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20 Minute Mexican Black Beans and 7 Ways to Serve This

An easy 20 minute vegetarian Mexican Black Bean Recipe that will make your weeknights easy and healthier.  Make a big batch and use all week or freeze some for later.  Canned black beans are your friend here.

A bowl of Mexican Black Beans.

While I enjoy perusing my cookbook collection, leafing through pages until something catches my eye, the truth is, the most frequent dishes I serve my family are the easiest ones.  I love to explore new food, ingredients and new cultures.  Give me a food challenge and I am there.  

Why I Love Mexican Black Beans

Life is busy though so I like to push the easy button often.  This Mexican black beans recipe is one of my favorite weeknight cooking hacks because it’s easy, fast and healthy.  It’s also very versatile so I can serve this all week long.  

This is one of my favorite recipes because I crave vegetarian food. I’m not a vegetarian but eating meat with every meal leaves me uncomfortably full. My hubby eat meat at every meal.

This Mexican Black Bean recipe gives us the flexibility we desire. I can serve it to hubby as a side and I can make a vegetarian meal out of it for me. This recipe does not make me feel too full or lethargic like a heavy meal can.

Beans are healthy too! They can help you reduce your cholesterol, lose weight and are a great substitute for meat. Read The Many Health Benefits of Beans in this Consumer Reports article to find out more. This easy bean recipe will help you get started on making good food choices.

My top seven ideas for serving this are below.  I hope this recipe finds you well and that it might lighten your load, just a little bit.

7 Vegetarian Ways to Serve Mexican Black Beans

Having Mexican Black Beans as leftovers gives you even more weeknight options. These ideas below are easy to prepare after a long day at work or a quick lunch idea on your days off.

  1. Serve it over Spanish rice for a healthy and hearty vegetarian meal.
  2. Wrap some in a corn tortilla with some guac for a vegetarian taco version.
  3. Add your favorite veggie broth and make a soup out of it.
  4. Serve with tortilla chips and make a Mexican Black Bean Dip out of it.
  5. Pour over a baked potato and garnish with crumbled bacon, sour cream, onion and cilantro for a hearty meal.
  6. Make a black bean and monterey jack cheese quesadilla.
  7. Serve over fries with your favorite cheese and a squeeze of fresh lime for a street cart version.
Black Beans in a colander.

How to Make Easy Mexican Black Beans

This recipe is very basic which is what makes it desirable as a weeknight option.  Canned black beans are used and seasoned with sautéed onions, garlic, cumin and canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.  I only use one or two peppers at a time and individually freeze the rest.  You can see how in this post on Peruvian Bean Soup.

Chipotle in adobo sauce is very spicy.  You may want to start with one and see how much heat you like.

A can of chipotle in adobo.

5 entrèes that would go great with Mexican Black Beans

These beans are so versatile, try them as a side dish.

  1. Mexican Chicken Flautas
  2. Baja Fish Tacos with Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
  3. A Texas BBQ Sandwich
  4. Smoked Pork
  5. Chicken and Pineapple Kebabs
A chopped chipotle.
Onions and chipotle in a skillet.
Mashing black beans.

Do you have any super basic but delicious recipes for weeknights in your culinary arsenal?  Please share.

Did you make this recipe?  Don’t forget to rate the recipe and comment below!  Take a picture and tag us @FusionCraftiness #FusionCraftiness on Instagram for a chance to be featured in our Insta Stories:)

Bon Appetit!

A bowl of Mexican Black Beans.

20 Minute Mexican Black Beans and 7 Ways to Serve This

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

An easy 20 minute vegetarian Mexican Black Bean Recipe that will make your weeknights easy and healthier.  Make a big batch and use all week or freeze some for later.  Canned black beans are your friend here.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce (canned)
  • 2  15 oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 -3 cups of water

Instructions

  1. Sautee onions in oil in large sauce pan or skillet over medium heat until soft.  Add garlic, cumin, salt, chipotle and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring often.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer.
  2. Partially mash beans with a bean masher or fork.  The beans will thicken as it simmers.  Add more water if necessary until the desired consistency is reached.
  3. Serve with optional garnishes.

Notes

Serving suggestions:

  • You may serve this in tacos, burritos, quesadillas etc.
  • Serve over rice for a healthy veggie option.
  • Make a soup out of it by adding veggie broth.
  • Serve it with tortilla chips as a dip.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 676mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 10gSugar: 1gProtein: 10g

Did you make this recipe?

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Amanda

Tuesday 9th of October 2018

I love that this only takes 20 minutes to make! I love having a collection of quick-fix recipes that are big on flavor. Great serving suggestions, too. I can't decide which one to start with, but I'm thinking that the soup might have to happen first, followed by the chip dip for Game Day. Such a versatile recipe!

Marisa Franca

Monday 8th of October 2018

My tastebuds are tingling just reading the recipe. We love black beans and they are a great ingredient to add to other dishes. We make our own chipotles in adobo sauce so we are never without. We use them in everything we want spice.

Dana

Monday 8th of October 2018

This looks so hearty, healthy, and delicious! It's a gloomy day here and this is exactly what it needs: belly-warming comfort food. I love how versatile these beans are, too. Over rice, stuffed into tacos… sign me up :P

Debra

Monday 8th of October 2018

Absolutely love the clean ingredient list. I'm not sure which of your 7 suggestions to make first. In our house, every single one would be well received. Thanks for the great ideas and super recipe.

Tracy

Sunday 7th of October 2018

Oh my gosh thank you for this!! I just realized my toddler LOVES beans. And they haven’t historically been a big part of our diet, mainly because I don’t know what to do with them most of the time and haven’t cooked them much. Now I know!!

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