Cuban-Style Black Bean Recipe

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My Cuban-style black bean recipe is an easy side dish packed with nutrients (and flavor!). Minimal prep work and vegan/vegetarian friendly!

Bowl of cuban-style black beans topped with lime and cilantro.

Easy Side Dish: Cuban Black Beans

Put those black beans sitting in the back of your pantry to good use! This Cuban-style black bean recipe is one of our all-time favorite dinner sides (Zach would eat the entire pot himself — no exaggeration). It transforms two average cans of black beans into a flavor-packed side dish! My recipe takes less than 10 minutes to prep (have a little patience because there is a 30 minute simmer required, though!) and can be paired with everything from pulled pork to salmon.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfectly spiced. Cumin adds the most flavor, while a touch of chili powder, green chiles, and red onion spice things up even more. It’s amazing what a few simple ingredients can do!
Low effort, high reward recipe. While there are certainly days when I don’t mind spending time stirring risotto or chopping veggies for our favorite brussels sprouts salad, most days I appreciate side dishes that are mostly hands-off like this one. We’ll keep the prep work to a minimum, and most of the cook time comes from the beans simmering on the stove. If you need more low-prep sides, try my asparagus recipe, creamed corn, or roasted potatoes.
Customizable. Swap the mild chiles for spicier ones or use a jalapeno instead. Add a squeeze of lime (or not!), top with cilantro, queso fresco, etc.
Versatile! The beans pair well with a lot of dishes despite their Cuban flair. We’ll often make them to serve alongside fajitas, crispy chicken tacos, or ropa vieja (recipes for a few of those coming soon!).

What You Need

Only 10 ingredients today! I’ll review the most important ones before we get started.

Overhead view of labeled ingredients including black beans, red onion, green chiles, and more.

Cooking oil. I use avocado oil but olive or any other cooking oil (vegetable/canola) would also work here. You could even use an equal amount of butter.
Canned black beans. Make sure to just rinse/drain one can, as we want the starchy liquid from the second can. This will help thicken the beans and add flavor.
Canned green chiles. Stick with the mild version, unless you love spicy food, then go for the hot! Fire roasted green chiles are my preference and would be a tasty (but not spicy!) option here, just like in my turkey chili. Alternatively, you could skip the canned chiles and use a finely diced jalapeno instead.
Red onion. Finely dice this so you don’t have big bites of onion in the final dish. I like to make the pieces the size of the beans or smaller. Another variety of onion will probably work just as well, but I love the flavor of the red onion (just like in my pineapple salsa!).
Spices. Including cumin and just a touch of chili powder.
Lime juice. A squeeze of lime juice adds acidity, which brightens and balances the flavor. Stir it in at the end before serving or serve the beans with lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the beans on your plate.

SAM’S TIP: To make this black bean recipe vegan or vegetarian, simply swap the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Also try my butternut squash soup, vegetable soup recipe, or manicotti if you are vegetarian or trying to incorporate some meatless dinners into your rotation!

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Cuban-Style Black Beans

Cook your aromatics

Overhead view of diced red onions sautéing in a pan.

Saute the onion in a bit of cooking oil until softened, then add the garlic and spices. Let the spices toast briefly and let the garlic cook until it’s fragrant, this will help deepen the flavor (much more-so than just adding the spices at the end or after the broth is added).

Add the rest

Pouring broth into a pot containing black beans, green chiles, and more.

Stir in the beans and chiles, then drizzle in the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go (there’s usually lots of flavor hiding there!).

Simmer

Simmer the beans for 30 minutes. This crucial step will develop the flavor and create a thick, creamy texture. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice just before serving, then enjoy!

SAM’S TIP: Don’t skip the simmer step! It allows the beans to thicken to the proper texture and really develops their flavor.

Overhead view of a bowl of cuban beans topped with lime and cilantro.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are they spicy (/how can I make these kid-friendly?)?

The spice level is adjustable according to your own personal taste. For more heat, use hot chiles or a jalapeno with a few seeds mixed into the beans. For less heat, opt for mild chiles (the can should say “mild” on it).

Should you rinse canned black beans?

Honestly, it depends! Most of the time, yes. The canning liquid typically contains quite a lot of salt and starch, and many recipes don’t benefit from that. However, in this recipe I like to just rinse one can so we can use the starch and salt from the other can for added flavor and thickness.

Can I use dried black beans?

I haven’t tried this recipe with dried beans but there’s no reason it shouldn’t work if you soak the beans properly (here’s a guide on how to quickly soak the beans that I think will be helpful). Note that your beans might not be as thick and creamy if you do this, and you may need to add a bit more salt before serving. Always taste test!

Spoon scooping cuban-style black beans from a bowl.

If you’d like more black bean recipes, I have several recipes that use them, including my Texas caviar, southwest chicken soup, my (award winning!) chili recipe, vegetarian chili, taco soup, and chicken tortilla soup.

Enjoy!

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