27 Black Bean Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
The star ingredient in these black bean recipes is important to all kinds of people. For the health-conscious, black beans are a great source of fiber, protein, and folate (which is the naturally occurring form of vitamin B9, an essential nutrient crucial for proper brain function, cell growth, and mental and emotional health). For the food historians and anthropologists: Black beans have long been a staple in Central and South America as they’re native to those regions, and today, you’ll also find they’re popular in Louisiana Cajun and Creole cuisines, in the Southwestern U.S. and the Caribbean, and, frankly, everywhere. For all of us: Black beans are versatile, accessible, and delightful. They can be purchased dried or canned, they can be enjoyed hot or cold, they’re creamy inside but hold their shape well through all kinds of cooking methods, and they take on the flavor of whatever seasoning you give them. TL:DR: We recommend always having some black beans on hand. But how to cook black beans? Allow us...
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Yekatarina Boytsova1/27Chicken Tinga Tostadas With Bacony Black Beans
Photo by Andria Lo, prop styling by Jillian Knox2/27Super-Refried Beans
These thick, dense refried beans are a common breakfast item in El Salvador: Imagine them with tortillas, eggs, fried plantains, avocado, and queso fresco. Now turn that vision into reality!
Marcus Nilsson3/27Mixed Bean Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette
You know we had to give you a black bean salad! Feel free to mix in some cannellini and kidney beans—or chickpeas too. Bonus: This recipe can be made one day ahead of serving.
Alex Lau5/27Fully Loaded Black Bean Nachos with Red and Green Salsas
Tortilla chips, a can of black beans, fresh cilantro, jalapeños, a hit of lime juice, red onion.… Are you writing your grocery list yet? Because NACHOS!
Photo Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen6/27Easiest-Ever Grilled Veggie Burgers
This isn’t just a black bean burger—tofu and quinoa are key to making sure that the meatless patties can go right from the mixing bowl onto the grill without falling apart. Top with a chile-corn salsa for the ultimate vegan summer burger.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens7/27Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
The prep time for this spicy black bean soup? About 15 minutes. After that, let your pressure cooker do the work of beautifully bringing together those beans, vegetables, chipotle chiles, oregano, and cumin.
Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou8/27Frijoles de la Olla
The picture says pintos, but former senior food editor Rick Martinez uses the same method for black beans—or any dried bean he has currently on hand. “I do like most Mexican households and toss my beans straight into a flexible five-ingredient blend of water, salt, herbs, garlic, and some kind of allium,” he says. After a few hours, every bean is creamy and flavorful.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova9/2715-Minute Refried Beans
These 3-ingredient beans come together with smoky bacon, canned beans, and onion in just 15 minutes. Slather them on tostadas or lay a fried egg on top and call it breakfast.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Pearl Jones11/27Sos Pwa Nwa and Mayi Moulen (Black Bean Sauce and Cornmeal)
This deeply comforting Haitian meal consists of sos pwa nwa, black bean sauce enriched with coconut milk, served alongside mayi moulen, a creamy cornmeal porridge.
Kyle Johnson12/27Chilaquiles with Blistered Tomatillo Salsa and Eggs
Where are our campers at? This recipe for black beans can be made with the help of a live fire and a propane stove—but don’t worry, homebodies, it also works on a kitchen stove.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova13/27Seedy Arepas With Black Beans and Avocado
There are countless variations of arepas all over Colombia and Venezuela, but whether they’re stuffed with cheese, chicken, or pork, the dough starts in the same way: with arepa flour.
Photo by Caleb Adams16/27Basically Black Bean Soup
If it isn’t clear, we love beans. Few ingredients have such a stellar deliciousness-to-affordability ratio, and the best part about starting a soup with dried beans is that they create their own incredibly savory broth as they cook.
Photo by Rick Martinez17/27Enfrijoladas
Brunch called, and it wants you to make these creamy, beany enfrijoladas. Top them with a fried egg, sautéed chorizo, or roasted vegetables—and always queso fresco.
Peden + Munk19/27The Tostada That Wants to Be a Memela
Sssshh! This dish is not technically a memela, because it’s made with store-bought tortillas instead of fresh masa. Regardless, we’ve given you two recipes in one: a poblano chile version and a chorizo version.
Alex Lau21/27Beef, Black Bean, and Corn Tacos
This ground beef taco recipe doesn’t say to serve some guacamole and sour cream on the side, but, you know, do that. Or maybe omit the frozen corn and instead make a fresh corn salad to serve on the side. Play with it! The world is your taco!
Alex Lau22/27Open-Faced Roasted Squash Sandwich
If you’re not feeling sandwich-y, or if you’d like to have this with a side of margaritas, the squash-and-bean mixture tastes great on toasted or fried corn tortillas.
23/27Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa
We love this rice bowl as a healthy lunch on those days when we need something...more. You can take a shortcut with store-bought rotisserie chicken, but if you have some leftover roast chicken from, say, enchiladas, use it.
Marcus Nilsson25/27Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash
What’s cozier on a cold night than black bean chili with roasted butternut squash? This chili also contains quick-cooking bulgur, which we like to think of as the whole grain for busy people.
