Slow cooker Cuban black beans
Dried black beans cook all day with pepper, garlic and oregano until silky, then get a splash of vinegar and olive oil at the end, the way Cuban kitchens finish them.
- 500 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $0.87 a serving
- 550 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 6 servings.
- 1 lb dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- ½ red onion, finely chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 9 cups water, divided
- 2½ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 550 calories, 22 g protein, 99 g carbs and 6 g fat, and costs about $0.87 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No red onions? White onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Spread the beans on a plate, pick out any small stones, and them in a strainer.
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.
Put the beans, onion, green pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, 6 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt in the slow cooker and stir.
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5, until the beans are creamy all the way through.
Timer: 480 min
Dolly’s tip: Old beans take longer. Taste three, and if any is chalky in the middle, give them another hour.About 30 minutes before the beans are done, put the rice, 3 cups water and ½ 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, and cook on low for 18 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on for 10 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Scoop out about a cup of beans, mash them in a bowl with a fork, and stir them back into the pot to it.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Dolly’s tip: This is how the pot turns rich and velvety without anything added.Fish out the bay leaves and stir in the vinegar and olive oil. Taste and add salt if it needs it.
Fluff the rice with a fork and ladle the beans over it. Scatter raw red onion on top if you like a little bite.
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.
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