Our Mexican Black Beans make for a delicious meal – keep it simple by making rice and beans or use them for tacos or burritos. This quick and easy recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and bound to be one of your favorite side dishes!
Black beans are a great source of protein, loaded with fiber, and make a great meat alternative.
Our Mexican Black Beans recipe is all about the flavor, not the heat. If you like heat, you can absolutely add some cayenne powder to add spice.
This delicious and easy recipe for black beans is perfect as a side dish or a base for a variety of Mexican-inspired meals.
Mexican Black Beans ingredients
- Black Beans: This recipe uses 8 oz of cooked black beans. This can be canned or homemade.
- Taco Seasoning: We use our homemade taco seasoning mix, but you can use storebought if preferred.
- Cumin: We love cumin as it adds a warm, earthy flavor.
- Oregano: We also use a bit of dried oregano.
- Onion Powder: Adds depth of flavor without the need for fresh onions, but you can use fresh onions for more texture as well.
- Bay Leaf: Provides a subtle, fragrant aroma.
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice adds a bright citrus flavor.
- Cilantro: Finish with chopped fresh cilantro for garnish and flavor
- Salt: We suggest using salt to taste.
How to make Mexican Black Beans
Prepare Ingredients: Have all your spices measured out and ready to go.
Combine Ingredients: Add in the black beans along their liquid into a skillet along with taco seasoning, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and onion powder.
Heat: Place the skillet onto the stove over medium-high heat.
Boil: Bring the beans to a boil, stirring frequently to ensure the spices are well distributed.
Simmer: Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the beans simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and allow the beans to thicken, which should take about 15-25 minutes.
Finish: Once the beans have thickened, remove from the heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Do you drain black beans before cooking?
The thick liquid in canned black beans is actually the cooking water, which contains starch and salt. Depending on your recipe, draining the beans is optional.
For this particular recipe, we want that starchy liquid to add flavor, sauce, and texture to our beans.
For cooked dishes, the liquid can naturally thicken the dish without the need for cornstarch or other thickeners.
However, draining and rinsing the beans is recommended if you’re preparing a black bean and corn salad or any other fresh, uncooked recipe.
Are black beans good for you?
Yes! They are very good for you! In fact, you can eat black beans every day as a part of a heart-healthy diet.
Beans and legumes support heart health and are loaded with protein, potassium, vitamin B6, folate, and fiber.
How do you serve Mexican Black Beans?
We use them to make black bean tacos, black bean burritos, over scrambled eggs, or even potato hashbrowns for breakfast.
You could even make rice and serve it over shredded romaine with homemade taco sauce for a delicious burrito bowl for lunch. We enjoy them stuffed into a baked potato or even air fryer baked sweet potato.
How to cook dry black beans on the stovetop
Rinse the beans to remove dirt or debris. Soak 1lb of black beans in a large bowl with water about 3-4 inches above them.
The beans will increase in size, and soaking helps speed up the cooking process. It also makes them easier to digest.
Rinse the beans before cooking and discard the soaking liquid. Boil the beans for one hour with enough water to cover the beans.
Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until you reach the desired texture.
An even easier way to cook black beans is in the Instant Pot. We make our Instant Pot black beans at least once a month so we can freeze them and use them whenever needed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not Stirring Frequently: To prevent the beans from sticking and burning, stir them frequently while bringing them to a boil.
- Overcooking: Keep an eye on the beans as they simmer. Overcooking can make them too mushy.
- Adding Lime Juice Too Early: We like to add the lime juice at the very end to ensure the flavor is bright and fresh, not cooked in.
Helpful Tips
- Adjusting Thickness: If the beans are too thick, add some water to reach your desired consistency.
- Flavor Boost: Add a minced garlic clove to the other spices for an extra flavor boost. You can also use cooked onions and tomatoes.
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container and enjoy within 3-4 days.
Mexican Black Beans
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Print Pin SaveIngredients
- 8 oz black beans cooked
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lime juice
- cilantro garnish
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the black beans with liquid into a skillet with taco seasoning, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and onion powder.
- Place the skillet onto the stove on medium-high heat.
- Bring the beans to a boil stirring frequently and then reduce to low to allow the beans to thicken.
- Once the beans are done, about 15-25 minutes simmering, squeeze in the lime juice and add some chopped cilantro
Tried this recipe?
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Notes
- Use canned black beans to make this recipe even quicker. We recommend using cartons over cans. Make sure you use BPA free. Canned may have a tin can taste.
- Try our homemade taco seasoning instead of using store bought – it saves you money and you control the amount of sodium.
- Use the canning liquid for beans with a thick sauce, drain and rinse with water for a thin sauce – add about 1/2 cup of water to the beans to cook.
- Double the batch and make ahead for adding to lunches throughout the week – we’ve enjoyed them up to 4 days after cooking.
- You can add more cooking liquid if you like – we like our beans to be cooked down and the liquid completely reduced. This way it’s less messy in recipes too.
- Simmer for 15 minutes if you want the beans to have liquid, or simmer for 25-30 minutes if you like the liquid cooked down like ours.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
I love the idea of making these at home! Going to Chipotle a lot can get pricey.. and homemade tastes so much better too! I can’t wait to put these on my next taco bowl!
I always have black beans in the house. This recipe sounds perfect for our Mexican themed dinner nights. What a way to showcase these healthy and nutritious beans. The perfect side dish to take along to a pot luck too.
So quick and loaded with flavor. We used these as part of a veggie grain bowl and they were my favorite part. They paired so well with the other raw veggies and the quinoa. An awesome meatless monday idea.
Oooh I love the use of the bay leaf in your seasoning – what a great idea! This is a staple in our house so we’re already ready for tacos!! Great great recipe we all love!
Where is the recipe for the Taco Seasoning? I couldn’t find it.
Thanks ????
Ah, it looks like it unlinked, here’s the taco seasoning we use 🙂 https://www.knowyourproduce.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-mix/
Hi, this recipe looks delicious and I am going to make it for lunch today, unfortunatelly couldnt find anywhere in the website your home made Taco seasoning, you might want to add the recipe to this page? I browsed for more ideas and everything looks delicious 🙂
Sorry about that! We had it linked from our other site but it keeps removing the link in the recipe card, you can find the recipe here https://www.knowyourproduce.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-mix/ 🙂
I made your black beans last night for Cinco de Mayo and they were a big hit with my family. I just made another batch because the recipe wasn’t that large even though I used two cans of black beans. I have a pressure cooker but have never made just beans in it before. So I was hoping you could tell me how many cups of uncooked beans you use , how much water, how long do you cook them etc. Do you add any salt or oil when cooking in the pressure cooker? Please let me know as my son would really like me to try to make the beans from scratch and I have no idea what to do. Please respond as soon as possible,
Thank you,
Gail
Hi Gail, So glad you guys enjoyed them! We actually no longer use canned and always make them from scratch using our instant pot black bean recipe https://www.knowyourproduce.com/pressure-cooker-black-beans/ 🙂 You can use these beans as you would the canned, maybe just add a bit more water if needed.
hese were delicious! I had one serving (had to restrain myself) as a one-dish,and it’s Taco Tuesday, too! The seasoning was spot-on. I didn’t have fresh cilantro on hand and had to go with four frozen cubes. Will probably be much better with fresh! Topped with some Monterey Jack cheese.it looks like you have some great recipes and thanks for this delicious and easy one!
So glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
We used this Mexican Black Beans recipe as a filling in our vegetarian tamales; as well as a side dish or topping choice on our taco/burrito bar for our Christmas dinner. It was very delicious as all three options! I printed off the recipe and have added it to my personal home recipe book for definite future use. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe with us!
We are so honored you made our recipe for your holiday dinner and will continue making it! Thank you so much!!
Could you please tell me…this is 8oz of dry beans, correct? A standard can of beans in 15oz. ( I was never able to find an 8oz can of black beans…..)
Thank you for clarifying…
D
For this recipe you could just double the other ingredients aside from the beans. I use a cup of precooked beans instead of canned.
Loved them. Made them for a taco bar party. Thanks!
So glad it was a hit!
Family went back for seconds.
We love to hear this!! Yay 😀
I followed the recipe exactly and used the seasoning recipe as well. It turned so yummy.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear it turned out delicious for you! And your feedback means a lot!
This recipe is amazing. My family were not black beans fans at all, but we are now! It’s quick easy and delicious!
That makes me so happy to hear! So happy and feel honored that my recipe won you over on black beans. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Family raves about this recipe every time I make it!!
This makes me so happy, we are thrilled to hear you love it as much as we do!