Vegetarian Red Beans (Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker)

These Vegetarian Red Beans are big on flavor! They make a hearty meatless meal with steamed rice and my kids gobble down bowls of them happily. If that’s not magical, I don’t know what is. Cook them all day in the slow cooker or make them in the pressure cooker for a shorter prep!  These red beans are great as leftovers and freeze perfectly for future meals.

With filling beans, the holy trinity of vegetables (that’s onion, celery, and green bell pepper), and a perfect combination of spices and herbs, no one will be missing meat in this meal. They have a secret ingredient for truly savory and smoky flavor. When you walk into the door to the aroma of them cooking you’ll be eagerly awaiting dinner!

Pressure cooker meals are great for filling dinners that feed a crowd.  Try this Creamy Pesto Chicken Spaghetti or Shortcut Mujadara next!

Ingredients

I include ingredient notes here when I think they’ll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!

• Red Beans - Red beans are small, oval shaped beans that are often used interchangeably with red kidney beans.  Kidney beans are larger (and kidney-shaped) and are more commonly found on grocery store shelves in my town.  Red kidney beans are pictured in this recipe post.
• Onion, Celery, Green Bell Pepper - The holy trinity of vegetables, this combination of onion, celery, and green bell pepper is a common base for Cajun recipes like the sofrito or mirepoix of Latin American and French cuisines.
• Bay Leaves - These dried leaves add a subtle earthy flavor to your beans which is hard to pinpoint but will be missed if you skip them.
• White Pepper - White pepper is fruitier and has a distinctive “green” note that makes it worth having on hand in addition to black pepper.  It adds a bright and spicy layer to the flavor of the beans.
• Thyme - Dried thyme leaves are common additions to Cajun spice blends, with savory and slightly citrusy aroma.
• Garlic Powder - Keep the herbs and spices simple here and use garlic powder from your spice drawer.  No extra mincing needed!
• Oregano - Another common addition to Cajun spice blends, dried oregano adds more earthy and slightly peppery flavor to the red beans.
• Liquid Smoke - Exactly what it sounds like, liquid smoke is a potent liquid that is actually made from burning hickory, mesquite, or other common woods used in smoking foods. Just a small amount adds smoky flavor to foods, and it’s the secret ingredient in these red beans.  You can find liquid smoke in the condiments aisle, along with worcestershire sauce or barbecue sauce.  
• Vegetable Stock - I most often use a bouillon paste to make my vegetable stock, but use bouillon cubes or a homemade stock to add extra flavor to your beans.

Pressure Cooker Instructions

Dice your holy trinity, the onion, bell pepper, and celery, into ¼- to ½-inch pieces.

Rinse and sort through the red beans to remove any stones or broken beans.  Place the beans into the bottom of the pressure cooker insert.

Add the diced onion, pepper, and celery on top of the beans.

Sprinkle the bay leaves, white and black pepper, thyme, garlic powder, oregano leaves, and salt over the vegetables.

Add the vegetable stock and the liquid smoke to the pot.  Add the cover and cook the beans with manual high pressure for 100 minutes.

Allow the pressure to naturally release and remove the top. The beans should be tender enough that you can smash them with your fingers. Taste the beans for seasoning and adjust salt, smoke, and pepper as desired.

Slow Cooker Instructions

The slow cooker method is my favorite if I want to start the beans in the morning and come home to a dinner that’s almost ready to eat!

To prepare vegetarian red beans in the slow cooker, sort the beans and dice the holy trinity as detailed in the pressure cooker directions.  Add the beans, vegetables, herbs, spices, liquid smoke, and stock to the pot of the slow cooker.  Stir everything well and cook on low for 8 hours.  Once the cooking time has elapsed, taste the beans for seasoning and adjust salt, smoke, and pepper as desired.

Top Tip

Old beans can be really tough and won’t soften in the amount of time called for in the recipe in the pressure cooker or the slow cooker.  Make sure you check expiration dates when you purchase your beans. Buy fresh ones if you’ve had a dusty bag of them sitting in your pantry for months (or, eek, years).

Substitutions and Variations

The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!

• Add Sausage - Use a plant-based sausage or a standard andouille or smoked sausage to add extra texture and flavor to the red beans.
• Mash the Beans - If you prefer thicker red beans to ladle over rice, mash some of the beans with a potato masher to get the desired consistency.  
• Make ‘em Spicy - The white and black pepper adds just a bit of spice to the beans.  If you like them to be spicy, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the mixture before cooking. Or, serve them with classic Tabasco!
• Standard Red Beans - Use ham stock for extra smoky and umami flavors in your beans. If you use ham stock, reduce the amount of liquid smoke you add by half. You can also use chicken stock or cook the beans with a ham bone for a more traditional red beans recipe.

Equipment

You can cook the red beans with either a slow cooker or a pressure cooker.

• Slow Cooker - A 7- to 8-quart slow cooker has plenty of capacity for the vegetarian red beans.  Slow cookers vary in their cooking time, so keep that in mind.  The model I use switches from cook mode to warming after the time has elapsed, which is a great feature. If you have a vintage slow cooker, you may find that it heats to a lower temperature on a “low” setting than newer versions and you may need to cook for more time to reach the same level of doneness.
• Pressure Cooker - I use an Instant Pot brand pressure cooker, and love how many different ways I use a single appliance in a given week.  Stews and braises are great in a pressure cooker, but I also use mine for rice, pasta, soups, and more. With the pressure cooker, this recipe is done in less than 3 hours, which is terrific when you start with dry beans.

Serving Suggestions

The most common way to enjoy vegetarian red beans is with a scoop of steamed white rice. You can also serve red beans with cornbread or as a side to other entrees.  Garnish your red beans and rice with thinly sliced green onion or parsley.

Make This Recipe Kid Friendly

My kids absolutely love these red beans just as they are.  If your kids are particularly sensitive to spice, adjust the recipe by halving the amount of white pepper.  White pepper brings the brightest heat to the dish and halving it will make the beans more mild.  As always, offer a safe food option on their plate if you are serving this for the first time.

Looking for more tips to feed picky eaters with less drama at the dinner table?  Check out this post on Keeping Peace with Picky Eaters!

Storage

These vegetarian red beans can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They are perfect for meal prep along with some steamed rice! The beans also freeze really well in smaller portions. Just transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you need them and dinner will be on the table in a flash from your freezer stash.

Make Ahead Options

Because these beans hold up so well to reheating, they are perfect for a make-ahead meal. Refrigerate your cooked beans in smaller, single-serve portions for easy reheating in the microwave.  Alternatively, you can transfer the entire recipe back to the pressure cooker and reheat them using the sauté function or reheat the entire recipe in a stock pot on the stovetop to serve the whole family at once.