Meet my go-to, foolproof black bean recipe! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to cook black beans from scratch, this guide is for you. These beans are rich and creamy, yet lively and full of flavor. They rival the frijoles negros I’ve loved in Costa Rica, Mexico and Belize, and they make a delicious side dish or meal component.
Home-cooked black beans offer far more flavor than canned beans, especially when you include the right seasonings. I’m thrilled with how these turn out. Dried beans are also less expensive than canned beans, and they reduce waste (no cans to throw away).
Plus, black beans are very good for you. Black beans are rich in fiber and plant-based protein, and a fantastic source of folate, thiamin (vitamin B1), phosphorus, manganese and magnesium. If you’ve ever read that beans are “unhealthy,” it’s because beans contain lectins until they’ve been sufficiently cooked. Lectins, which are naturally present in many plant foods, are considered an anti-nutrient. If you’re eating properly cooked beans, as instructed below, there’s no reason for concern.
You might be surprised to hear that black beans are actually so blue that they appear black. Black beans are full of anthocyanins, a powerful group of flavanoids that also makes blueberries, purple cabbage and red onions so nutritious. You can read all about black bean nutrition here.
If you’re learning to cook dried beans, start them early. The wild card with dried beans is that you’ll never be 100 percent certain when they’ll finish cooking. Better to start cooking well before you’re in a rush for dinner. Let’s get to it!
Watch How to Cook Black Beans
Black Bean Seasonings
Many black bean recipes incorporate bacon or lard, but these beans are free of meat products (they’re vegetarian and vegan). I played around with spices and flavorings until I came up with a clear winner.
You can simplify the recipe by omitting any of the seasonings listed in the ingredients, but for the best flavor, I recommend using all of them. Here’s what I add to the pot before cooking:
- Red onion and garlic lend a savory backbone to these beans. We’ll chop up the onion and add it raw (I tried cooking it first, as I do for most recipes, but the flavor is distracting at that point). We’ll peel the cloves and add them whole. Once the beans are done, we’ll just smash them against the side of the pot and stir them in. Easy!
- Bay leaves further amplify the savoriness of these beans, offering an herbal flavor somewhat similar to oregano or thyme. Mexican black beans typically incorporate an herb called epazote that is somewhat reminiscent of oregano, so you can see how bay leaf would work as well.
- Extra-virgin olive oil (just a splash) makes these beans cook up nice and creamy.
- Ground cumin is commonly added to black beans, because they’re perfect together!
- Orange zest offers a subtle “je ne sais quoi” flavor. Just one small strip (peeled with a vegetable peeler) makes a big difference. I never would have thought to add orange, but Serious Eats suggested this Cuban twist and I love it.
- Red pepper flakes lend some heat. If you prefer mild beans, reduce or omit them.
After cooking, I like to stir in some chopped cilantro (skip it if you don’t like it) and a squeeze of lime juice to brighten up the whole pot.
Black Bean Yield & Conversions
Dried black beans are typically sold in one-pound bags, so I wrote this recipe to use the whole bag. It yields a big pot of beans (about six cups). If you don’t think you’ll be able to finish off the whole pot within five days, you can easily halve the recipe, or freeze leftovers for later.
Here are some measurements and conversions that might be helpful:
- Dried (raw) black beans: 1 pound = 16 ounces = scant 2 1/2 cups
- 1 pound dried black beans = 6 cups cooked black beans = four 15-ounce cans of cooked black beans
- Each 1/2 cup of dried beans yields a little over 1 cup cooked beans
The Great Bean Debates
To Soak, or Not to Soak
Here’s a compelling argument for not soaking beans by Kenji Lopez on Serious Eats. In summary, un-soaked beans require only marginally longer on the stove (as little as 20 minutes longer), have a deeper color (likely also more nutrients), and better flavor (less watered down).
Beans that are larger than black beans, such as chickpeas, may benefit from a soak. In my experience, soaking black beans is an unnecessary extra step.
To Salt Before Cooking, or Afterward
This is another highly contested matter, and once again, I leaned on Serious Eats for guidance. In their experiments, salted beans cooked more evenly. Unsalted beans actually absorbed too much water and popped open before their skins sufficiently softened. You can see their side-by-side comparison here.
Another bonus of salting early is that your beans will be more flavorful than if you reserved the same amount of salt until after cooking.
Stovetop vs. Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)
Cooking your beans on the stovetop is the way to go. I truly wanted to offer a reliable Instant Pot shortcut, but my Instant Pot bean experience has been too frustrating to recommend.
Here’s the problem: When you’re cooking beans in a pressure cooker, you can’t keep an eye on them. Cook times for beans in the Instant Pot vary with every batch, for reasons explained below. Many times, you’ll need to re-pressurize the pot and cook the beans longer. How much longer is always a guessing game. Sometimes, the beans cook unevenly because they run out of water along the way. Or, if you accidentally cook them a few minutes too long, the beans become mushy and bland.
You’ll also love stovetop black beans for their condensed, stewy cooking liquid. It’s delicious! You’ll never achieve the same nice cooking liquid with Instant Pot beans because the water can’t evaporate during cooking. Instant Pot beans will be watery, even if you manage to cook the beans properly—such beans would be fine as a replacement for drained canned beans, but they won’t make a great side dish on their own.
Timing Issues with Old Beans and Hard Water
Here’s the frustrating reality about cooking beans from scratch: You’ll never know exactly how long they’ll take to cook. Sometimes, very old beans will never soften sufficiently.
If you just bought your beans from a store with good turnover, they might be done cooking after just an hour-long simmer. Most likely, they’ll be done by an hour and a half to two hours.
Check your bags for a harvest or expiration date. Ideally, we’ll cook them within a year of harvest. Store your beans in a dark, cool place in the pantry in an air-tight container. If you don’t remember how long your dried beans have been sitting in your pantry, I can’t say how long they might take—or if they’ll ever fully cook through. This is a risk you take with cooking beans from scratch.
Another factor, which surprised me, is that the minerals in hard water can slow the cooking process! I live in an area with hard water, and I’ve witnessed the difference water can make. We can thank Melissa Clark for this clue.
My fresh-from-the-store beans cooked up in a mere hour when I used filtered water. My next batch, the same beans purchased at the same time, took over an hour and a half because I cooked them in tap water.
So, use filtered or distilled water if you can. Here’s a map of hard water areas in the United States, and here’s the affordable water filter (affiliate link) that seemed to improve my cooking time. I also have a larger filter system at home, which is great.
How to Serve Black Beans
These black beans are a great side dish to serve with Mexican, Cuban or other Latin American-inspired meals. Here are some of my favorite options.
- Burritos: Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde or Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos
- Casseroles: Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
- Chilaquiles: Chilaquiles Rojos or Chilaquiles Verdes
- Enchiladas: Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas, Spinach Artichoke Enchiladas or Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
- Quesadillas: 10-Minute Quesadillas or Crispy Mushroom, Spinach and Avocado Quesadillas
- Tacos: Favorite Breakfast Tacos, Halloumi Tacos with Pineapple Salsa & Aji Verde or Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos
Or, replace the bean component in the following recipes with these home-cooked black beans:
- Austin-Style Migas with Black Beans
- Kale, Black Bean and Avocado Burrito Bowl
- Simple Kale and Black Bean Burritos
- Southwestern Kale Power Salad with Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Avocado Sauce
- Spicy Sweet Potato and Green Rice Burrito Bowls
Lastly, these beans are a fantastic burrito bowl component. Add any of the following:
- Rice: Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice or Mexican Brown Rice
- Something saucy: Classic Pico de Gallo, Creamy Avocado Dip, Cilantro Hemp Pesto, Guacamole, Red Salsa or Salsa Verde
- Maybe some extra greens or veggies: Chunky Avocado Salsa, Fresh Corn Salsa, Quick Collard Greens or Marinated Kale
- Garnishes and accents: Quick-Pickled Onions, toasted pepitas, crumbled Cotija or feta cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes, etc.
View all of my recipes containing black beans here.
How to Cook Black Beans
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
This foolproof recipe yields perfectly tender and delicious black beans. Make a pot and enjoy black beans all week! No need to soak the beans before using. Recipe yields 6 cups beans (the equivalent of 4 cans); you can freeze leftovers or cut the recipe in half.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces or scant 2 ½ cups) dried black beans*
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 4 medium cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- One strip of orange zest, about 2 inches long by ½ inch wide
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit or reduce if sensitive to spice)
- 8 cups water**, more if needed
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, optional
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- First, pick through your black beans for debris (sometimes tiny rocks can sneak in). Place the beans in a fine mesh colander or sieve and rinse very well. Pour the beans into a large Dutch oven or saucepan (4 quarts or larger in capacity).
- Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, salt, cumin, orange zest and red pepper flakes (if using) to the pot. Pour in the water.
- Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Remove the lid and reduce the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. Give the beans a stir to make sure none are stuck to the bottom of the pot, and set a timer for 1 hour. Leave the pot uncovered and adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer (you should see several small bubbles popping to the surface at any given moment).
- Once the timer goes off, test a couple of beans by using a fork to press them against the side of the pot. If they’re easy to press through, taste a few (carefully! they’re hot!) to see if they’re sufficiently plump, tender and delicious.
- Otherwise, continue cooking, testing in 15 to 30 minute intervals as needed, until they’re done. If you’re running low on liquid, add water in 1-cup increments so the beans are covered at all time. (As mentioned in the post, if your beans are old, they can take several hours to cook and require a lot more water, and some very old beans may never cook through.)
- Once the beans are very tender and tasty, you can increase the heat a little to reduce the cooking liquid into a more gravy-like consistency, about 5 to 15 minutes (it will continue to thicken up as the beans cool).
- Remove the pot from the heat. Carefully remove the orange zest and both bay leaves. Use a fork to press the garlic against the side of the bowl to break it up. Add the cilantro, if using, and lime juice. Stir to combine. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed. Use as desired.
- Allow leftover beans to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze leftover beans for several months.***
Notes
Recipe created with guidance from Serious Eats.
*Bean note: It’s very important that your beans are fresh. Freshly purchased beans from a store with good turnover can cook in as little as one hour. Older beans can require several hours on the stove (and several more cups of water). Very old beans may never soften all the way through, and will never be suitable for consumption.
**Water note: If you live in an area with hard water, the minerals in the water may impede the cooking process (your beans will take longer to cook). Use distilled or filtered water if possible.
***Freeze it: I like to freeze leftover beans with their cooking juices in wide-mouth, pint-sized mason jars. You could also use small freezer bags—once frozen flat, they can be stacked. Regardless of your container, be sure that your beans have cooled to room temperature before freezing. If you’re using a rigid container (instead of a bag), allow some room at the top for expansion, and wait until the beans are fully frozen before securely attaching an air-tight lid. Defrost the containers in the fridge for several hours before using as desired.
Kristin
This has become my go to recipe for black beans. Delicious!
We use them in bowls and then I make some sort of soup and add any extras not yet consumed or make chili and toss them in.
Never needed to freeze but like idea of that.
Have pot simmering as I write this review.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Kristin!
Maria
Hello Kate,
Thank you for a detailed recipe here.
I was wondering if I can cook these beans in a slow cooker? with the lid off to avoid the beans to be too watery?
Regards,
Maria
★★★★★
Kate
I find this method works best. If you try it, let me know how it works for you!
Lauren
I just made this!! Thank u; I was always afraid/too lazy to make beans from scratch. Not as hard as I thought. I made half the recipe and subbed veg broth for 1 cup of water, and added smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
The beans are gonna go in oyster mushroom tacos!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Lauren! I appreciate your review.
Adora
Simmering my pot right now and enjoying the hhmmm sweet and delicious aroma of the spices can’t wait to try. Glad I found this recipe. This is my ever first time to cook black beans.
Thanks Kate
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you found it too, Adora! I appreciate your review.
Julie C.
I’ve never commented on a recipe before, but I had to. I made this recipe as written, and it’s so good. Really really good. The little extra ingredients, like zest, tomato paste and finish with cilantro and lime. It makes all the difference. I will definitely be making more of your recipes. One more thing, these black beans are Really good.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you tried it, Julie! Thank you for your review.
Kylie
I make these all the time!!! Thank you for this method. I used to make them in the crockpot but they got a bit too soft usually. I’m tempted to add liquid smoke or smoked salt to these? Do you think that would be worth it?
★★★★★
Kate
I wouldn’t know for sure without trying it. Sorry!
Veronica
This recipe looks great and I want to do it for a party of 40. Can I make these a day ahead?
Kate
These make great leftovers!
Lori Mewborn
Oh my goodness, totally delicious! This was my first time making black beans from scratch. The canned beans don’t even compare to these. I did add some more cumin, along with some garlic salt and a touch of chili powder. Mine took a lot longer to cook, around 3 hours. But totally worth the wait!! Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Natalie Ann Simon
Thanks for all the guidance!
Frank Martin Wagnon
I often soak and or cook with a little baking soda. Teaspoon . All my beans cook faster. Game changer. You cant taste it.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Frank!
Julie Westlund
Hello! Thank you for this incredibly detailed recipe! I’m looking forward to trying them! I am interested in your links to the water filters but the links don’t work for me. Would you be willing to let me know the names of the products? Thank you!
Julie W
Kate
Hi Julie! Thank you for letting me know. It looks like they have change their name. I will get that updated and make sure there aren’t other updates. It’s Propur water filter.
AleWat
Easiest black bean recipe I have found and TASTIEST! Definitely making this again. I was hesitant about the orange and lime but I think that may be the key because I’ve always felt there was something missing when I cook black beans and with this recipe it tasted perfect.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, AleWat!
Sharon
I did not soak the beans. Added seasonings I had on hand: granulated garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and a strip of tangerine. They were done in about one and a half hours. I will definitely make these beans again and use them as part of a beanburger
★★★★★
Sharon Magnin
This is a good recipe. I did not soak the beans and they were tender in less than 1 1/2 hours. I did not have all the seasoning ingredients so used onion powder, granulated garlic, cumin, sea salt, smoked paprika, and a strip of tangerine rind along with the rest of the recipe ingredients. My family loved the beans and I will definitely make them again.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Sharon! I appreciate your review.
Susan
If the beans aren’t softening (because they’re old), add baking soda. I learned this trick at a community dinner with 30+ people waiting for food. You can imagine the distress in the kitchen – almost time to serve dinner, soaked beans have been simmering for 3 hours & still crunchy. One person thought to add baking soda & beans were ready 15 minutes later. Whewh!
Kate
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for sharing. I’m glad you were able to make it work.
Jasmeen Amin
I will sure try and make it next week. Is it optional to add dice tomatoes?
Beneficial for me with my low levels of potassium.
Thanks
Tom
Worked really well. Even better after freezing ( a bit like curry really).
Definitely don’t make to a deadline – as stated you need to be flexible when the beans are ready.
★★★★★
Kelly Nobles
I came across your recipe after I had already put my beans on to soak. So I made it as directed, but with a bit less water because they had already absorbed some from the soaking. Next time I will definitely try it without soaking
It was awesome served over some brown rice with a little garlicky sautéed spinach on the side. Even my sixteen-year-old son approved and he’s not usually a big fan of black beans. Of course we had to add our favourite chipotle hot sauce to taste :-) Will try leftovers for lunch in quesadillas.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad it was a hit and you are already planning your next meal! Thank you for your review, Kelly.
Jay
I just came across your recipe s/p overnight soak. Are there and specifics / changes when / if soaked beans are used?
Best,
Jay
Kate
I recommend this best as written. I hope you try it!
LT
Easy to understand instructions and I appreciate that you mentioned other food sites that have tested what you recommend, i.e no need to soak and whether or not to salt early.
★★★★★
Hazel
Hi Kate,
I love your recipes and use them regularly. Thanks so much!
The only thing I miss is the possibility of adding notes.
Hazel
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Hazel! I appreciate your review.