Easy Veggie Loaded Black Beans and Rice (2024)

Our easy veggie loaded black beans and rice recipe is made with staple foods that can be found at any supermarket. It has so much flavor and the beans and brown rice provide essential amino acids, fiber, and other health benefits; it truly is the perfect vegan meal that the whole family will love it! Serve it as a main course or as a side dish with the best vegan seitan chicken.

Published Jan. 25, 2017 and updated March 14, 2021.

We’re all about helping you cook the best vegan comfort food and making healthy recipes for you and your family.

Beans recipes are awesome because they are full of complete protein, amino acids, and fiber, and nutrients. They’re also versatile and delicious!

Try all of our vegan bean recipes, you won’t be sorry.

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Simple ingredients and substitutions and additions

Beans and rice is a popular dish in so many different cultures.

Depending on the region, the spices and ingredients will vary.

Spanish rice and beans is different than Mexican rice and beans, and Caribbean rice and beans isn’t the same as Cajun rice and beans that you’ll find in the U.S. during Mardi Gras.

This is what makes the recipe so unique, cultures and individuals make it their own.

Here’s what we use in our version.

RICE – For this recipe, we used brown rice, although you can use your favorite rice, whether it’s basmati rice, long grain, short grain, quick cooking white rice, or jasmine rice. All rice is good rice.

BEANS – The kind of beans you use for this recipe really doesn’t matter, they’re all good.You can use black beans, red kidney beans, pinto beans, or whatever you have on hand. Feel free to soak and cook dry beansas well.

VEGETABLES – Onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper (feel free to use a green bell pepper), spinach, and cilantro. We like the flavor of this veggie combo. Feel free to add any other vegetable that you want.

SPICES – Chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. The chili powder adds some heat, the cumin is earthy and warm, and the smoked paprika adds a lovely smokey flavor.

If you like a lot of heat in your food, you can always add hot sauce, a pinch of cayenne pepper, or pepper flakes.

ACID – A well balanced dish should have a little acid. Freshly squeezed lime juice brightens this dish so the flavors of the spices don’t become too heavy.

VEGETABLE BROTH – We believe in layering flavor, so we cook the rice in vegetable broth. You can certainly cook it in water, it just won’t have as much flavor.

ADDITIONS – Some beans and rice recipes include andouille sausage. If you want to add vegan sausage, do it. We recommend cooking the sausage separately, then slice it and add to the finished dish.

How to make it

STEP ONE

Open a can of black or red beans and drain and rinse them. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then add the spices and simmer for 20 minutes.

STEP TWO

Finely dice the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper, and mince the garlic. Sauté in olive oil or broth until they’re tender. Add the vegetable broth and rice to the veggies, cover, and simmer until done.

NOTE: Try and dice the vegetables so that they're the same size. This will ensure that they cook evenly.

STEP THREE

Fold in the beans and add some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

That’s it, easy, fast, affordable, healthy, and delicious food for you and your family in less than thirty minutes. You’re welcome.

HOW TO COOK BLACK BEANS

As convenient as it is to open a can of cooked black beans, nothing compares to cooking beans from scratch.

The texture and the flavor is so much better, and it's so easy, why wouldn't you? Follow these easy steps to make homemade black beans.

1. Rinse and sort through the beans to look through any rocks or other debri that may have made its way into the package.
2. In a stock pot, cover the beans with several inches of water and soak for at least six hours. Overnight is best.
3. Drain and rinse the beans once they've expanded in size and have softened. They should be plump and firm.
4. Put back in the stock pot and cover with several inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 90 minutes,to 2 hours or until the beans are soft and puffy. Check the water level often and replace the water if you need to. Beans absorb water quickly, so keep a close eye on them.

For more information on cooking beans, click Here.

How to serve

This makes a great meal on its own because it has protein, healthy carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals.

It also makes a great side dish. Serve it with tacos, enchiladas, or grilled vegan seitan chicken.

Top it with sliced tomatoes and avocado.

Storage

Cooked rice shouldn’t be left out for more than an hour after cooking it, because there’s a lot of moisture in rice and it has the potential of developing bacteria quickly.

Cover it and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Make our healthy and easy veggie loaded black beans and rice recipe and let us know what you think. We love to hear from you! And, don’t forget to take a picture of your gorgeous creation and tag us @veganosity on Instagram.

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