot red beans and rice so you can get that wonderfully creamy texture.

• Once the beans are soft, you can get busy with your potato masher, mashing about half or more. Yes, you will mash some of the sausages while you’re at it, but that’s OK.

• After that, let it cook another hour or two, and you will have creamy, wonderful red beans to ladle over your rice!

How to Make New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice with Sausages?

I hope your whole family enjoys this slow-cooker red beans and rice recipe as much as mine does!  

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Nutrition Information on Red Beans and Rice

Per serving:

Calories	485 kcal	carbohydrates	64 g
calcium	–	Fat	14.7 g
sugar	2.7 g	saturated Fat	4.5 g
Trans Fat	0.1 g	Dietary Fiber	15.2 g
Cholesterol	39.8 mg	protein	24.7 g
Cholesterol	39.8 mg	Sodium	734.7 mg

Why Love this Red Beans and Rice Recipe?

• This dish is packed full of flavor and is inexpensive.
• An amazing comfort soul food at its finest.
• Easy to cook.
• Kidz Friendly.
• Simple ingredients.

Health Benefits

The nutritional profile of red beans and rice is they have become a common pairing. There are plenty of proteins, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in beans and rice, which are beneficial for human health. Here is the list of health benefits you will get from this meal.

Improve Heart Health:

Using substitutes for meat or other high-cholesterol protein sources like eggs, beans and grains may improve a person’s health. One strategy to reduce your risk of heart disease and enhance your cardiovascular health is by lowering your cholesterol. the healthiest food to utilize as a source of protein is beans, which have the same quantities of fiber and protein and less saturated fat.

Reduce the risk of Cancer:

Regular consumers of common beans, such as beans, may experience a decreased risk of developing colon cancer. Common beans’ non-digestible fiber positively affects the colon’s ability to control tumor growth, which may lower the chance of cancer.

Control Blood Sugar:

Beans and rice have a low glycemic index regular intake is a good reason to control blood sugar. They can also be helpful in reducing the impact of foods that do raise blood sugar levels. eating rice with beans or other common lentils will delay the rate at which the rice helps to digest.

Weight Management:

Many people have trouble sticking to their diets, particularly when they follow a low-carbohydrate diet. A fiber-rich diet may provide a different strategy for weight loss. Fiber is filling, so it can keep people from overeating by making them feel fuller for longer. Beans benefit people who are trying to reduce their weight and want to eat healthily.

Natural Anti-Inflammatory and Gluten-Free:

Human bodies use it as a natural anti-inflammatory, which is always a great advantage. You can simply use rice in your diet without fear if you are gluten-sensitive. There won’t be any intestinal inflammation since it is gluten-free. Rice is a fantastic component of any diet because it is crucial to continue looking for ways to decrease inflammation in our bodies.

Improves Nervous System Health:

The effective functioning of our neural systems depends on the utilization of several Vitamins B. neurotransmitters are produced with the help of vitamin B. The neurotransmitters contribute to the control of physiological systems. Rice is a great source of several vitamins. Rice is full of healthy vitamins so Taking rice can help you maintain the health of your nervous system.

Good Source of Energy

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for our bodies. Our bodies work to convert healthy carbohydrates into energy when they are digested. However, the beneficial carbs in rice and beans aren’t just useful for providing energy.

As the brain utilizes this energy source, it also helps to ensure optimal brain activity. All the minerals, vitamins, and other ingredients included in rice help boost the metabolism rate of tissue and organs. it boosts the energy level of the body.

Storage Tips

Store:

The remaining bean mixture and cooked rice should be kept apart in storage. Red beans that are left over can be stored for 3–4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. You should use leftover rice within 24 hours, after which you can just cook more fresh rice as needed for future servings. If the beans are bad, they will produce a rotten smell and have a white liquid around them.

Freeze:

The red beans should be refrigerated separately from the rice in an airtight container. The sausage and red beans can be frozen for up to three months.

Enjoy Your New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice!

However, a lost thought: for this recipe and for many more, a slow cooker is necessary. If you have one of these, your work will be reduced more than you can imagine. They are super easy to use, powerful, and time-saving. This lives to its price. It is worth it. This is the slow cooker I use for all my recipes:

Make sure to serve your family a dish that they will enjoy. With your slow cooker at home, you will achieve making this recipe. Add flavor to your meal by adding this to your menu. For sure you will love this. Aside from its flavor, as you have read, it comes with health benefits. Be healthy and, at the same time, enjoy your meal. It has been proven and tested. So, we assure you that this is worth your time.

Finally, please share your slow cooker red beans and rice results with us. Also, feel free to improvise as much as you like. After all, this recipe should be fun to make and satisfy your tastes. So, go wild and tell us all about it in the comments section below!

Last but not least, If you’d like more of my easiest-to-make recipes, here are three of my favorite: