My husband “doesn’t like black beans.” At least, that’s what he thought.
In addition to the goals I mentioned in my first Ten in 10 post, another ongoing goal that I have is to make more vegetarian meals. I typically make one or two vegetarian dinners each week, but I would like to be eating meatless meals at least half of the time.
One of my favorite dishes is black beans and rice. I always substitute it as a side-dish for fries, chips, or any other deep fried items whenever I can (and it pairs wonderfully with fish tacos, another one of my favorites). Recently I ordered a veggie platter at a local restaurant, and it came out with a healthy portion of black beans and rice with an assortment of steamed veggies. It was fantastic, so I decided I had to make some for myself. I saw a recipe in the Food Network Kitchens Best Recipes cookbook that gave me a general idea of where to start… I used their method, but made some pretty significant changes to the recipe.
My husband wasn’t so sure, but he’s a good sport. He’ll eat just about anything I make (the first time I make it, at least). So, he agreed to try my black beans and rice for dinner this evening. Turns out, he does like black beans… As long as they are well-seasoned and not “bland beans” as he put it. These beans get a nice kick from the jalapeño, chipotle, and fire roasted tomatoes.
I served my black beans over whole grain brown rice with some steamed broccoli on the side. How’s that for a healthy dinner?
Spicy Black Beans
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 6 cups water
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 whole chipotle in Adobo sauce, minced
- 1 – 14.5 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 lime
- Toppings – sliced scallions, diced red bell pepper, sour cream, and lime wedges (optional)
Rinse and pick over the black beans. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°.
In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, jalapeño, and cumin, sauteeing until the vegetables are tender. Add the water and the rinsed beans. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover and bake for one hour.
Stir in the minced chipotle and the fire roasted tomatoes. Bake uncovered for an additional 45 minutes. After baking, the beans should be soft and the sauce will have thickened a bit. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the beans and stir to incorporate. Adjust the seasonings to your liking.
Serve over brown rice, garnishing with your favorite toppings. My favorites are sour cream, slice scallions, diced red pepper, and lemon wedges.
This looks wonderful! I need to add this recipe to my lunch menu. Sounds so easy (and fast if you sub canned beans, which I have a ton of). The beans sound like something I could freeze in portions to thaw for lunches.
This is my kind of meal, glad your hubs liked it too:)
This is perfect for me, love black beans!!
I am a bean freak and black beans are one of my favorites. This looks fantastic and so good for you!
I love the addition of chipotles, yum! Such a colorful presentation!
This looks awesome, but then, I LOVE black beans!
There is nothing better than well seasoned rice and beans. Nice!
Looks like a great dinner to me… completely filling & satisfying in every way!
I’m not doing any kind of healthy eating for the new year, but black beans are my favorite bean ever! And I love fire roasted tomatoes in anything so this is a recipe I would definitely try!
This looks absolutely delicious! I really love black beans and these have lots of flavor and spice. Just the way I like them.
This is very healty recipe. I love it…
Looks great. We love black beans and rice. I will have to give your recipe a try! It is also “allowed” on the new “diet”.
Oh my this looks absolutely enticing! I would make this along with some cilantro lime shrimp, I am just drooling thinking about it
Good to see another Dutch oven user and also someone using beans that are not out of a can! scratchchef
Guess who has a whole bag of black beans in her pantry…me! Since I’m attempting to clean out my pantry this recipe will be very helpful. I have been staring at those beans for awhile wondering what to do with them. Thanks! :)
It is nice to have some meatless meals every once in a while! Last week I made a vegetable torte and we ate every crumb!
That is one nice looking light, healthy and tasty meal!
I love you recipe and the way you have presented it.
I have never cooked Black beans but will certainly have a go at this recipe.
I love black beans. I am a semi vegetarian (but I eat very little meat…very little!)This menu sounds perfect. It is on my weekly menu for the coming week. Can’t wait to try it!
I made these today. The recipe looked awesome and perfect for the black bean and roasted sweet potato tacos we’re having for dinner. I did everything the same but for some reason mine never thickened. Not even a little… :-( Any suggestions? I don’t want to cook them too long and turn them to mush but I’m not sure how else to turn the “broth” into more of a “gravy.”
erisgrrrl – This recipe for black beans was a bit “saucy” and not as thick as some I have made, which is why I served it with rice. I would probably either strain out some of the sauce or add some corn starch (dissolved in cold water) to the beans/sauce and bring them to a quick boil over the stove to thicken the sauce.
I love these beans!! As a WW I am always looking for good recipes using dry beans so I can control how much salt is in the dish. I found this dish very flavorful, incredibly rich on my palette. I had no problem at all with the sauce thickening. I used my enamel wear 5 quart. I didn’t have any cumin – I substituted ancho chile powder instead – wonderful! This will become a staple on my table!! :)
This recipe looks delicious. The flavors are very similar to how I make black beans. Are the beans in this recipe pre-soaked?
Stephanie – No, I don’t believe the beans were soaked when I made this (years ago), though it wouldn’t hurt to soak them.
This is my go to black bean recipe. Love it! Thank you!