Sausage Bean Quickie

Six ingredients, one Crock-Pot, zero effort. Smoked sausage links cut into chunks, canned kidney beans, pineapple chunks with their juice, a splash of vinegar, and a brown sugar-flour mixture all go in together and cook low and slow until everything melds into a thick, sweet-savory stew.

The pineapple juice from the can is doing double duty here. It adds natural sweetness and enough liquid to keep things from drying out during the long cook without making the dish watery. The apple cider vinegar cuts through the sweetness and gives the sauce a tangy backbone. And that flour mixed with brown sugar? It thickens the cooking liquid into a glossy, clingy sauce that coats every piece of sausage and bean.

This is a set-it-before-work, eat-it-when-you-get-home kind of recipe. Seven hours on low is the minimum, but 10 hours is fine too.

Pro Tips

• Don’t drain the pineapple. The juice is part of the cooking liquid. Drain it and you’ll end up with a dry pot.
• Stir well after adding the flour mixture. Flour clumps if it hits hot liquid without being mixed in. Combining it with the brown sugar first helps it distribute more evenly.
• Use fully cooked smoked sausage. This recipe heats through and flavors the sausage, it doesn’t cook raw meat. Kielbasa, andouille, or any smoked link works.

Variations

• Spicy version: Use andouille sausage and add a diced jalapeno for Cajun-style heat.
• BBQ twist: Add ¼ cup barbecue sauce to the pot for a smokier, tangier result.