Quick and reliable, this Mexican Black Beans recipe is made on the stovetop with convenient canned black beans, in only 20 minutes. It’s delicious side dish with with all your Mexican food favorites. It features chipotle chilis in adobo sauce for rich smoky flavor. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and easily gluten-free. 
The Easiest Mexican Black Beans
Quick, homemade Mexican black beans are better than anything in a restaurant and an easy way to elevate your homemade Mexican-style food favorites. Whether sharing them as a side with Mexican Style Tofu Tacos or in these Sofritas Burrito Bowls, this simple recipe from canned or made-from-scratch black beans is quick to make with only 5 minutes of hands on active time.
You’ll use cooked beans as the base for this black beans recipe, either canned or cooked from dry homemade beans. I like homemade, but you’ll always find canned black beans in my pantry, just in case homemade doesn’t happen.
About the Key Ingredients
- Cooked Black Beans – cooking black beans from scratch is a tasty way to amp up the flavors in this side dish. Canned black beans are so convenient and can be used in this recipe, however, I find quality and flavor varies widely between brands.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes – these commercially produced tomatoes can be found alongside canned tomatoes at the grocery store. They impart a slightly smoky flavor.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (gluten-free if needed) – are a pantry staple. I use it in all my Mexican food recipes. It has a long refrigerator life, and leftovers freeze with ease. Find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on the Mexican food isle of your grocery store. They amp up the smoky flavors in this Mexican black beans recipe.
At a Glance: How to Make Mexican-Style Black Beans
- First, add the black beans to a small sauce pot with their cooking liquid (do not drain).
- Next, add the onions, salt, cumin, garlic, tomatoes and chili pepper and adobo sauce.
- Last, cook on low until the onions are tender. Stir in a bit of lime juice just before sharing.
The bean cooking liquid thickens as the beans cook and creates a creamy, flavorful base for this black bean side dish.
Build a better burrito bowl. Whip up these Mexican Corn Salsa and Mexican Chipotle Salsa recipes to make all your Mexican food veggie bowl dreams come true!
Traci’s Tips
- If you love black beans, you can easily and economically cook black beans from dry beans using my How to Cook Black Beans guide. Homemade beans are so flavorful; they’re freezer-friendly and can be used in many of your favorite Mexican food recipes like this one.
- How Spicy? Take the spicy up or down in this recipe by adjusting the amount of chipotle pepper. If you prefer spicy black beans, use a whole or half pepper. If you prefer just a little spice, leave it out, but include the adobo sauce. There’s so much flavor there!
- For meal prep, these Mexican-style black beans can be made up to two days in advance and are freezer friendly.
20-Minute Mexican-Style Black Beans
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 C (465g) Cooked Black Beans, undrained, about one can or for best flavor, cooked from scratch
- 1/4 C (35g) Red or White Onion, diced, about 1/4 small onion
- 1/2 C (140g) Fire Roasted Tomatoes , from a can, freeze the leftovers
- 2 tsp Adobo Sauce, Gluten free if needed *see note
- 1 Chipotle Pepper, minced, gluten free if needed. (optional - but takes the spicy up!) from the can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder, or 1 garlic clove minced
- Lime Juice
Instructions
- In a small sauce pot, add the cooked black beans and their cooking liquid, onions, tomatoes, adobo sauce, chipotle pepper if using, salt, cumin, and garlic powder.
- Bring the ingredients to a simmer. Lid, turn the heat to low and gently cook for about 15 minutes or until the onions have softened.
- Stir in a good squeeze of lime juice and taste for salt adjustment.
- Store in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to two weeks. Thaw overnight in the fridge and gently rewarm on the stove top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
I was very happy to find and cook this recipe for a quick black beans. They are really tasty!
I live alone, so the quantity is good for me. I had them with cilantro, lime rice, and a little cheddar cheese.
Thank you for your note, Diane! So glad you’re enjoying the black beans and the portion size is right for you! A little cheddar sounds gooood!
Loved this recipe – perfect for an insanely cold Canadian winter day! Of course, like most I improvised a bit, adding my own home grown hot peppers, dried, and canned Roma tomatoes. Absolutely delicious – warm, blended flavours. I dipped sourdough pita bread into it – lovely! Thanks Traci!
Thank you for your note, Rozanne and sharing your improvisations. Hot peppers and canned roma sound sooo good! Definitely a cozy dish for a insanely cold day.
Good, simple, super-fast, tasty, nutritious recipe! … I improvised a tad, based on what I had on hand (used dried shallots and garlic powder and added some smoked paprika and couple squeezes of tomato paste from a tube since I didn’t have adobo sauce), and drained part of the bean liquid so the final result wouldn’t be quite so soupy, but I essentially kept it as is. Good flavor combo, and it made a very nice side dish/appetizer with my dinner tonight. I can foresee having leftovers warmed up and served over brown rice, or maybe with a bit of one or more cheeses tossed in, but none of that is really necessary. I think it would also be good cold from the fridge,
Hi Paula! Thank you for sharing your success and improvisations.