An easy way to cook and season canned black beans to make a delicious and healthy side dish in no time! Serve with Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites like tacos, enchiladas and burritos.
If you’ve got a can of black beans in your pantry and a few basic ingredients like tomatoes, onions and garlic, then you’ve got everything you need to make this easy and delicious seasoned black bean side dish!
While canned black beans are technically already cooked, adding in a few simple ingredients and seasonings can enhance their flavor instead of eating them plain.
Ingredients you’ll need to transform canned black beans
- 15-ounce can black beans: I recommend using the kind with no salt. This way you can better control the amount of salt in the recipe and make sure the sodium isn’t super high like in some canned goods.
- Olive oil: This is the cooking oil I used, but you could also use avocado oil, coconut oil, canola oil or whichever cooking fat you prefer.
- Onions, tomatoes, and garlic: The trifecta of flavor. These are sauteed until softened and fragrant.
- Jalapeño (optional): Adding this pepper is totally optional. If you don’t want any spice, leave it out. If you don’t want it spicy, remove and discard the seeds and veins. If you like it spicy, keep them in.
- Seasonings: To add a lot of flavor, I mixed in some ground cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika, and salt.
- Lime juice: Add in some lime juice at the end to add a touch of acidity that compliments the rich flavor of the beans and seasonings.
- Cilantro (optional): This is one of my favorite garnishes to use. It complements the lime juice very well and works with many different types of Latin dishes.
How to cook canned black beans
To cook, saute onions, tomatoes, garlic, jalapeños (if using), and seasonings in olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. This will soften the onions and tomatoes substantially and really help to infuse all those delicious seasonings.
Then add in the canned black beans and bring to a simmer. I prefer to use all the contents of the can including the liquid the beans are in because it actually has lots of flavor! I recommend getting canned black beans that have no-salt added and are in a can that’s BPA-free. Not only is it better for your health, but the overall flavor straight from the can will be better.
Once the beans are simmering, remove them from the heat and stir in some lime juice. Taste and season with salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro and eat up! If the beans are a little thick and you’d like them to be a little more soupy, add in some water or broth until it’s the consistency you want.
The entire cooking process takes only 8 minutes, and the results are way better than beans straight out of the can! Serve them alongside Mexican rice, steak fajitas, chicken tacos, or eat them by themselves with tortilla chips and cheese.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large onion, minced
- 1 plum tomato, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper minced (optional; seeds and veins removed if you don’t want it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans (no salt preferred)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ lime)
- salt, to taste
- chopped cilantro for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, tomatoes, jalapeño (if using), garlic, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika. Stir and saute for 5 minutes, until onions have softened and become translucent.
- Add can of black beans (do not drain), stir and bring to a simmer. If you'd like the beans to be a bit more soupy, add in some water or broth until the consistency is to your liking.
- Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and salt.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.
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Nutrition Information
The beans came out delicious and were fast and easy to make! #Yummy
Excellent recipe – very tasty and only takes as long to make as the rice takes to cook. I did add a drained can of pineapple chunks and also added an equal amount of the pineapple juice with the lime, but the base recipe was a good blend of flavors on its own.
I was making these for burritos but ate half the bowl before the pork was ready. So simple, so good. Great idea to saute the spices along with the onions, garlic and tomatoes! Great flavor.
I have shared this recipe so many times. They are great as a side or alone for a meal. Perfect with grilled chicken or smoked pork. Reheat perfectly.
These were the BEST black beans I’ve ever had!!!
My husband recently mentioned he wanted to eat black beans. I had a can on hand but thought that was boring. Found this recipe and it was delicious and so easy! Will definitely make again. I did not add jalapeños but was still very flavorful.
Delicious and so easy! A great way to kick up a can of black beans.
These beans are fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly, then at the end I used a potato masher to mash them up a bit to make them less liquid. Delicious and easy, thank you!
I am only eight years old it was so fun to make,
I loved it!!!!!!!
Quick & easy way to turn a can of beans into something way better. Thanks, Isabel.
Great recipe. Love black beans. I use canned black beans and a dark chocolate fudge cake mix to make cookies. Make them for friends. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Delicious. I added a quarter of a medium green bell pepper as well, along with a dash of red pepper flakes instead of jalapeños. I added 1 cup chicken broth made from 1 teaspoon of chicken granule. I simmered the black beans for 45 minutes. It was delicious. Fix cilantro lime rice which added another layer and had oven baked pork chops and corn bread.
Delicious dish. Easy recipe. Substituted serranos for jalapeños ’cause that’s what we had. And in the hustle to get everything to the table, forgot to add the lime and cilantro – a mistake I won’t make next time – I can image the brightness they add to this dish. Thank you, Isabel.
Thank you Charles!
It’s a new family favorite!
This recipe was so easy and delicious. My family asked me to make it again. I’m adding it to our book of family favorite recipes.
How long are leftovers of this good for in the fridge?
Hi Nick! They’re good about a week.
I always feel sad throwing the liquid away, like almost every recipe calls for. I am very happy to find this recipe where I can use the liquid, everything!
Absolutely delicious. I’ve never added the seasonings to the sauteeing vegatables before, I usually add them once I add the beans and water/broth and I think it made a big difference flavor wise.
I didn’t have plum tomatoes so I used some canned diced tomatoes, I think around 90ish grams. Went a little heavy on the garlic, decided to drain +rinse the beans and used about 3/4 of a can of chicken broth as liquid for a long simmer. Sauteed the onions first for about 2 minutes then added the garlic tomato and seasoning for another 3.5 mins. Haven’t had fresh cilantro for a while so skipped that part and didn’t miss it.. but I’m sure it takes it up a notch.
Thanks for a nice easy recipe!
Thank you so much Stephen!
JUST TOO MANY
INGREDIENTS SO IN THE END ALL FOOD TASTES THE SAME
When I haven’t gone grocery shopping and don’t feel like leaving home, I usually just put canned black beans on a tortilla with avocado, mozzarella cheese, and lime juice. It always tastes so good that today, when I heated some canned black beans to eat with a side of Spanish rice, I was shocked that the beans alone had no flavor! Lol! (Don’t tell my mom; she’d be disappointed, considering she is the family chef.)
Needing flavor in a pinch, I found this page at the top of a Google search. I legitimately only added the oregano, paprika, cumin, and salt to the beans. I stirred them a little, et voila! They were now flavorful and tasted similar to the black beans I used to get at Moe’s Southwest Grill to eat with a side of chips and queso.
I’m saving this recipe for the next time I decide to eat black beans as their own dish. And I’ll just have to save this whole site because Isabel obviously eats well. So grateful!
Hi Adrienne! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for sharing!