How to Cook Black Beans (From Scratch!)

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Meet my go-to, foolproof black bean recipe! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to cook black beans from scratch, this guide is for you. These beans are rich and creamy, yet lively and full of flavor. They rival the frijoles negros I’ve loved in Costa Rica, Mexico and Belize, and they make a delicious side dish or meal component.

Home-cooked black beans offer far more flavor than canned beans, especially when you include the right seasonings. I’m thrilled with how these turn out. Dried beans are also less expensive than canned beans, and they reduce waste (no cans to throw away).

Plus, black beans are very good for you. Black beans are rich in fiber and plant-based protein, and a fantastic source of folate, thiamin (vitamin B1), phosphorus, manganese and magnesium. If you’ve ever read that beans are “unhealthy,” it’s because beans contain lectins until they’ve been sufficiently cooked. Lectins, which are naturally present in many plant foods, are considered an anti-nutrient. If you’re eating properly cooked beans, as instructed below, there’s no reason for concern.

You might be surprised to hear that black beans are actually so blue that they appear black. Black beans are full of anthocyanins, a powerful group of flavanoids that also makes blueberries, purple cabbage and red onions so nutritious. You can read all about black bean nutrition here.

If you’re learning to cook dried beans, start them early. The wild card with dried beans is that you’ll never be 100 percent certain when they’ll finish cooking. Better to start cooking well before you’re in a rush for dinner. Let’s get to it!

Watch How to Cook Black Beans

Black Bean Seasonings

Many black bean recipes incorporate bacon or lard, but these beans are free of meat products (they’re vegetarian and vegan). I played around with spices and flavorings until I came up with a clear winner.

You can simplify the recipe by omitting any of the seasonings listed in the ingredients, but for the best flavor, I recommend using all of them. Here’s what I add to the pot before cooking:

• Red onion and garlic lend a savory backbone to these beans. We’ll chop up the onion and add it raw (I tried cooking it first, as I do for most recipes, but the flavor is distracting at that point). We’ll peel the cloves and add them whole. Once the beans are done, we’ll just smash them against the side of the pot and stir them in. Easy!
• Bay leaves further amplify the savoriness of these beans, offering an herbal flavor somewhat similar to oregano or thyme. Mexican black beans typically incorporate an herb called epazote that is somewhat reminiscent of oregano, so you can see how bay leaf would work as well.
• Extra-virgin olive oil (just a splash) makes these beans cook up nice and creamy.
• Ground cumin is commonly added to black beans, because they’re perfect together!
• Orange zest offers a subtle “je ne sais quoi” flavor. Just one small strip (peeled with a vegetable peeler) makes a big difference. I never would have thought to add orange, but Serious Eats suggested this Cuban twist and I love it.
• Red pepper flakes lend some heat. If you prefer mild beans, reduce or omit them.

After cooking, I like to stir in some chopped cilantro (skip it if you don’t like it) and a squeeze of lime juice to brighten up the whole pot.

Black Bean Yield & Conversions

Dried black beans are typically sold in one-pound bags, so I wrote this recipe to use the whole bag. It yields a big pot of beans (about six cups). If you don’t think you’ll be able to finish off the whole pot within five days, you can easily halve the recipe, or freeze leftovers for later.

Here are some measurements and conversions that might be helpful:

• Dried (raw) black beans: 1 pound = 16 ounces = scant 2 1/2 cups
• 1 pound dried black beans = 6 cups cooked black beans = four 15-ounce cans of cooked black beans
• Each 1/2 cup of dried beans yields a little over 1 cup cooked beans

The Great Bean Debates

To Soak, or Not to Soak

Here’s a compelling argument for not soaking beans by Kenji Lopez on Serious Eats. In summary, un-soaked beans require only marginally longer on the stove (as little as 20 minutes longer), have a deeper color (likely also more nutrients), and better flavor (less watered down).

Beans that are larger than black beans, such as chickpeas, may benefit from a soak. In my experience, soaking black beans is an unnecessary extra step.

To Salt Before Cooking, or Afterward

This is another highly contested matter, and once again, I leaned on Serious Eats for guidance. In their experiments, salted beans cooked more evenly. Unsalted beans actually absorbed too much water and popped open before their skins sufficiently softened. You can see their side-by-side comparison here.

Another bonus of salting early is that your beans will be more flavorful than if you reserved the same amount of salt until after cooking.

Stovetop vs. Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)

Cooking your beans on the stovetop is the way to go. I truly wanted to offer a reliable Instant Pot shortcut, but my Instant Pot bean experience has been too frustrating to recommend.

Here’s the problem: When you’re cooking beans in a pressure cooker, you can’t keep an eye on them. Cook times for beans in the Instant Pot vary with every batch, for reasons explained below. Many times, you’ll need to re-pressurize the pot and cook the beans longer. How much longer is always a guessing game. Sometimes, the beans cook unevenly because they run out of water along the way. Or, if you accidentally cook them a few minutes too long, the beans become mushy and bland.

You’ll also love stovetop black beans for their condensed, stewy cooking liquid. It’s delicious! You’ll never achieve the same nice cooking liquid with Instant Pot beans because the water can’t evaporate during cooking. Instant Pot beans will be watery, even if you manage to cook the beans properly—such beans would be fine as a replacement for drained canned beans, but they won’t make a great side dish on their own.

Timing Issues with Old Beans and Hard Water

Here’s the frustrating reality about cooking beans from scratch: You’ll never know exactly how long they’ll take to cook. Sometimes, very old beans will never soften sufficiently.

If you just bought your beans from a store with good turnover, they might be done cooking after just an hour-long simmer. Most likely, they’ll be done by an hour and a half to two hours.

Check your bags for a harvest or expiration date. Ideally, we’ll cook them within a year of harvest. Store your beans in a dark, cool place in the pantry in an air-tight container. If you don’t remember how long your dried beans have been sitting in your pantry, I can’t say how long they might take—or if they’ll ever fully cook through. This is a risk you take with cooking beans from scratch.

Another factor, which surprised me, is that the minerals in hard water can slow the cooking process! I live in an area with hard water, and I’ve witnessed the difference water can make. We can thank Melissa Clark for this clue.

My fresh-from-the-store beans cooked up in a mere hour when I used filtered water. My next batch, the same beans purchased at the same time, took over an hour and a half because I cooked them in tap water.

So, use filtered or distilled water if you can. Here’s a map of hard water areas in the United States, and here’s the affordable water filter (affiliate link) that seemed to improve my cooking time. I also have a larger filter system at home, which is great.

How to Serve Black Beans

These black beans are a great side dish to serve with Mexican, Cuban or other Latin American-inspired meals. Here are some of my favorite options.

• Burritos: Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde or Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos
• Casseroles: Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
• Chilaquiles: Chilaquiles Rojos or Chilaquiles Verdes
• Enchiladas: Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas, Spinach Artichoke Enchiladas or Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
• Quesadillas: 10-Minute Quesadillas or Crispy Mushroom, Spinach and Avocado Quesadillas
• Tacos: Favorite Breakfast Tacos, Halloumi Tacos with Pineapple Salsa & Aji Verde or Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos

Or, replace the bean component in the following recipes with these home-cooked black beans:

• Austin-Style Migas with Black Beans
• Kale, Black Bean and Avocado Burrito Bowl
• Simple Kale and Black Bean Burritos
• Southwestern Kale Power Salad with Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Avocado Sauce
• Spicy Sweet Potato and Green Rice Burrito Bowls

Lastly, these beans are a fantastic burrito bowl component. Add any of the following:

• Rice: Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice or Mexican Brown Rice
• Something saucy: Classic Pico de Gallo, Creamy Avocado Dip, Cilantro Hemp Pesto, Guacamole, Red Salsa or Salsa Verde
• Maybe some extra greens or veggies: Chunky Avocado Salsa, Fresh Corn Salsa, Quick Collard Greens or Marinated Kale
• Garnishes and accents: Quick-Pickled Onions, toasted pepitas, crumbled Cotija or feta cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes, etc.

View all of my recipes containing black beans here.

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