Mexican Black Beans
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Mexican Black Beans are the perfect side dish to pair with tacos, burritos, or your favorite Mexican meal. This recipe is delicious and easy to make with canned black beans in just 25 minutes, with only 10 minutes of hands-on time! These beans are vegetarian, gluten free, and a great protein-packed, plant-based side dish to pair with dozens of meals.
Table of contents
This simple side dish is one that my family has been making for years. It’s so easy to make and perfect for pairing with any Mexican meal. From adding the beans to a burrito or bowl, to serving them as a side dish with fajitas and tacos, these Mexican black beans are truly versatile and so delicious!
The beans are seasoned with cumin, garlic and onion, then combined with a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, to add a ton of flavor to the beans. They’re so easy to make, you’ll want to keep this recipe in your back pocket for when you’re searching for the perfect healthy Mexican side dish.
Ingredients
All of the ingredients in this recipe are gluten-free and dairy-free, as long as you omit the optional cotija cheese crumbled on top of the beans.
- Canned black beans – this recipe is so simple and quick to make because it’s made with canned black beans, instead of dried black beans. Grab a couple of cans at the grocery store, then drain any liquid from the canned beans before starting this recipe.
- Avocado oil – or another neutral-flavored vegetable oil, like canola oil or a mild olive oil.
- Onion – I recommend a yellow onion for it’s neutral flavor, but feel free to use a red onion or white onion if that’s what you have on hand.
- Garlic – I always recommend fresh-minced cloves for the best flavor.
- Rotel – the brand name for a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. Feel free to pick up any brand you prefer, but you want a can that’s 10 ounces for this recipe. If the can you’re using is larger, you’ll want to measure out 1 ¼ cups for this recipe.
- Vegetable broth – you can also use water or chicken broth. The broth will add more flavor to the dish, but since we’re only using ¼ cup for this recipe, either one will work.
- Ground cumin + salt – to season to the beans.
- Cilantro (optional) – to mix into the beans before serving, and garnish on top of the beans. If you don’t like the taste of cilantro, you can leave this ingredient out of the recipe.
Instructions
I’ve included step-by-step photos above to make this Mexican black beans recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the onions and garlic. Heat avocado oil in a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add diced onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add black beans and diced tomatoes. Drain and rinse two cans of black beans and add them to the pot with the onions and garlic. Do not drain the can of Rotel! Add the entire can to the pot with the black beans.
- Season and simmer. Pour the vegetable broth (or water) into the pot. Season the beans with ground cumin and salt. Stir to combine everything, then reduce the heat on the stove to medium and simmer the beans for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in fresh chopped cilantro.
Transfer the beans to a bowl for serving, and optionally top them with crumbled cotija cheese and more fresh chopped cilantro.
Ways to serve them
Serve these Mexican black beans as a side dish, or part of a main dish.
- In burritos – add these black beans to a large warm tortilla with cilantro lime rice, fajita veggies, and your choice of protein, like carne asada, pork, or fajita chicken, to make a delicious burrito.
- As part of a bowl – these beans are a delicious addition to veggie fajita rice bowls, carne asada bowls or vegetarian burrito bowls. You can also make your own vegan bowls by serving these black beans with cilantro lime rice and crumbled tofu taco “meat”.
- On the side of tacos – serve these beans with your favorite tacos. To make an entirely meatless meal, try the beans with these mushroom tacos, cauliflower tacos, or grilled veggie tacos.
- With enchiladas – pair the black beans with chicken enchiladas, low carb enchiladas, vegetarian enchiladas with corn, or this simple chicken enchilada casserole.
- On top of nachos – spoon these black beans over chips, then melt shredded cheese on top, or drizzle nacho cheese sauce over the beans, to make delicious nachos for an appetizer, perfect for game day.
- With quesadillas or fajitas – these Mexican black beans are the perfect side dish to pair with this delicious steak quesadilla, or chicken fajitas.
- As a topping on chilaquiles – add the beans as a healthy protein to top chilaquiles rojos or chilaquiles verdes.
Storage and reheating
Store leftover Mexican black beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. This is perfect for meal prep!
Reheat leftover beans in the microwave, or on the stove. To microwave the beans, place them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. To reheat the beans on the stove, add them to a small pot over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Recipe notes
- To add spice to the beans, dice up one jalapeno or serrano pepper and cook it with the onion.
- This recipe is vegan, as long as the optional cotija cheese is not added at the end.
- This recipe makes enough beans to serve 8 people. If you’d like to cut the recipe in half, simply click the ½ box under the word “ingredients” in the recipe card below. The ingredient amounts will automatically update to make half of the recipe.
More side dish recipes
Try these other easy Mexican side dish recipes to add more flavor to your favorite meals!
Mexican Black Beans
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil, or vegetable oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 30 ounces canned black beans , two 15 ounce cans (drained and rinsed)
- 10 ounces canned Rotel, diced tomatoes with green chiles
- ¼ cup vegetable broth, or water
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, optional
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a medium pot on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Drain and rinse the cans of black beans, then add them to the pot on the stove.
- Add the entire can of rotel (do not drain!), vegetable broth, ground cumin and salt. Stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat on the stove to medium and simmer the beans for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro before serving.
Notes
- Optionally top the beans with crumbled cotija cheese and more fresh chopped cilantro.
- Store leftover Mexican black beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
- Reheat leftover beans in the microwave, or on the stove. To microwave the beans, place them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. To reheat the beans on the stove, add them to a small pot over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To add spice to the beans, dice up one jalapeno or serrano pepper and cook it with the onion.
- This recipe is vegan, as long as the optional cotija cheese is not added at the end.
Nutrition Facts
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