Cuban black beans and rice. How comforting is a bowl of steamed rice and black beans? With an extra dose of deliciousness from the classic Cuban sofrito, this rice dish is essentially everything you love about a simple weeknight meal. It’s delightfully easy to make and tastes incredible!
Why settle for a simple rice recipe when you can upgrade its nutritional value with a humble pantry staple - canned beans? And in this case, black beans. The fact is that it’s incredibly easy to incorporate healthy meals into your diet. You just need to plan ahead.
Healthy Cuban black beans and rice recipe
This highly flavorful, incredibly tasty Cuban inspired rice recipe is a fun way to cook with pantry staples, and the best part is it’s entirely customizable with your favorite canned beans. The beauty of this recipe is that it only takes about half an hour to prepare an amazingly delicious dinner.
Sofrito - the quintessential Cuban spice mix
Let’s talk about the classic spice mix that makes this Cuban dish so unique and special. And honestly, it’s so flavorful. A simple combo of spices and herbs you already have in your pantry is what defines the best sofrito spice mix.
Think basic ingredients like tomato paste, garlic and onions flavored with aromatic hints of cumin seeds, bay leaves and dried oregano. And a touch of olive oil to bring all the ingredients together. Once you grind all the ingredients to a fine paste, you can move on to the next step of the recipe. Making the delicious Cuban black beans and rice.
How to make Cuban rice and black beans
Start with sautéing onions, garlic and capsicums in a little olive oil. When the onions turn soft and capsicums (bell peppers) are tender, you’ll need to add in the very special homemade sofrito spice mix. Next up, more dried spices and herbs like oregano, bay leaf, and ground cumin goes into the pan. Give this spice mix a quick stir fry.
Now, the final list of ingredients to go into this delicious Cuban style rice - canned black beans and rice. Of course, these are the key ingredients of the recipe. Again, the canned beans can be substituted with dried beans. Make sure you soak them for about 8 hours and cook until tender prior to adding them to the pan.
Finally, pour in water to cook the rice. And again, don’t forget to check the package instructions for the right cooking time for the rice. Once rice is tender and has absorbed all the water, turn off heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes. That way, the rice grains will turn really fluffy.
To be honest, the combination of simple black beans and rice flavored with sofrito is unbeatable.
More quick and easy rice recipes:
- Cumin Rice | Jeera Rice
- Cranberry Rice
- Curd Rice | Yogurt Rice
- Curry Rice | Curried Rice
- Portuguese Rice
- Lemon Rice
- Saffron Rice
- Ghee Rice (Neychoru)
- Japanese Garlic Fried Rice
- Egg Fried Rice
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- Ginger Capsicum Fried Rice
- Indian Chicken Fried Rice
- Tomato Pulao
- One Pot Chicken Pulao
Cuban Black Beans and Rice | Video
Ingredients
Sofrito (Cuban spice paste):
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 large garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Black beans and rice:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic garlic paste
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers capsicum
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin cumin powder
- 800 g canned black beans drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups dried black beans, soaked and cooked)
- 2 cups rice rinsed (basmati rice or long grain rice)
- 4 cups water
Instructions
Sofrito:
- Place tomato paste, garlic, onions, cumin seeds, bay leaves, oregano and olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper.
- Process to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- You can store this spice mix in an airtight container in a refrigerator for about a week.
Cuban black beans and rice:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and bell peppers (capsicum). Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 4-5 minutes or until onions are soft and bell peppers are tender.
- Add sofrito. Sauté, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add oregano, bay leaf and ground cumin, black beans and rice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour 4 cups water. Stir gently to combine.Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover with lid. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. (Cooking time of rice may vary. Make sure you check the packet instructions).
- Turn off heat. Let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
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