Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans)
Long simmering and deeply flavorful, black beans (frijoles negros) are the essential side dish to any Cuban meal. This easy recipe can be made up to a few days ahead of time to let the flavors really come together.
What Are Cuban Black Beans?
In Cuba, it is rare for a meal to be served without frijoles negros (black beans) and rice. Beans and rice are the perfect complement to any meal, and offer a complete protein, so you're getting a nutritional win too!
Since black beans are such a staple in Cuba, you will find that everyone who makes them adds their own special touches.
Some people like their frijoles negros more soupy, with distinct broth and beans, others like their black beans more soft, with the nearly mushy beans creating a thick broth.
No matter how you like them, there are some staples to making Cuban black beans that you will find in almost any recipe.
How To Make Cuban Black Beans
What makes Cuban black beans stand out from other black bean side dishes is the way it is prepared.
One of the essential elements to frijoles negros is the sofrito, or sauteed mixture of green pepper, onion, and garlic. These aromatics add a great depth to the dish.
This sofrito is added to tender, cooked black beans, along with some seasoning.
Then comes the second unique and essential element of frijoles negros: a little vinegar and sugar are added to the beans right at the end.
Not a lot.
Just enough to add some extra layers to the flavors of the dish.
All of these elements combine to create a black bean side dish that is unlike any black beans you have tasted before.
Our Frijoles Negros Recipe
While, some recipes for frijoles negros cook the beans with a ham hock to add an additional layer of flavor, we opted to leave our recipe for Cuban black beans vegetarian.
We also kept the seasonings simple: just a little bay, cumin, and oregano. (And of course, salt and pepper!) This really lets the natural elements of the dish shine through, using the seasonings only as an accent.
The resulting dish is incredibly flavorful.
And if you think this dish is good the day you make it, just wait until you try the leftovers!
We didn't think it could get any better. And then, like magic, the flavors deepened and blended as it sat overnight, creating a dish that really is even better the second (or third) day!
Serve your Cuban black beans with some easy Cuban mojo pork for a complete Cuban feast!
Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans)
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried black beans, soaked overnight
- 6 c water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green pepper, minced
- 1 large onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Place the black beans, water and bay leaves in a large soup pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot, and simmer the beans until tender, 45 min – 1 hour.
- While the beans are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the minced green pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables have softened.
- Add the cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper to the vegetable. Mix well.
- Once your beans are tender, remove the bay leaves. (Do not drain the beans.)
- Add a cup of the soft beans to the vegetables in the skillet and mash the beans with the back of a spoon.
- Add the vegetable mixture to the beans in the pot. Add the vinegar and sugar. Bring the beans to a gentle simmer, and simmer, uncovered, until your desired consistency is reached, 5-10 min.
- Serve the beans immediately over rice, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days to let the flavors deepen.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I have a 50-year-old recipe I got from a Cuban friend and your recipe is almost identical. Bravo for authenticity. Hers calls for soaking the beans overnight along with the diced green pepper. This adds an extra depth of flavor to the beans. She used 2 spoons of vinegar and 2 spoons of dry wine. And at the time of serving two teaspoons of olive oil.
Thank you! And thank you for sharing the tips from your recipe.
Hi. Here's something to look for to take them all the way. Instead of green peppers, see if u can find cachucha peppers. They look an awful lot like habaneros but are not spicy. Use about 3 or 4.
Also, replace the vinegar and sugar with lemon juice and a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste. My Cuban mom's black beans were sought after and these are key elements of her recipe. You are spot on with no ham hocks. Yours is the closest recipe I have ever seen to what I grew up eating and make myself. Good job.
Thank you so much for your tips Mary!
I soaked these beans for 24 hours and now I've been simmering them for 2 hours. There's no way the times in this recipe are long enough.
Hi Andrew. We have never had black beans take over 2 hours to cook. It is possibly that the type of bean you have needs much longer cooking. What do the package instructions say?
Great recipe, very yummy!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This looks fab, but the recipe does not specify whether the cumin is ground, which I assume it is. Thank you! I look forward to cooking this!
Hi Devin. Yes, the cumin is ground. Hope you enjoy the black beans!
I have made it, is is extraordinarily delicious!!!!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Devin!
This trick needs to be shared with all black bean loving cooks. About 15 years or so ago, the Washington Post did a feature on Cuban black beans. I had been trying for years to up my black beans to compare with those served at a long gone Cuban restaurant. The Cuban cook from the article said that the way to get the flavor in the beans was to soak the dried beans WITH the ham hock. I tried it and was delighted that this was the missing element. Now I always do this and it adds a layer of depth to the flavor. No matter if I cook the beans in water or broth, with or without a sofrito. The soaking is the key to deep flavor.
Thanks for the tip Cynthia! We'll have to give that a try!