Rice and Beans
There are some recipes that quickly become staples in my house. It doesn’t matter the season either. It’s just always good and always in my rotation. When I find a recipe that is vegetarian or vegan and is great for leftovers, that is a win all around. Enter- vegetarian rice and beans!
I like to try to make a vegetarian meal at least once per week. It makes me a little more creative and adventurous. With this recipe, you can totally add meat or fish and skip the vegetarian part, but either way, you’ll love it.
Versatile Flavors
Rice, beans, peppers, all mixed with tangy, salty, and tiny bit of sweet flavors just hit the spot on any weeknight. It’s really a simple recipe, but it has so much flavor so it doesn’t fall flat like some vegetarian recipes do. This doesn’t take long to make and you can make it last for a few meals which is another amazing part of it!
I made this on Monday, so we had it for dinner as “rice bowls”. I just added a bunch of toppings to make it a little more filling: sour cream, lime, shredded cheese, and sliced avocado.
It was a perfect meal and we had some leftovers the next day. On Wednesday, we made burritos for dinner. So, I added some cilantro lime chicken and we rolled everything in tortillas for something a little different.
You can use dry black beans with this if you prefer to, but I usually go with the canned beans because it’s a quick meal to make. Another thing I change is the peppers I use. Sometimes I use green, sometimes red and yellow, and other times I use mini sweet peppers. Whatever you have will work fine!
Lastly, the red wine in this is whatever I have open in my fridge. Dry is better, but it’s not a huge change if you have something on the sweeter side.
Another tip, if you don’t own a rice cooker- get one (like this one on Amazon!).
I never made rice often because I felt like I couldn’t make it right on the stove. It would end up burnt or mushy, and I felt like I had to watch it constantly.
Now, I throw it in the rice cooker and press the button. The end. It always comes out good. You could also use an InstantPot. I’ll never go back to stove top rice!
Okay, try this one out! It’s so yummy and versatile.
Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp avocado or vegetable oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 peppers
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp hot sauce or sirracha
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 15 oz cans black beans
- 1 cup uncooked rice
Instructions
- Cook rice as you normally would
- Chop onions and peppers
- Mince garlic and set everything aside
- Heat sauce pan, add oil and saute onions
- Add peppers and saute for a few minutes
- Lastly, add the garlic and saute until fragrant
- In a separate bowl, mix red wine, red wine vinegar, and hot sauce. Set aside
- Rinse black beans and add to the sauce pan. Saute for one minute
- Add cumin, oregano, salt, and brown sugar and stir to combine
- Slowly add liquid mixture and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer for about ten minutes.
- Right before serving, add the rice and stir to coat it.
- Serve with cheese, red onions, sour cream, lime, or whatever you would like!
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