Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients: Vegan Option
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
1-2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Ingredients: Meat Option
(Pictured Here)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
3/4 lb chicken or pork Andouille sausage, sliced
1-2 cups chicken broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Directions
1. Begin to heat up your crockpot so you aren't putting the beans into a cold dish. Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan. Saute onion, bell pepper and celery until they begin to soften.
2. Put beans in the crockpot. Add broth to make sure the beans are covered with liquid.
3. Once the onion, bell pepper, and celery are softened, add them to the crockpot. Add seasonings (and the hot sauce if you want it) and stir well.
4. If you are making the sausage version, toss your sausage in the same pan you cooked the onions in until they start to brown. Then add the sausage to the crockpot.
5. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
6. Put the corn starch into a jar or Tupperware container with a tight lid. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Shake to combine. Then add in 3-4 tablespoons of the hot liquid from the beans and shake again. This will help prevent clumps.
7. Add the corn starch mixture to the crockpot and stir to combine. Let thicken until the mixture is a the consistency you want it (a thicker mix will need to cook for a bit longer).
8. As the mixture is thickening, prepare the rice. Serve the red beans over rice.

Tips
1. You can use re-hydrated dried beans if you want, although you may need to add more liquid to the crockpot.
2. You can actually cook this over low heat on the stove as well.
3. This does have a bit of a kick to it with the hot sauce, so be careful if you're not a fan of spicy foods.
4. If you're having trouble finding chicken Andouille sausage, know that you may be able to find miniature ones in the refrigerated meat section of your store. That's what I used here. Yes, sausage purists, I know it isn't pork. It is still delicious.