Stewed Black Beans

Stewed black beans offer many possibilities… served simply as a side, over rice, used as a soup base, or blended for Garnaches! 

Stewed black beans = easy + healthy

If you want to make stewed black beans the easiest way, use a crockpot!  1 lb beans on the “high” setting will take 6 – 8 hours to cook.  Throw all the ingredients into the pot, turn it on, and walk away!  Beans are also very easy on the stovetop, they just need to be monitored a little more.

Recipes that use Belizean Stewed Black Beans:

Garnaches are a Belize News Post favorite.  They use this black bean recipe for the blended beans.  The stewed beans must be blended in a blender or with an immersion blender and then simmered on the stovetop until the consistency is thick enough to lightly coat a spoon.

Belizean Breakfast is another way to eat black beans, either stewed or blended!

Rice and Beans are not traditionally made with black beans, but are very delicious with stewed black beans instead of Kidney beans!

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 2 hours

Yields approx. 6 cups cooked beans 

Ingredients

• 1 lb – dried black beans
• Vegetable oil
• 1 – large onion
• 2 cloves – garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon – black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon – salt (or to taste)
• Salt pork, pigtail, bacon, or substitute (for flavor) 

Belizean Stew Black Beans Recipe

1. Sort beans discarding any cracked or odd bean rocks. Rinse dried beans.
2. If you want your cooking time to be shorter (+/- 1 hour), soak your beans overnight. If you are okay with a longer cooking time (2-3 hours), proceed to the next step!
3. Heat oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottom soup pot.
4. Add chopped onion, garlic, spices, and salt pork to hot oil. Sauté until onions start turning translucent in color
5. Add beans and 8 cups of water. Water must cover the beans.
6. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for approximately 2-3 hours. Check your beans periodically to make sure there is enough water. Add more water as needed.
7. Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Notes:

• We have found that on the stovetop beans need 2 hours to cook (not soaked prior). 
• In a crockpot on “high”, we have found that beans take 6 hours.
• In an instant pot or similar pressure cooker set to high pressure, this recipe takes about 45 mins to cook the beans. We like to cook them in the pressure cooker then transfer to a heavy pot and season on the stove top.