Mostly From Scratch Cuban Black Beans

Making an amazing dish from canned black beans is very simple and this Cuban canned black beans recipe will prove that. These seasoned black beans have so much flavor and make such an amazing main meal or side dish that you can be proud of! Make this easy black bean recipe for a quick delicious meal everyone will love.

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Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

About this black beans recipe:

This quick seasoned black beans recipe is my favorite recipe for a classic cuban black beans. Because it is made with canned black beans, it is a dish that can be made very quickly and still taste great.

These are called mostly from scratch black beans because to make cooking a little faster, we use canned black beans instead of dried. You can use dried black beans if you prefer to cook them from scratch but we prefer using canned beans for quick meals.

I love making this black beans recipe for a quick meal because it is so full of flavor and it takes just minutes to make which is perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

To make sure we are respecting the traditional cuban black beans dish that is usually cooked all day from dried beans, we give these canned black beans a real flavor upgrade with fresh and dried seasonings.

This easy black beans recipe tastes like it came from a restaurant and has been cooking all day.  You have to trust me on this. These are so delicious and so easy to make.

Ingredients for these easy black beans

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this really delicious black beans recipe. This canned black beans recipe is all about the spices and flavor you are adding to those black beans.

• Diced tomatoes
• Red bell pepper. This is the veggie bite in this black beans recipe
• Garlic. This adds so much flavor!
• Canned black beans: rinsed and drained
• Water. This is to thin out the sauce a bit. You want a nice delicious broth for the black beans to sit in.
• Cilantro. I like to use fresh cilantro for this recipe. If you do not have that, you can easily just leave it out.
• Olive oil.
• Tomato paste. I like buying tomato paste in a tube so I can refrigerate what I don't use.
• Cumin.
• Paprika. This is sweet paprika.
• Kosher salt
• Oregano (optional)

It may seem like a lot of additions to the canned black beans but the majority of these spices are things most people have in their pantry. Trust me when I say it is really good.

How to cook canned black beans:

Drain and rinse the beans: For this canned black beans recipe or any recipe that uses canned beans, you want to make sure that you pour your beans into a colander and rinse them. You need to rinse the beans under cold water until the liquid turns clear coming off the beans.

The reason for this is the canned beans have a thick brine on them and it is not at all what you want in your recipe.

Add the black beans to pot: Add the rinsed and drained black beans to a pot.

Add the Flavor: When you have added the beans to the pot, cooking canned beans is just about adding flavor and gently heating them on the stovetop. Really easy!

What to serve with this black bean recipe

I love making this seasoned black beans recipe and serving it over a bed of fluffy rice along with my cumin and lime slaw which adds freshness and some crunch. It is such a great combination of flavors.

I also love this recipe for tostones which really compliment the beans and rice but still keep the whole meal meat free.

You can also make this easy Spanish rice recipe which is really delicious and goes so well with the black beans. This combination of Cuban beans and rice I make a lot and everyone loves it.

What I love about this Easy Black Bean recipe

• This black bean recipe uses canned black beans which save so much time. I love working with canned beans because it makes getting a meal on the table so much easier. When I am not making this black beans dish, I am making a spiced up version of pinto beans or my white bean ragout, all with canned beans.
• These black beans can be used as a main dish with a side of rice.
• It is really big on flavor and it is healthy.

If you wanted to cook your black beans from scratch and use dried beans, that will work fine too. You would just want to cook your black beans until just tender and then follow the steps in this recipe once that is done.

Some more ways to use these seasoned black beans:

• Add these black beans to sheet pan nachos.
• These jazzed up canned black beans are great served over basmati rice , easy Spanish rice and with my cumin and lime coleslaw!
• These black beans would also make a great addition/side to pulled pork , baked BBQ chicken or cast iron chicken.
• They even would make a great filling for stove top quesadillas, air fryer quesadillas and for rice and bean burritos!

Black beans as the main dish:

Black beans and beans in general are a real healthy way to get your protein and iron. I make lots of dishes with all varieties of beans because of this.

My pesto pasta has cannellini beans in it, my pasta fagioli is a soup made with beans as the base and my collard greens with pintos uses beans to round out the meal.

Beans are just a very economical and healthy dish to make. I love making this cuban black beans recipe often not just because of taste but because I try to plan a certain number of meatless meals per week and this fits that bill.

This canned black beans recipe also makes a great vegetarian option for when you are entertaining for someone who cannot eat meat. It will taste so good that everyone including meat eaters will love it.

More Recipes With Beans:

If you love this easy black beans recipe, you may also like these:

• Cannellini Beans With Pancetta
• Collard Greens With Ham And Beans
• Refried Bean Tostadas
• Pasta Fagioli
• Pesto Pasta
• Mediterranean Bean Salad
• Pinto Bean Salad
• Pasta with Chickpeas
• Chickpea salad