Slow Cooker Mexican Bean and Brown Rice Stew is great comfort food. It warms you from the inside, and it smells terrific while it cooks in the crock pot. It’s also fun to let your family garnish each bowl however the want – cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, fresh herbs, avocado, whatever suits your fancy.
We use Better than Bouillon vegetable base (paste) all the time around here. I wrote this stew recipe using it, but if you don’t have any, feel free to substitute your favorite broth or stock for the water and omit the vegetable paste. You can see the Better than Bouillon vegetable base through my Amazon affiliate link here.
For the brown rice in this recipe, you can simply use regular medium grain brown rice, or you can switch it up a little by using a blend of whole grains. Sometimes I like to use a blend of barley, black rice, rye berries, red rice, and brown rice. It all cooks up pretty similarly, so feel free to use those blends. I’ve seen several different mixes at the grocery stores, so keep an eye out for fun new mixes to try.
This Slow Cooker Mexican Bean and Brown Rice Stew makes a big crock pot full for dinner, which means there’s lots of leftovers. The stew thickens as it sits, so it’ll be thicker the next day.
Slow Cooker Mexican Bean and Brown Rice Stew Recipe
Slow Cooker Mexican Bean and Brown Rice Stew
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 red bell peppers chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ½ cups water
- 1 can 15 ounce fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can 6 ounce tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon vegetable base
- 1 can 4 ounce diced green chiles, undrained
- 1 can 15.25 ounce white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 can 4.25 ounce diced black olives
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook until it starts to brown, about 20 minutes. Add chopped red pepper, and cook about 7-10 minutes until softened. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and salt. Cook until fragrant, a couple of minutes.
- While the onion cooks, add the water, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon base, and diced green chiles to the bowl of the crock pot or slow cooker. Once the onion mixture with all the spices has finished cooking, stir it into the wet ingredients in the crock pot.
- Cook in the slow cooker for 3 hours on low (preferred) or 2 hours on high.
- Mix the beans, brown rice, and olives into the crock pot, and continue to cook, turning the crock pot to HIGH setting, for an additional 2 hours.
- Serve, topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, oregano, or toppings of your choice.
Katie Kinsley says
This recipe looks really tasty. It also looks healthy! Thank you for labelling it gluten free.
Ance Antovska says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I will definitely try this meal very soon, and I think my family will love it! It looks delicious.
dcclark13 says
I love that I can use the slow cooker for this delicious stew! Tons of yummy goodness here and I bet extras freeze really well!
lifewiselady says
I hope when I make this it looks as good as your pictures! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
The Trophy WifeStyle says
Omg can we say yum?!! I just love stew! I must give your recipe a try
Nisha Syam says
This recipe looks really tasty. It also looks healthy! I love that it’s Gluten Free! and so easy! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe; I can’t wait to try it!
Regards,
Nisha learn2livefully
Lisa Rios says
I love anything that is Mexican and the ones that are done using slow cooker process. The recipe looks absolutely delicious & mouth watering and looks so much healthy too.
Sondra Barker says
I do love a good crockpot recipe any day so I’m very excited to have come across yours! I thoroughly enjoy Mexican food as well so I’m very excited to whip this up ASAP!
Amrita Basu says
A delicious and healthy recipe .Sounds perfect for our family.Will make it this weekend.
Pixie says
Thank you – made this for dinner last night and it was amazing! I can never follow a recipe exactly as is, so I added 1tsp of cocoa, cinnamon, Penzey’s Bold Taco, Arizona Dreaming, & Adobo blends as well as 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 can of black beans, handful of chopped kale, 2 handfuls of chopped spinach, and a diced zucchini then topped w/ diced avocado. We enjoyed it so much will make again. I think this would make a great filling for Vegan Tacos.
Debi says
Pixie, that all sounds delicious! I can be over for dinner tonight! hee hee Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know you were pleased! 🙂 🙂