20 Minute Black Beans Recipe {Served with Rice}

Name: 20 Minute Black Beans
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 16 oz Black Beans (can); 1 Sweet Onion; 1 tbsp Garlic (minced ); ½ Lime (use juice ); 2 tbsp Green Chiles (chopped ); 1 ½ cups Water; 2 tbsp Tomato Paste; 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt; ½ tsp Pepper

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This 20 Minute Black Beans recipe was originally used in the $27 Grocery Budget Challenge. All but one ingredient (tomato paste) used in this recipe is part of the original $27 Challenge shopping list.

black beans onions and tomato paste in a bowl ready to be served. — Easy 20 Minutes Black Beans Recipe

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1 🍽️ Why This Recipe Works

6 20 Minute Black Beans

I’m Hispanic, so I grew up eating beans and rice quite frequently! It’s one of my favorite meals. And making a tasty pot of beans is probably one of my better skills in the kitchen.

While I love to season up beans with my favorite seasonings like Adobo, Sofrito and Sazon, I figured most of you wouldn’t have those seasonings in your kitchen. So making it the traditional way would sort of defeat the purpose of this challenge. It isn’t very frugal to ask you to go out and buy more ingredients you’re likely to never use again!

🍽️ Why This Recipe Works

Fast Prep Time – You literally only need five minutes to prepare.
Great for Meal Prepping – If you love beans as much as I do, you will appreciate the fact that they are easily prepped ahead of time!
Frugal – Seriously, you don’t have to spend much money at all to make these. Cheap and delicious.

🍽️ Ingredients

Black Beans – A simple can will work great. You may also see Frijoles Negros on the can. If you want to save a little bit of money, get some dried black beans and rehydrate them. It is does save some money, but it takes a little more time.

Lime – Use the juice from half of a lime to add some acidity. It complements the black beans and works very well with the diced green chiles.

There is one ingredient, tomato paste, that is not part of the original $27 Challenge shopping list. But, since it’s something most of us usually have in the kitchen (is it just me, or does it take decades to use up a can of tomato paste?), I figured it was safe to include it in this recipe.

🍴 Instructions

Step One: Sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat for a few minutes until they turn translucent. It should take 5- 7 minutes.

Step Two: Strain the beans, and add them to the pan. Add the lime juice and chopped green chiles.

Step Three: Add warm water and tomato paste. Stir thoroughly so the tomato paste mixes in with the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step Four: Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture rest. It will thicken.

💡 Expert Tips

This recipe works extremely well with brown rice. This offers a lot of protein and I will eat these rice and beans for dinner. It is extremely frugal, and tastes delicious. Best of all, it is made in 20 minutes.

The recipe is actually somewhat saucy, though it doesn’t show well in the photo. That is another reason I like to serve this with rice, as the rice will soak up some of the sauce.

Whether you are doing the $27 Challenge, or simply on the hunt for a frugal and tasty black beans recipe, I hope you enjoy this recipe!

👩‍🍳 Recipe FAQs

What to eat with black beans?

I love them so much I can eat them all by themselves, but they are also a fantastic side dish too. Add them to tacos, tostados, nachos, burritos, taco salads, or serve them along side enchiladas, or shrimp.

Do you need to soak black beans before cooking them?

If you are starting with dried beans, yes, you will need to soak them overnight. This will allow them to cook properly. But, you can also just use canned black beans for this recipe which is a huge time savor. Either way works!

Are canned black beans healthy?

Yep! They are filled with fiber, protein, potassium, and iron. It’s just a huge bonus that they happen to taste awesome too.

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!