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Here’s how to make flavorful black beans and rice with cumin, lime, and fresh cilantro in just 30 minutes! This easy side dish pairs perfectly with tacos or makes a great healthy lunch idea.
There’s something so satisfying about the smell of black beans and rice cooking on the stove. I created this version to be a quick and simple weeknight dinner side dish for a taco spread. The result was so delicious that I knew I wanted to share it here!
Unlike saucy Cuban style black beans served over rice, this version combines the beans directly into fluffy rice, sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic. It’s become my go-to for everything from my favorite 5 Minute Tacos to meal prep lunches I can grab throughout the week.
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Anyone looking for a side dish with the perfect amount of flavor, look no further. If you love black beans, cilantro and rice, give this bad boy a chance. Love it!” -Christine
Ingredients You’ll Need
There’s not one way to make black beans and rice. If you’re thinking of a saucy-style black beans you’d serve with rice as a main dish, head to my Cuban black beans recipe. This one is a mix of black beans and long-grain white rice combined together, which works as either a main or a side dish! Here are the features of the best black beans and rice:
- White long-grain rice: Long-grain rice is traditional here and is the perfect contrast to the chewy black beans. Though we often use brown rice in our cooking, white rice is nice here for the color contrast (plus, it cooks faster). See below for tips on cooking rice!
- Onion, green pepper and garlic: Using these aromatics brings big flavor to the simple dish.
- A mix of butter and olive oil: Combining butter and olive oil brings big, rich flavor! If you eat vegan or plant-based, you can easily substitute more olive oil for the butter. But the butter adds a savory note that has a nice nuance.
- Cumin and lime: Of course, like many Latin-style recipes, earthy cumin and tangy lime round out the flavors.
- Black beans: I usually use canned black beans; just make sure to drain and rinse them well. If you want to cook dried black beans from scratch, I have two methods: Instant Pot Black Beans or How to Cook Black Beans (stovetop).
Tip for How to Cook Rice Perfectly
Rice is infamously easy to screw up! For this recipe, follow my classic rice method using 1 ½ cups water for every 1 cup rice.
Bring the rice and water to a boil, then simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the water is completely absorbed. Then let it sit in the pot covered to steam for about 10 minutes after cooking.
Step-by-Step Cooking Method
- Start the rice: Start your rice first since it takes the longest.
- Prep your vegetables: This multitasking makes the process quicker! Chop the veggies, then heat a very large skillet over medium-high heat with both butter and olive oil. Once the butter melts, add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. The vegetables need about 10 minutes to sauté.
- Add the beans: Add the drained black beans along with the cumin, oregano, and kosher salt, stirring everything together for about 3 minutes.
- Fold in the rice: Add the cooked rice and let everything heat through for just a minute. Remove from the heat and give a squeeze of fresh lime juice and one final stir.
Ways to Customize
While this recipe is perfect as written, here are some ways to mix it up:
- Add heat: Stir in diced jalapeños with the bell pepper, or add a pinch of cayenne or chipotle powder with the cumin. You can also add some adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
- Make it vegan: Simply use all olive oil instead of the butter, or use vegan butter.
- Add corn: Fold in a cup of canned corn kernels when you add the beans
- Try different beans: While black beans are traditional, you can also make this with pinto beans
- Boost the veggies: Add diced tomatoes with the peppers
Serving Suggestions for Black Beans and Rice
There are so many ways to serve black beans and rice! Since they take about 30 minutes to make, they’re great for entertaining. Or, make them up ahead of time and reheat: just throw them into a skillet and reheat over medium heat until warmed through. The best ways to serve black beans and rice:
- Enchiladas: Try them with my Vegetarian Enchiladas or Chicken Enchiladas.
- Tacos: Pair with my 5 Minute Tacos, Jackfruit Tacos or Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Sauce.
- As a lunch: Make for your weekend meal prep, then refrigerate and bring to the office. It’s good room temp or cold too, served with salsa or hot sauce.
- On a salad: Throw it on greens, add some corn and Green Goddess dressing, and you’ve got a tasty salad.
- In lettuce wraps: Use up leftovers in lettuce wraps with mango salsa!
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Leftover black beans and rice stores refrigerated for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can add a splash of water and warm it in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. You can also microwave individual portions for 1-2 minutes.
This dish doesn’t freeze as well as some others, but you could try it! Just try to use it within a few months and let it thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating gently.
Dietary Notes
This black beans and rice recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. Brown rice takes 40-45 minutes to cook compared to white rice, which is only 15 minutes. Cook the brown rice separately using a 1:2 ratio (1 cup rice to 2 cups water), then fold it into the bean mixture.
Red or yellow bell peppers work perfectly. You can also use poblano pepper for a slightly smoky flavor.
Yes! Make it up to 2 days ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Reheat gently in a large skillet with a splash of water, stirring frequently.
Black Beans and Rice
Here’s how to make flavorful black beans and rice with cumin, lime, and fresh cilantro in just 30 minutes! This easy side dish pairs perfectly with tacos or makes a great healthy lunch idea.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked (1 cup dry) white long grain rice
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans (or 3 cups cooked or Instant Pot black beans)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (substitute olive oil for vegan)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
- Fresh cilantro, for a garnish
Instructions
- Start the rice: use How to Cook Rice or Instant Pot White Rice.
- Mince the onion. Chop the pepper into a small dice. Mince the garlic.
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Once melted, add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and lightly browned. Add the beans, cumin, oregano, and kosher salt and stir to combine. Cook for 3 minutes until warmed and fragrant, then stir in rice for 1 minute until heated through.
- Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro.
More Black Bean Recipes
- Easy Black Beans
- Cuban Black Beans Recipe
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Easy Black Bean Soup
- Black Bean Chili
- Easy Black Bean Tacos
- Black Bean Burger
Made this for lunch for my husband and I – we both loved it – easy, fast, delicious and filling!!
Thanks so much for the recipe.
Sounds great!
We used (2) 10 oz cans of Casa Mamita Original Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies in the recipe to add additional flavor and a little bit of a “bite”. RoTel is another brand for diced tomatoes and green chilies — they come in a variety of “heat”.
I love this recipe!
It’s quick and delicious with rice or macaroni.
Thank you
I am commenting after making this recipe regularly for several years for myself and for several friends. It’s easy, tasty, and hits the soul just right. I happen to chop most of the bunch of cilantro and fold it in.
The technique for cooking rice like pasta has been amazing. I feel like I’m putting on a magic show when I make it for friends. They are so surprised!
Thank you so much!
Haha! So glad you’ve loved it. Thanks for the comment!
I love this recipe- first time making rice and beans from scratch, and it turned out delicious. I used a red pepper that was getting wrinkly, but it worked out perfectly. I doubled up on the cumin, lime and oregano bc I like spicy, and I added jalapeno rings from 2 jalapenos for a little more heat.
Turned out perfect! Thanks! I can see just heating up a tortilla and putting a couple tablespoons of this in for a quick snack as well.
Anyone looking for a side dish with the perfect amount of flavor, look no further. If you love black beans, cilantro and rice, give this bad boy a chance. Love it!
I made this tonight and added a little red pepper flakes for heat and zested the lime in for a little more citrus flavor.
Very simple and very good! Had some leftover cooked shrimp from New Year’s Eve that I needed to use. Made this as recipes says and added a sprinkle of cayenne. Added shrimp along with the beans and it was very good! Will make it again and possibly use sliced sausage.
I made these from the black coat runner beans I grew this past summer. Delicious and satisfying (especially knowing the beans came from our own garden!). Pure comfort food on a cold winter day—thanks for giving me another reason to grow black coat runners next summer! Btw, I left out the jalapeño pepper and the cilantro simply because I didn’t have them on hand.
I made this recipe today and included fresh homemade guacamole on the plate.
Fantastic!!
Wonderful!
I had to supplement the green pepper with red and yellow, as well as some jalapeño. And I didn’t have olive oil but I had plenty of vegan butter 😋.
Tis dope picklez!
Just made it for the first time it’s good!
Is it still as good if I reheat it in the microwave? Or just eat the leftovers cold? Thanks!
I would re-heat it in a skillet with just a few tablespoons of water to re-moisturize it. Thanks for making!
I make black beans and rice, South Louisiana style. No cumin, just the Trinity and dried tymine and bay leaf.A
Ham Hock and Andouille sausage
Made this tonight, perfect! Increased the cumin, oregano and garlic a tad, but just a tad (1Tbl ea). Seasoned with love. Served it along with fried plantains. Sooo good. Thank you for sharing this now-go-to recipe!!
AWESOME!! JUST LIKE THE BEANS AND RICE AT THE LOCAL CREOLE RESTAURANT!! THEY ARE AMAZING!!
BEST RECIPE I’VE EVER FOUND! MAKE THESE BEANS AND RICE AND NO OTHER!! WOW!
F***ING AWESOME!!!!
JUST LIKE THE BEANS AT THE LOCAL CREOLE RESTAURANT!!!
THEY ARE F***ING AMAZING BEANS AND RICE!!!
BEST RECIPE I’VE EVER FOUND! MAKE THESE BEANS AND NO OTHER!!
Soooooooo goood! Been craving rice & black beans…this recipe was easy, quick and hit the spot. Will be making it again! Thanks!
Made this today for the second time. Very good! and easy. Was low on white rice so I used your pasta technique for brown rice and it worked great! Definitely faster. We topped it with sour cream and pickled jalapeños, but it also tastes great as is. Our toddler also enjoyed it very much.
Delicious Recipe!
This is awesome! We love it, and it’s now one of our favorites. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Turned out great! And so easy.
I just made a big batch of this and it is delicious! So versatile, and pairs with so many different things. I made a bowl and added corn, salsa, queso fresco and some shredded chicken. So filling, and a perfect staple for meal prepping!
This recipe is absolutely incredible! I’m Hispanic and this recipe hits the spot when I want to eat low on the food chain and eat a ton of food. It is perfect as is. I make this recipe and there are never any leftovers. My husband likes a fried egg on top of this.
Very good!!!!!!