Black beans and rice
Cuban-style black beans simmered with onion, pepper, cumin and a splash of vinegar until thick and glossy, spooned over fluffy white rice for about a dollar and change a bowl.
- 40 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.35 a serving
- 540 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans black beans, not drained
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- 2½ cups water
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leave
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp sugar
Each serving has about 540 calories, 19 g protein, 99 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $1.35 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice in a strainer under cold water, swishing it with your hand, until the water runs mostly clear. Shake off the extra water.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Dolly’s tip: Rinsing washes off the loose starch that makes rice gummy.Put the rice, 2½ cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium and over high heat.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on until the beans are ready.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Dolly’s tip: Don’t lift the lid. The steam trapped inside is what finishes the rice.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring now and then, 7 to 8 minutes, until soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Stir in the garlic, cumin and oregano and cook 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Add both cans of beans with their liquid, the bay leaf, vinegar, sugar and ½ teaspoon salt, and .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heat
uncovered 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then and mashing a few beans against the pan, until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a trail.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 12 min
Dolly’s tip: Too thick? Stir in a splash of water. Too thin? Give it a few more minutes.Fish out the bay leaf, then taste and add salt if it needs it.
Fluff the rice with a fork, spoon the beans over it, and top with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Mexican red rice with black beans
40 min
Creamy white beans and rice
45 min
Puerto Rican rice and beans
45 min
Red beans and rice
45 min
Vegetarian dinners ›Pantry dinners ›What to make with rice and bell peppers ›What to make with black beans and bell peppers ›What to make with black beans and rice ›