I'm loving the vegetarian friendly recipes from you, Elise!

Hooray!

Great quickie recipe.
For me, black beans and rice is pure comfort.
But, it is also one of those great dishes where you can change up the garnish for a whole new taste.
Spanish - Pimento olives and a little smoked paprika.
Mexican - chillies & cilantro
Asian - lime juice & sesame oil
Yum, yum, fun, fun!

I make versions of this all the time with whatever I have on hand, and I love it! I make it extra spicy and I love to put lots of cilantro leaves on at the end. Alas I can't make the quickie version because I live in a small town in France and there are no canned black beans here. But it's really no trouble to soak and boil the dried ones -- it only requires foresight, not work, so I don't mind.

A variation: if you cook the beans on a slow cooker (not the canned type, but from scratch), and add epazote (while cooking) instead of oregano, you will always remember the unbelievable taste of such herb.

Beautiful photography. I had a craving for beans last night. i'll have to try this for dinner tonight :) Thanks for the recipe!

Thanks for the great recipes. A little cinnamon adds great flavor as well!

Instead of using red bell peppers, try, if you can , to locate cachucha peppers. That is what the authentic cuban recipe calls for. My wife's grandmother also uses plenty of lard AND tocino (salt pork). After the rice is cooked, the put it in with the beans and cook it until it's lost most of the liquid. It's called congris (cone-gree).

Not the most healthy food for a white man, but delicious!

I'm from Brazil, and black beans and rice is a huge part of our everyday menu - specially in Rio de Janeiro (other states favour brown beans for everyday use, and black beans - feijoada - for special occasions).

There's no better way to cook black beans than soaking overnight, then cooking in high pressure for an hour or two. You can cook it with a fat slice of bacon, or some calabrese sausages. It goes great with roasted garlic and onions, too.

Uuummm!!! black beans and white rice ( arroz y caraotas in Venezuelan or Moros y Cristianos as in Cuba )are delicious in any combination, by themself or other dishes companion. There is not right or wrong, the best way to make them is the way how you like them.

I don't understand the boiling part for the beans...there is no liquid to boil, the beans are drained...am I missing something?

There is vinegar. You are heating the beans through and infusing them with the boiling vinegar and Tabasco. ~Elise

Wow, these are amazing! I used one can of plain black beans and one seasoned and used Frank's Hot Sauce (cayenne pepper sauce) and it turned out wonderful. The kids are gobbling it up too. Elise, thank you, I have yet to find a recipe on your site that we don't absolutely love.

I thought this needed a little extra flavor, so I added feta cheese crumbles - worked well.

Elise, I love your website. You do a nice job, and your passion for good food really comes through!

Thanks John! Good suggestion on the feta crumbles too. :-) ~Elise

I have been making my own version of Black Beans and Rice for years. I always saute garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil first, sometimes adding chopped green onion, or any onion. Then I add the black beans, cumin, hot sauce or jalepenos, and some kind of citrus like fresh lime juice or orange juice. I have even used fresh grapefruit juice when in a bind! I also add a bit of brown sugar. Then with the fair amount of citrus juice that I have added, I slowly simmer the beans for a bit so they absorb flavor. I like to keep the dish fairly wet. At the end I add some thawed sweet corn and chopped carrots to give it some "health", and cilantro if I have it around. Then I put some basmati rice in a bowl, top it with the beans, then top that with shredded Monteray Jack! It is a meal in itself and my kids love it.

Thank you for so many great recipes. My friend is vegan and sometimes stays for dinner, which can pose a challenge for me. These recipes are so handy.