Red Beans and Rice(Easy Rice Cooker Recipe)
When you need a comforting meal without a lot of effort, red beans and rice is hard to beat. It’s simple, filling, and made with pantry staples — the kind of recipe that works just as well as a hearty side dish as it does a satisfying main course.
This version keeps things easy by using a rice cooker, which means minimal hands-on time and very little cleanup. With just a handful of ingredients and about 20 minutes, you can have a warm, dependable meal on the table without fussing over the stove.
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients you likely already have
- Naturally meatless and budget-friendly
- Hands-off cooking with a rice cooker
- Works as a main dish or a hearty side
Rice and beans are a classic pairing for a reason — they’re flexible, comforting, and easy to customize with spices or vegetables if you want to change things up.
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 16 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 10 ounces Ro*Tel (diced tomatoes and green chiles)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Add the rice, kidney beans, diced tomatoes with green chiles, tomato paste, garlic, and water to the rice cooker insert. Stir gently to combine.
- Cover the rice cooker, select the white rice setting, and let the rice cooker do the work.
- Once the cooking cycle is complete, stir the mixture well and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
The result should be tender rice with evenly distributed beans and a lightly seasoned tomato base that’s comforting without being heavy.
Helpful Tips
- Serve as-is or top with green onions, hot sauce, or a squeeze of lime.
- Rinse the beans well to remove excess sodium.
- Let the rice rest for a few minutes after cooking for the best texture.
If you’re building a comforting, flavor-packed menu, there are plenty of other great dishes to explore on Southern Kissed. Popcorn Tofu is a fun, plant-forward option that pairs well with hearty sides, while Quick and Easy Taco Soup is another easy meal that delivers big flavor with minimal effort. And if you’re craving something with a little heat and bold sauce, Thai Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce bring a completely different but equally satisfying twist to the table.
Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 16 ounces kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 10 ounces Ro*Tel
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Add the rice, kidney beans, diced tomatoes with green chiles, tomato paste, garlic, and water to the rice cooker insert. Stir gently to combine.
- Cover the rice cooker, select the white rice setting, and let the rice cooker do the work.
- Once the cooking cycle is complete, stir the mixture well and allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Red Beans and Rice Nutritional Information
Below are screenshots of the nutrition application in action. In the first picture, you can see the quantity for each ingredient that it is used to calculate the information.
In this next picture, you can see how many calories are calculated for each ingredient and the overall nutritional value of the meal. The recipe makes a total of 4 servings. I cannot tell you how much that comes out to volume-wise. I imagine that it could vary slightly, depending on how much the rice swells or cooks.
I recommend visually dividing the recipe into fourths. If you have a food scale, weigh the cooked red beans and rice, then divide the total weight by 4 to get an accurate calorie/nutrition count.
Last Bite
Red beans and rice is one of those recipes that works for busy weeknights or relaxed weekends alike. Leave a comment below and tell me how you serve yours — classic and simple, or with your own personal twist.
This was too much watery and my rice came out mushy. I also didn’t know what RoTel was so I skipped it and the tomato paste. I added Cajun seasoning and it came out really tasty! Just needs less water, and seasoning.
Sorry to hear that it came out too watery for you, but am glad that with the addition of Cajun seasoning that it turned out tasty.
This was awful. Rice didn’t cook all the way. Just tasted like tomatoes. Throwing it out.
I am sorry the recipe did not work for you. By any chance, have you had issues with other recipes in your rice cooker?
It was pretty good. I guess I was expecting it to taste like Popeye’s red beans & rice. I used Basmati rice and only used 2 cups of water, which I’m glad I did (wasn’t too watery).
I would love to have Popeye’s recipe. 😉
It’s a bad plan to just identify an item just by its brand name and not tell what the item is.
Ro*Tel is synonymous with tomatoes and green chiles. Are you in Portland/Hillsboro? Most people in the United States are familiar with the product.
recipe looks good, planning to make it tonight, but I’m in Canada and I *also* had to look up Ro*Tel to see what it was specifically.
I am sorry to have assumed that most people would know what Ro*Tel is. It’s very well known in the Southern US and I didn’t realize that it might not be in other parts of the country (or Canada!).
Usually make red beans and rice with andoulle sausage, but too much fat. Thank you for this recipe it is delicious.
I am so happy that you enjoyed it.
Should the beans be drained & rinsed? Should the rotel be drained?
Good question. Rinse and drain the beans. Do not drain the Ro*Tel.
Can you use a slow cooker instead of a rice cooker? Also do you use can beans or fresh
I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker. Use canned beans which have already been cooked.
Says 1 serving is 145 calories. How much is 1 serving? 1cup? 100 grams? Can you please let me know because in so many recipes I see, I cannot seem to see that.
Thanks, Chris, for leaving your comment.
I cannot say exactly how much each serving is, because I did not assess the total cooked volume. All I know is that there are 4 servings in the entire batch.
Thanks to your comment, I re-ran the program to add screenshots to the post so that readers can see the breakdown. In the process, I discovered that initially the nutrition application incorrectly used values for 1 kidney bean, not an entire can. The nutrition information has been updated and the screenshots are near the bottom of the post.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care!
How long would you cook this if you don’t have a rice cooker?
I found a recipe at Ready Set Eat that might work for you if you don’t have a rice cooker. You can check it out HERE.
@Lynda, thanks but the calories are double that of your recipe. I’ll just play it by ear and see what happens.
Thanks,
Colleen