Easy 20-Minute Black Beans and Rice

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• 2 Small – Medium pots

• Potato Masher

Ingredients

For the Rice:

• 1 cup basmati rice (see notes for other kinds of rice)

• 1 ¾ cups water

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ lime (juice and zest – you'll use the rest in the beans)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (more if you like, omit if you don't like cilantro)

For the Beans:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 small onion diced

• 28 oz. canned black beans (drained and rinsed, see notes)

• 1 teaspoon cumin 

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup water

• ½ lime (juice and zest, the rest of the lime from the rice)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (more if you like, omit if you don't like cilantro)

Instructions

• To make the rice: In a small or medium pot, stir together the 1 ¾ cups water 1 cup basmati rice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and simmer on low for 10 minutes, or until there is no more water around the rice if you tilt the pot. Turn off the heat and keep the cover on for another 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, stir in the 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro and juice and zest from ½ lime, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

• While the rice is cooking, make the beans. Sauté the diced 1 small onion in the 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat, in a medium pot, until softened and beginning to brown (about 2-3 minutes).

• Add the 1 teaspoon cumin and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and stir to coat. Add the drained and rinsed 28 oz. canned black beans and 1 cup water. Stir, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.

• Turn off the heat. Use a potato masher to mash the beans a few times, thickening the mixture, but leaving most of the beans intact. If you don't have a potato masher, you can use a fork on the side of the pot, or a few brief pulses with an immersion blender.

• Stir in the juice and zest from the remaining ½ lime and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

• Serve the beans on top of the rice as a side or meal. Top with fixings such as shredded cheese, pico de gallo, diced avocado, hot sauce, etc., if you want.

Notes

• For other kinds of rice: I like using white basmati because it cooks the fastest. Feel free to use any other kind of rice you want – brown, parboiled, short grain, etc. all will work. You will need to adjust the cooking time and water to rice ratio according to the directions on the package,

• If you don’t have the fresh onion, cilantro, and/or lime juice on hand, dry pantry ingredients can be substituted. Use ground coriander and onion powder in the beans.

• Cilantro may be omitted if you don’t like it!

• Other spice recommendations: This recipe is purposefully simple. It’s delicious as is, but feel free to add your own twist to it. Fresh garlic may be added with the onions, and other spices with the cumin and salt such as chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, ground coriander, cumin, etc. Use what you have!

• You can use these rice and beans as the filling for burritos. Here’s more on how to make freezer-friendly bean, rice, and cheese burritos!