There is something about beans and rice that I find very comforting. We can make a whole meal out of a simple dish such as this. I like to eat black beans and rice just about any way, but Cuban beans are probably my favorite. The recipe is inspired by several that I've tried over the years, including one from Latin American Cooking Across the USA, by Himilce Novas and Rosemary Silva. This version uses more tomatoes than the traditional Moros y Cristianos, but we like the extra juice. Cooking in the slow cooker makes it a really easy meal.
Recipe Notes
You can use 2 (16-ounce) cans of beans instead of dried beans. Drain them well and add to the slow cooker. Omit the extra water. Reduce the cooking time to 4 to 6 hours.
[Updated April 29, 2013.]
Slow Cooker Cuban-Style Black Beans with Rice
Equipment
- 4 to 5-quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dried black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 5 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 28 ounces water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 4 ounces canned chopped green chilies ((less if you want to reduce the heat))
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large bell pepper (chopped)
Serve With
- brown rice
- cilantro (for garnish)
Preparation
- Stir together all ingredients (minus the salt and bell pepper) in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting 8 hours or more, until beans are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the salt and the chopped bell pepper. Continue cooking on low until ready to serve. Remove bay leaves. Serve beans over cooked rice.
Nutrition
Resources
- Latin American Cooking Across the USA, by Himilce Novas and Rosemary Silva
- Memories of a Cuban Kitchen: More Than 200 Classic Recipes, by Mary Urrutia Randelman and Joan Schwartz
emily says
love,love,love red beans and rice!
jenjen says
Although not always convenient I love the homely feel of slow cooked food. Your beans look delish, the photo of them glistening on top of that bed of rice, yummo!
Jenn G. says
That looks fantastic! I'm hungry just looking at it. We've been looking for good yummy slowcooker recipes-- thanks!!
Frank says
I love this recipe, THANK you. I had homemade chicken stock around, so I used half stock/half water. Also, I cook my garlic in oil for about 30 seconds, prior to putting it in the slow cooker.
I’m making it a second time already!!!!
THANKS AGAIN!
Frank.
Andrea says
Emily: I love red beans and rice, too!
Jenjen: Thanks! Nice to meet a fellow food blogger from Australia. We haven't been down that way in a dog's age. Michael did a bike ride from Melbourne to Canberra to Sydney in 1988 and I spent 10 weeks there on summer holiday in 1992. Gotta get back down there sometime!
Jenn G.: Thanks! We have a couple slow cooker recipes here, including Michael's vegetarian chili (which we love).
Ruth says
I printed out this recipe a long time ago and have made it a few times since. I like it better every time! It is SO GOOD. I tweaked it slightly given what I usually do/do not have on hand (no red wine vinegar and chili flakes instead of the can of chilis). Anyway, thank you so much for a fabulous recipe. I used to think I didn't like dried beans so the fact that this recipe is one I actually crave says quite a lot. Thanks!
Andrea says
Ruth, I'm so glad that you have enjoyed the recipe! And thanks for coming back to let me know. 🙂
Larry S, Wonder Lake IL says
I've made this many times. Sometimes black beans, sometimes red. I've used bacon, chili powder, whatever, and it's always a hit. This time I'm putting in wild rice at the end, wish me luck!
Thanks
Andrea says
Larry, I'm so glad you like it. Let me know how it turns out with the wild rice.
Larry S, Wonder Lake IL says
The wild rice added a great nutty flavor to the beans. Add cayenne pepper to taste. It doesn't get any better.
Thanks again.
Cris says
This is great going through your blog and finding such nice recipes!
ha3rvey says
Oh. My. Goodness.
I made this last night. I doubled the recipe and made two changes. I was out of red wine vinegar, so I subbed half apple cider vinegar and half balsamic. I also added 2 tbsp. of adobo sauce. I put it on at about 11:30pm. (Late night 🙂
I turned off the crockpot at about 7:30am.
Best. Black. Beans. EVAR!
The boy thinks we're weird because we're "eating beans for breakfast." I told him, "This isn't breakfast. This is tasting." He said he didn't want any, but I could see the foodlust in his eyes. Nine-year-olds, they know nothing.
William Mayville says
Hello there
I am going to try your Black bean and rice recipe.
When I was stationed in Panama,I knew some
Cubans.Excellent food.You also have a very nice web site.
Bill
ha3rvey says
Making this again today. It makes excellent leftovers for lunch.
Scott says
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. My mother's Cuban black bean recipe adds some cinnamon, more vinegar, and lots of lime juice. I tend to add the vinegar and lime at the end so it wont cook out/ Some people have different tolerances of the sour so I might leave the cut limes for the diners to squeeze on their meal. Tonight I am making my first slow cooker version....
ha3rvey says
Sorry for the extra-late follow-up, but I'm making this again today. We're going to a friend's house for a lunch pot-luck today, and I'm making a double batch of these awesome black beans. My kids still are a bit wary of it, but the rest of us love it.
Lori Devaney says
I was so excited to make this for my son. I put them on at 11 pm last night (Monday) and they're still cooking (it's 4:50 pm) and the beans are still firm. I would recommend soaking the beans ahead of time for anyone who is going to try this recipe.
Sonya says
A pinch of baking soda reduces the acidity in the water and tomatoes allowing the beans to cook and soften. This is a necessity with my hard water when cooking dried beans.
Andrea says
Hi Lori. I'm sorry to hear your beans didn't turn out. I'm not sure what happened with your batch. I've never had a problem with the beans not cooking up in the allotted time.
Kara says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love cooking with the slow cooker, and have lost count of the number of times I have made these. YUM YUM YUM. I sometimes also add some smoked sausage since my husband thinks he needs meat at every meal. This one is definitely in the winter rotation.
Andrea says
Glad to hear you like them, Kara!
Maria says
Making this for the 1st tiome today!!!!! can't wait to eat!!!!!
Vicki Leiva says
I am new in the kitchen. I am cooking them as I type, I hope my hubby and baby girl like it. It smells good so far.
-Miami,Florida-
Tino Romero says
I'm happy, I'm making this for the first time... all went into the crock about 40 minutes ago and we'll have it for breakfast in about 8 hours from now...
I used a variety of tomatoes from our garden for the diced portion, and substituted the bell peppers with a combination of homegrown red cowhorn peppers and a smaller amount of Jalepeno's to make up the difference for the bells and green peppers ... should have a nice kick!
it's great to have many recipes and mostly used my tomatoes so far this harvest to make spaghetti sauce ... thanks to this recipe, I can now use the harvest to make some great beans...
we'll scoop it onto a bed of rice,
what is the best rice for cuban style in your opinion? We'll be putting this on top of high-grade Jasmine rice...
thanks again, the last time I had this, I was with a family that absolutely made the best black beans, they were from Cuba, and I remember the whoever was in charge of the beans had already learned to cook the beans in the slow cooker ... I think you're on to something! I will report the taste in the morning, the kitchen is nicely aromatic right about now!
Thanks,
T
Andrea says
Hi T. Jasmine rice is our everyday rice and that's what we eat with these beans. I hope you enjoy the beans and rice as much as we do.
Brian Webb says
Do you still need to soak the beans or is it not necessary with this recipe? Hope to try it this weekend! Brian Webb
Andrea says
Hi Brian. I don't soak the beans, you just need to give them plenty of time to cook.
Brian Webb says
Thanks! I am going to make them this weekend to serve with shredded pork. Brian
Krista says
I still soak my beans overnight with apple cider vinegar to increase digestibility. Making this recipe again tomorrow 🙂
Christina says
I am a cooking novice and I found this recipe very easy to follow. I was making it for a very large crowd, so I doubled the amount of beans b/c I couldn't find anywhere in the recipe where it indicated how many servings one bag made.
I think I over did it though, so there will be lots of leftovers.
Haven't served it yet to the crowd, but I have taste tested of course and it tastes delicious. This will be a recipe that I will definitely repeat, maybe add some chicken or sausage next time? How do you think chicken would taste with it as I am not a huge sausage fan, but my husband is?
Andrea says
Hi Christina. I've never tried it with chicken, but it would probably taste fine with some chicken legs or thighs.
Christina Conley says
I have made this recipe several times now and now people are asking me to make it when we have potlucks. I was asked to prepare it for 60 people and I am clueless as to how much to make. There will be other food but this will be one of the main dishes being served. How many batches do you think I should make for this many people?
Also I wanted to let folks know that I always cook the full recipe (it's just my husband and me) and I portion out the left overs in food sealer bags, seal them up and freeze them. I have left them in freezer for over 4 months and the taste great. Someone told me that if you use the canned beans-which I don't - then defrost it the beans are mushy, but w the dry beans they aren't mushy at all. Very fresh and a quick wat to fix a nice hot meal. I have even frozen left over cooked rice and it comes out fluffy and fresh tasting.
penny says
Hi,
Just dug out this recipe. I used to make it a lot and really like it. I just recently started Weight Watchers and need to figure out how many servings, or cups it makes. I don't want to make it and find it is a huge amount of points.
excellent receipe.
Thanks,
Penny
Loveliest says
I have made this numerous times with a can of Pastene Kitchen Ready CHUNKY. Today, right now, I have it in the crockpot with a little medium hot chili powder. I serve it with River rice.
Sue says
Hi- just wanted to say that this is my bookmarked, go-to black beans recipe- it's perfect every time! For the second year in a row I've thrown in the hambone from Easter dinner. YUMMMM! Can't wait for burritos when I get home from work tonight, and a week's worth of black beans & polenta with poached eggs, tacos, and other yummy ways to use them up. Thanks for a great recipe!
Catherine says
Hi, I found this through another blog, Slow Cooker from Scratch (Kalyn!) Wanted to say both my husband and I *love* this recipe, and pretty much had it *every day* this past winter for our lunch. We never tire of it, and it's so easy to make up at the beginning of the week. Sometimes I add churico sausage, or some chunks of Columbian cheese; we've even cut up pepper jack cheese sticks on it and heated it up! Soooo Sooo good!!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Andrea says
Catherine, thanks for stopping by to let me know! I'm so glad you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Marsha says
I made these this weekend, mixed with rice, and served them at my nephew’s graduation party with the walking tacos my SIL was serving. It was my first time cooking dry black beans, and they turned out amazing! The mix also held up well all afternoon in the slow cooker on warm. For those wondering, this made 8 cups of beans and is 1SP per cup on the Weight Watchers Freestyle plan (for the beans only).
Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Jacqueline says
My family is from Cuba, and I was raised on Cuban food in Miami, and especially, on Cuban black beans and rice (Moros). Cuban food is NEVER spicy and never has any heat. The use of chilis and the amount of tomatoes you are adding (rather than a tiny amount of tomato paste) suggests you're trying to create a Central American dish, not a Cuban dish. This may certainly be tasty, but please understand, if you are eating something with chilis, salsa, or with "heat," it is NOT Cuban. This is not simply a family variation. Go to Miami and try any Cuban restaurant. If it is being cooked by a Cuban, it will not taste like this recipe. Lose the chilis and the tomatoes and you'll be pretty close. 🙂