Mostly From Scratch Cuban Black Beans

Making an amazing dish from canned black beans is very simple and this Cuban 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 canned black bean recipe for a quick delicious meal everyone will love.

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Total Time: 30 minutes

About this black beans recipe:

This quick seasoned black beans recipe is my favorite recipe for a classic cuban black beans 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.

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 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.

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 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 an Italian version of cannellini beans, 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.

How to cook canned black 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.

Once you do this step, cooking canned beans is just about adding flavor and gently heating them on the stovetop.

Some ways to use these Cuban black beans:

• As I mentioned above, these beans are great served over rice and with my cumin and lime coleslaw!
• These beans would also make a great addition/side to pulled pork or chicken.
• They even would make a great filling for rice and bean burritos!

Using 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 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:

• Cannellini Beans With Pancetta
• Collard Greens With Ham And Beans
• Refried Bean Tostadas
• Pasta Fagioli
• Pesto Pasta