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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.
More Recipes to Try
How to Cook Canned Black Beans
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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! This is going to be a new go-to recipe for black beans for me. I made it without the jalapeño and cilantro. It’s still has excellent flavor! Thank you!
These are so delicious! I was out of cilantro which would’ve been AMAZING! I did add dried parsley because I like it to tone down smoked paprika with it which can be over-bearing at times. (I would never use it to replace cilantro. It tastes nothing like cilantro)! But I digress…this stuff is awesome! Would also be good with a little sour cream on top, Will definitely be making again!
Just adding the rating. I forgot!
Thank you Nancy!
gud evening. tried your black bean recipe. thinking it has metallic taste because it comes in can, it proved other wise. good taste and i used it as a viand for my rice.
I love this recipe, I’m eating black beans with every meal now.
Any tips for slow cooker?
Hi Tammy! We have a recipe for pinto beans that include low cooker instructions, and the same method can be applied to black beans if you wanted to check that out!
Always great recipes. Enjoy reading them. Might never make them, but I like our recipes.
Can you show how to take a can of Pinto Beans and make good/great refried beans
Hi Annette! Thank you so much! Yes, if you search “pinto beans” or “refried beans” on the blog, we have recipes/tips for refried beans on both of those posts.
Didn’t have fresh parsley, but otherwise followed recipe. Very Good!
These turned out WAY BETTER than I thought canned beans could ever be!! I love recipes that incorporate different spices, thank you so much for sharing it was a success with my boys!
This recipe really livened up some otherwise bland black beans. I made them for dinner tonight to have with mexican rice and salsa chicken. They were SO good! I doubled the amount of black beans, but there was still plenty of flavor. I had to use a couple of Tablespoons of Fire Roasted tomatoes in place of the plum tomato because that is what I had. I did use a seeded jalapeno, which was perfect. And I added lime zest along with the Tablespoon of lime juice. Also SO delicious. Used the sour cream… only thing is I wish I had the cilantro on hand. I think that would have been really good. But they really weren’t lacking. Plenty of delicious flavor!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Jack! We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Can I make ahead for a party…do I just warm them…how much would you make for 50 people for taco bar?
Hi Joann! You can definitely make them ahead. To keep them warm, you can place them on large aluminum trays and place in the oven on low, covered in foil until your event. You can also use the trays and place warmers underneath depending on what works best for you.