Beans and Rice
This recipe for beans and rice is great to make on the weekend and bring to work during the week. It's also great for entertaining on a budget, since you can feed 5 or 6 people for less than ten dollars. It is a vegan adaptation of cajun rice and beans, similar to gallo pinto.
Ingredients
- 1 package (16 oz) dry beans (kidney or black beans preferred)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, sliced thin
- 1 bulb garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground basil
- Olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 1–2 whole dried or fresh hot peppers (optional)
- 1–2 cups rice
Method
- Soak beans overnight, or, bring to a boil and let sit for one hour.
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until onions are translucent.
- Add green pepper and celery, and sauté for a few minutes more.
- Add beans and enough water to cover all ingredients.
- Add spices, then bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until done (1–2 hours, depending on the age of your beans).
- Add rice and twice as much water to a pot (i.e. 1 cup rice + 2 cups water).
- Bring to a rolling boil, and cook until the water has boiled down to the level of the rice.
- Reduce heat to a light simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Serve the beans over the rice and enjoy! It is also very tasty with cornbread.
Notes
- You can use canned beans instead of dry. This greatly reduces cooking time, but doesn't allow for the flavor to soak into the beans as well.
- To make this in a crockpot, sauté the vegetables in a pan, then add all ingredients (except rice) to the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- You can make this in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.