Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Copycat Popeyes red beans and rice made easy in the slow cooker, with creamy red kidney beans, the Cajun holy trinity and a smoky ham hock. Serve it as a side dish or a hearty main.
Equipment
- slow cooker (crock pot) 6-quart or larger
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried red beans red kidney beans or small red beans, sorted and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 3 scallions chopped, plus more for garnish
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 ½ cups water
- 2 ⅔ cups beef broth low-sodium recommended
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning such as Tony Chachere's
- ½ teaspoon crushed red hot peppers red pepper flakes; use less for mild beans
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke optional; recommended if your ham hock isn't smoked
- 1-2 smoked ham hock skin scored in a diamond pattern (if smoked ham hocks aren't available, an uncooked ham hock plus the liquid smoke will work)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 cups hot cooked rice long-grain white or brown rice
Instructions
- Sort the beans, discarding any stones or shriveled beans, and rinse them. Place in a large bowl, cover with several inches of cold water and soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
- Place the soaked beans in a large pot, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard for 10 minutes (this step makes kidney beans safe to slow cook), then drain.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper and scallions and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 6 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Transfer the vegetables to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add the beans, water, beef broth, Creole seasoning, crushed red pepper, bay leaves and liquid smoke (if using) to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Nestle the ham hock down into the beans so it is mostly submerged.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 9 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 6 to 7 hours, until the beans are completely tender.
- Remove the ham hock and the bay leaves. Discard the skin, fat and bone, shred the meat and stir it back into the beans. For a creamier, Popeyes-style texture, mash about 1 cup of the beans against the side of the slow cooker and stir them in. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the red beans over the hot cooked rice, garnished with sliced scallions and hot sauce if you like.
Notes
Canned beans: swap in three 15-ounce cans of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed), skip the soaking and boiling, reduce the water to 1 cup, and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
Vary your meat by using a smoked turkey wing, cut into 2 pieces, instead of the ham hock.
Nutrition is an estimate per serving (⅙ of the recipe, including ⅔ cup cooked rice) and doesn't include salt added to taste.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 526kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 28gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 930mgPotassium: 1380mgFiber: 13gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 233IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 6.6mg
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
