Slow Cooker Santa Fe Beans and Rice

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Beans and Rice–brown rice, kidney beans and black beans are simmered with salsa, corn and seasonings in your slow cooker. The beans and rice are topped with garlic lime sour cream and grated cheddar cheese. You can serve this as a meatless meal or add in chicken for some extra protein. We love this easy and healthy, family friendly meal.

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Get the recipe for Instant Pot Santa Fe Beans and Rice here

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Slow Cooker Santa Fe Beans and Rice

I just love meals like this. I threw beans, rice and chicken into my slow cooker and walked away. I came back to the pot and shredded up the chicken and served the beans and rice with my newly found love, garlic lime sour cream (recipe below). It was a perfect easy meal that is healthy and budget friendly too! I actually loved the leftovers just as much or more than the original night when we ate this dish. This dinner is a winner at my house!

Some notes about ingredients:

Chicken–you can make this meal completely meatless, however if you want you can add in chicken. I added a few boneless skinless chicken thighs on top of the rice and beans and they cooked perfectly. I shredded them up and stirred everything together. You can also use chicken breasts too. It’s up to you on what you prefer.

Corn–because it’s what I had on hand I used a can of corn. I rinsed and drained it first. If you prefer you can use frozen corn too. If you want you can leave out the corn altogether.

Cheddar–initially I was going to stir a couple cups of cheddar cheese into the rice and beans but I decided that it didn’t need it. If you want to make it a cheesy masterpiece then you can stir a couple cups of grated cheddar into the rice and beans after they are cooked. Otherwise you can serve with just a tablespoon of grated cheese on top of each plate.

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More meatless Slow Cooker recipes…

Garlic Herb Lentils

Feta Dill Sweet Potato Mash

Butternut Squash Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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What Slow Cooker Did You Use?

To make Slow Cooker Santa Fe Beans and Rice I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Beans and Rice

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• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 3-5 hours on low
• Total Time: -25621794.8833 minute
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: Meatless
• Method: Slow Cooker

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Ingredients

For the beans and rice:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 2 3/4 cups water
• 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup picante sauce (I used mild)
• 2 Tbsp taco seasoning (I make my own homemade taco seasoning)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Optional: 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• Grated cheddar, for serving

For the garlic lime sour cream:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

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Instructions

1. Add the rice, water, kidney beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, picante sauce, taco seasoning, salt and pepper into the slow cooker. Stir a bit.
2. If desired, place chicken on top of mixture.
3. Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours.
4. Cut up chicken and then stir it back in to the pot.
5. Make the garlic lime sour cream by stirring together sour cream, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, kosher salt and garlic cloves.
6. Serve rice and beans with a dollop of the sour cream on top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar, if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* 

Click here for the Instant Pot version of this recipe.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe (no chicken/no sour cream)
• Calories: 302
• Sugar: 4 g
• Sodium: 655 mg
• Fat: 2 g
• Carbohydrates: 61 g
• Protein: 11 g

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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