Beans, lentils & pulses · Beans
Black beans (dried)
Small, glossy black beans sold dried; cook into earthy, inky stews and soups across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Also called: turtle beans, frijoles negros, feijão preto
A kind of beans
Photo: Father.Jack from Coventry, UK, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-2.0)
What it is
Black beans (turtle beans) are small, oval beans with shiny black skins and creamy white insides. They cook to a soft, slightly sweet, earthy bean and dye their cooking liquid dark purple-black. This record is the dried bean; ready-cooked black beans are a separate entry. They are not the same as Chinese fermented black beans, which are salted soybeans.
Phaseolus vulgaris
How it’s used
- Simmered into Brazilian feijoada and Cuban black bean soup
- Cooked with rice in moros y cristianos or gallo pinto
- Mashed for refried beans and fillings
- Cooked with epazote or bay for Mexican frijoles de olla
Characteristics
- Taste
- Earthy, slightly sweet and mushroomy.
- Texture
- Creamy and soft inside with thin skins.
- When cooked
- Soak overnight and simmer until tender; the cooking liquid is flavourful and often kept.
- Sold as
- dried, canned
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Mexican, Brazilian, Cuban, Central American, Caribbean, Venezuelan, Tex-Mex
Kinds in our pantry
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Keep in an airtight container in a cool, dry place; best used within a year. Cooked beans keep a few days in the fridge or freeze well in their liquid.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Like all dried beans, soak and boil hard before simmering; undercooked beans contain lectins that cause stomach upset.
- Cool cooked legumes quickly and refrigerate; reheat until piping hot and use within a few days.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 341 kcal
- Protein
- 21.6 g
- Carbohydrate
- 62.36 g
- Fat
- 1.42 g
- Fibre
- 15.5 g
- Sugars
- 2.12 g
USDA FoodData Central: Beans, black, mature seeds, raw.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Pinto beans (dried) — Similar cooking time and use; paler and creamier.
- Black beans (cooked or canned) — Use about 2½–3 times the dried weight in cooked beans and skip soaking.
Related ingredients
Recipes with black beans (dried)
See all 14
Black bean tacos
Mexican · 25 min · 388 kcal · VegetarianCaldo de feijão
Brazilian · 1 h 10 min · 258 kcal
Casado
Costa Rican · 45 min · 748 kcal
Cuban black beans
Cuban · 2 h 15 min · 267 kcal · VeganFeijoada
Brazilian · 3 h 25 min · 573 kcal
Frijoles de olla
Mexican · 2 h 40 min · 218 kcal
Gallo pinto
Central American · 45 min · 347 kcal · Vegetarian
Huevos rancheros
Mexican · 30 min · 485 kcal · Contains egg
Pabellón criollo
Venezuelan · 2 h 45 min · 739 kcal
Pupusas with curtido
Central American · 2 h 5 min · 635 kcal · Vegetarian
Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn
International · 40 min · 384 kcal · Vegan
Rellenitos de plátano
Guatemalan · 1 h 20 min · 269 kcal · Vegan
2 more
- Three-Bean Vegetable Chili · International
- Tlayudas · Mexican
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