Easy Mexican Black Beans Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the tastiest way to eat black beans? ›

Best Black Bean Recipes

Season them with lime juice and zest, chili powder, oregano, and/or cilantro, and serve them as a side dish with Mexican or Latin American-inspired dishes like tacos or taquitos. Paired with some cilantro lime rice, they could also pass as a meal on their own!

They are also low in calories and fat-free – so, perfect for vegans, vegetarian or anyone wanting to follow a healthy diet. In authentic Mexican cooking, black beans are used around the country but tend to be more commonly used in the traditional dishes of Southern and Coastal Mexican cuisine.

The pinto bean is perhaps one of the most common type of beans used in most Mexican dishes. Like the black bean, the pinto bean is also loaded with nutritious elements including high fiber and protein. Pinto beans are served both whole and mashed, which will become the refried bean.

You can dress them up as much as you'd like with seasonings and aromatics, or enjoy them as is. Canned beans are technically already cooked, but you may choose to warm them up for hot dishes or just as a standalone side.

Without much effort, they're so versatile: great in soups, salads, side dishes, bean burgers and spicy dips. You can enjoy them hot or cold. Like most legumes, canned black beans are loaded with dietary fiber, an essential key to good health (and good blood serum cholesterol numbers).

In the course of his testing, Yonan found that soaking only cut down cooking time by 25 to 30%, and it also had real drawbacks. "You lose a lot of flavors when you soak them," Yonan says. "I've never had a pot of black beans as good soaking as when I don't soak them.

If you're wondering what is the secret ingredient for restaurant-quality refried beans, the answer is fat. Restaurant-made refried beans honor traditional Mexican culinary practices by adding a hearty helping of lard or bacon fat drippings to their recipe.

In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and hot sauce. To serve, Place a scoop of hot rice in a bowl or on a plate, top with a generous scoop of the black bean mixture. Stir together before eating.

Pinto beans are primarily used in Mexican and Southwestern food. You can find them in spreads, dips, burritos, wraps, tacos and quesadillas. The most popular form of pinto beans is refried beans. Black beans, on the other hand, are mostly used in Latin American, Caribbean, Creole and Cajun food.

WATER, PINTO BEANS, SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, PINK BEANS, NATURAL FLAVOR, SOY LECITHIN.

What herb do Mexicans cook with beans? ›

Epazote (pronounced eh-puh-ZOE-tay) is an herb native to Mexico and Central America that is perhaps best known for its carminative, or gas-relieving, properties. Cooked with a pot of beans, this herb can lessen the “negative effects” and adds a distinctive savory, earthy flavor.

Mexican cooks don't pre-soak beans. They just add beans to water and get on with the cooking. No soaking or draining for them.

"If you rinse your beans thoroughly, you will have a consistently flavored product, but if you do not rinse them, different amounts of salt will remain in the dish each time you cook it, and it will be hard to cook consistently," he says.

So the starchy liquid that lives in the can? That's your bean broth. Use that broth to thicken soups, help dips hang together—all the ways you'd use the broth with beans you cooked yourself. So stop throwing it away!

Toss drained/rinsed/dried beans with a bit of olive oil (or avocado oil) and your favorite seasonings. You can add crushed whole seeds (coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard, etc.), woodsy herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), red pepper flakes, crushed garlic cloves, and of course salt and pepper.

Sometimes black beans can come out tasting bitter. To prevent this, be sure to use an appropriate amount of salt. This recipe calls for a tablespoon, but don't forget to taste for salt when your soup is finished and add more if desired; it will depend on how salty your bacon is, too.

While lard has been replaced with vegetable oil or shortening in many households, the distinct richness and velvety texture it imparts to a skillet of refried beans is hard to beat. The closest substitute for lard is bacon grease, which is another form of rendered pork fat that's arguably even more flavorful.

America's favorite bean is pinto beans, according to the U.S. Dry Beans Council, often used to make refried beans. Navy beans, Great Northern beans, red kidney beans and black beans round out the rest of the top five.