Italian Beans and Rice made in the slow cooker with Cannellini beans, fire roasted tomatoes, fennel and pesto.

Our youngest daughter is now a Freshman in college. And though she is currently living in a dorm, she's already made a deposit on an apartment for next year to share with three of her friends.

The older our girls get, the less they want for Christmas. They'd rather "experiences" over gifts. I love that about them, because spending time with family is more important than any gift I could ever receive.

However, since we couldn't go anywhere this Christmas due to my health and Covid; our youngest thought ahead and asked for things that she'll need for her apartment--one of them being a slow cooker.

Even though she won't be moving in for another 8 months, her and her friends all asked for items for the apartment; which was a huge help in the gift department this year.

Since she wanted a slow cooker, we got her one with the expectation that I would create a small eBook. This book would contain recipes that she can reference to make her own slow cooker meals. I'll let you know in my Newsletter when that's ready in case anyone else is interested!

I then realized that I only had about 20 of slow cooker recipes on the site, so I wanted to create a new meal I know she'd love. Since she's not a big meat eater, this Italian Beans and Rice seemed like the perfect recipe.

What do you need to make Italian Beans and Rice?

For this recipe you'll need Cannellini beans, fire roasted diced tomatoes, scallions, fennel, uncooked long grain rice, prepared pesto, vegetable broth and Asiago cheese.

I used canned beans to simplify the recipe so you'll want to rinse those under cold water until they run clean; then strain before cooking. If you use dry, you'll have to follow package directions and soak them before cooking in this recipe.

You can make a quick pesto by pulsing fresh basil, garlic, grated Pecorino Romano cheese and EVOO in a mini food processor. You only need about ½ cup and this is ready in about 3 minutes.

Here is my recipe for Homemade Pesto or you can purchase it already made at your local grocer. Some other substitutions you can make are:

Chicken broth instead of vegetable broth
Shredded or grated Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or Provolone cheese instead of the Asiago
Black, Kidney or Navy Beans instead of the Cannellini beans

How do you prepare Italian Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker?

Now it's time to prepare the meal. Start by adding all of the ingredients; except the cheese into a slow cooker; then stir to mix everything together. Cook on high for 3 hours until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has evaporated.

Portion into serving bowls; then garnish with shredded or grated cheese. That's it! Our daughter is actually a very good cook, but I wanted to make her first slow cooker meal extra simple to make.

This Italian Beans and Rice was fabulous! It's comfort food at it's best, stick to your ribs, and super flavorful. It made so much that I was able to portion some containers for the freezer to have after my upcoming surgery.

Besides eating pastina when I'm sick and want comfort food, this recipe might be my new favorite! ~Enjoy!

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