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Black Bean & Rice Stew

November 11, 2012 37 Comments

This satisfying stew is a breeze to make if you have canned beans and tomatoes on hand, as well as some cooked rice. It’s a perfect meal for a cozy night’s dinner. And it makes a great taco filling!


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Black Bean & Rice Stew
Prep time:  25 mins
Cook time:  30 mins
Total time:  55 mins
Serves: 6-8 (makes about 12 cups)
 
Ingredients
  • 8 medium white or cremini mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced or chopped (about ⅔ cup)
  • 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1½ teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces each; about 3 cups total), undrained
  • 2 cans cooked black beans (15 ounces each; about 3 cups total), drained and rinsed
  • 1 large white potato, peeled or unpeeled, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
  • 2¼ cups cooked brown rice (see Notes)
Instructions
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a soup pot over medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the mushrooms, onions, and celery, and cook while stirring for 4 to 5 minutes, adding a little water as needed.
  2. Add the Italian seasoning, chili powder, coriander, granulated garlic, and cumin and cook while stirring for 1 minute, adding water as needed.
  3. Stir in the 3 cups water, diced tomatoes, beans, potatoes, and rice, and bring to a boil, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
Notes
Potatoes: You could also use yams in place of the white potatoes; or half and half. You could even cube some squash instead.

Beans: Any kind of beans could be used in place of the black, such as kidney and pinto, or a mix. See below for suggestions of brands.

Rice: Similarly, any type of rice can be used here. I like short-grain brown. To make 2¼ cups of cooked brown rice, bring 1½ cups of water and ¾ cup of dry/uncooked rice to a boil uncovered in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes for long-grain rice or 50 minutes for short-grain rice. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes with the lid still on.

Tomatoes: See the photo below, as there are many types of packaged tomatoes you can use. Or you can use fresh as well. For this recipe use 2 cans of diced tomatoes, or 1 jar (of the Eden brand), or the whole box of the Pomi brand.

Sauteing alternative: If you want to skip the step of sauteing the onion and other vegetables first, you can also just put everything into your soup pot at once and cook it until the potatoes are tender. I like sauteing because it intensifies the flavors, especially with onion and mushrooms.

Spices and herbs: I don't favor overly hot and spicy flavors in my meals, but if you do, this would be a good one to add more chili powder and/or other favorite chili or Mexican food herbs/spices to. I like "ancho" chili powder since it’s mild.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅛ recipe, 1.5 cups Calories: 236 Fat: 1.5g Saturated fat: 0.3g Carbohydrates: 47.4g Sugar: 5.7g Sodium: 59mg Fiber: 11.7g Protein: 9.8g Cholesterol: 0
3.5.3226

These are two brands of pre-cooked black beans that I like, both organic and salt-free. Eden doesn’t use BPA in their cans of beans, a toxic substance typically used as a preservative in aluminum can linings. And the Whole Foods 365 brand has moved to using aseptic square containers for some of their beans to avoid BPA concerns.

Here are four types of tomato products that I use. My favorite is the Eden crushed tomatoes in the jar; it’s organic and salt-free, and has a smooth, sweet taste (I’ve only found this at Whole Foods and healthy groceries). Pomi brand has a similar taste and contains only tomatoes (no salt); it is not organic. The Muir Glen and 365 brands are organic and salt-free, and I like them too, but they have a little of that “from a can” taste to them, but it’s not objectionable. The Pomi and Eden packages contain about twice as much as a can of diced tomatoes. Some are crushed, some are diced, some are chopped; it doesn’t matter which you use in this recipe.

 

 

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!

Filed Under: International Dishes, Soups and Stews Tagged With: ancho chili, black beans, brown rice, celery, coriander, cumin, garlic, mushrooms, oil-free, onion, oregano, potato, salt-free, soup, stew, tomato, vegan, yam

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Comments

  1. Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says

    November 12, 2012 at 9:15 am

    Satisfying and chunky, the perfect winter combo! I’m wondering id cubed squash woul be good in this too!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      November 12, 2012 at 1:08 pm

      Hi Abby, yes, and I added that to the notes. Thank you! 🙂

      Reply
  2. ardissavideo says

    November 12, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    Excited to try the recipe! May I make a suggestion on the printer-friendly formatting? It automatically prints the beautiful large photos in full color- I only found the “click to delete” option after printing it out. I think I usually find that the printer-friendly option is text-only, which makes it quick & easy. Anyways, as someone who also runs my own business, I know I always appreciate feedback, so just wanted to share in case that’s at all helpful to know. Really appreciate all the great recipes, and I”m off to go make this one! 🙂

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      November 12, 2012 at 10:31 pm

      Thanks for the feedback 🙂 Hmm, I’m not sure how I would change that to do text only or have the check box be more prominant. I got the plug-in from another food blogger; maybe it was geared toward printing recipes with the photos, which some may want. But yes, not interested in wasting a lot of ink. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        April 26, 2013 at 2:04 pm

        I like it the way it is!!! You can chose to delete the pics if you want. I save to PDF and use my tablet as a cookbook in the kitchen, so I like the pictures.

        Reply
  3. De'Etta says

    November 12, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    This looks great! I think I’m trying it for dinner.

    Reply
  4. Stephanie says

    November 18, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Can you make this quinoa instead of brown rice?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      November 18, 2012 at 4:32 pm

      Hi Stephanie, sure! That would be great!

      Reply
  5. Jeff Hicks says

    December 4, 2012 at 12:51 am

    Great content and fantastic format. When are you releasing the book?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      December 4, 2012 at 8:33 pm

      Hey Jeff! Thank you! No date for the book yet, sorry. But will keep people up to date once I get further into it. 🙂

      Reply
      • Lilly Love says

        September 20, 2013 at 4:17 pm

        A book with all your wonderful recipes??? I want one!!

        Reply
  6. sharedrealities says

    December 10, 2012 at 1:41 am

    I made this tonight and it was/is fantastic! I had some additional things I needed to use and didn’t have some other things so I improvised. I made a batch of the dried organic bean medley from Costco and used those and the organic brown rice and quinoa mixture for the rice. Thanks so much for the recipe(s) and the inspiration. Your site and your recipes are AWESOME!

    Reply
  7. Cathy says

    December 12, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    I’ve made this twice now with quinoa and a sweet potato. It is delicious and looks so appealing. I’m going to make it again on Saturday to take to a family dinner. Yum! Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous recipes.

    Reply
  8. veganermadsen says

    December 18, 2012 at 4:15 pm

    Hey Cathy, just tried this stew today and it’s great! Added some sweet corn to the dish also, tasted awesome 😀 Btw, is it okay if i put a link on my blog to your site? I’m coaching people in healthy vegan eating, and want them to have acces to as many recipes as possible 🙂

    Best Regards from Denmark

    Morten

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      December 19, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      Hi Morten, thanks! Sure, you can link to my blog. Denmark, wow! How cool! 😉

      Reply
      • veganermadsen says

        December 19, 2012 at 2:43 pm

        Perfect! 🙂 Will try some of your other recipes soon 🙂 The banana blueberry bars looks soooooooo delicious! 😀

        Reply
  9. purepackage says

    December 19, 2012 at 10:37 am

    oh great! this is what I am looking for! Cathy you are great chef thanks for the recipes. I add this recipes (Black Bean & Rice Stew) to my dinner menu 🙂

    goo.gl/HLDFa

    Reply
  10. Gisela says

    July 24, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    Hi Cathy this looks great haven’t made it yet, looking forward to make it. My question is I’ve been scanning all your recipes and have noticed that you don’t use a lot of Corn unless it is of the cob ( NON GMO ), what may be your reason for this if any? Just curious. Love your site! Been a Vegetarian for 5 years and 2 months ago went Vegan, for the Love of animals and this planet. I’m so thankful to have come across your blog as I was getting bored with my current source. So Thank You Cathy for all your dedication on helping others find their way to good health.
    Namaste
    Gisela

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      July 24, 2013 at 4:15 pm

      Hi Gisela, I’m not purposely trying to avoid corn, I love it. 🙂 When I use it, I do try to get fresh organic, and if I can’t get that I’ll buy frozen since you can get it raw and without salt, etc. (unlike most canned corn, which has salt and is cooked). Even organic corn that is frozen is often shipped from China (listed in small print), and I know people who are uncomfortable with this, for reasons of global warming (transporting the corn all the way from China) and/or a mistrust that the food may not actually be organic/GMO-free (even though the label says so). So label reading is important. And some people only eat what’s in season so they can buy it locally, thereby cutting out the transport issue and the question about if it’s really organic/GMO-free. I’m also into less packaging, so buying corn on the cob is the preferred way. 😉 Thanks!

      Reply
  11. Natalie says

    August 8, 2013 at 1:31 am

    Have you made this without tomatoes?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 8, 2013 at 11:36 am

      Hi Natalie, no but give it a try. You may need to add some more water?? 🙂

      Reply
  12. margo says

    August 28, 2013 at 11:06 pm

    made this tonight and it was awesome! i used 1/2 fresh tomatoes and 1/2 organic eden canned=delicious!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 29, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      So glad to hear that! Good idea RE the tomatoes! 😉

      Reply
  13. RitaB says

    September 8, 2013 at 5:54 pm

    I have made this for the second time, only this time I used Italian seasonings and added some zucchini that I had on hand. Smells yummy. Who knew that it could be this tasty without salt. Thank for the website!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      September 9, 2013 at 10:50 am

      Thanks Rita! 😉

      Reply
  14. Stephanie says

    February 4, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Thank you for this recipe. I used portobellos, sweet potatoes and veggie broth. It was better than I expected and I will definitely make this again. I used some of the leftovers to make quesadillas with brown rice tortillas, sautéed kale, guacamole and nutritional yeast and those were delicious as well.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      February 5, 2014 at 1:25 am

      Thanks for the comment, Stephanie! 😉

      Reply
  15. Doreen says

    April 12, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    We made this recipe with sweet potatoes and it was really delicious!

    Reply
  16. Amy says

    February 7, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    I’ve never bought beans in the aseptic square cartons. Are they similar to canned beans, in that you have to rinse them before eating them, or are they free of liquid, making them an easy way to consume beans while traveling? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      February 7, 2015 at 7:02 pm

      They do have liquid, so will need to be drained and rinsed. 🙂

      Reply
  17. Kris McCormack says

    July 17, 2015 at 8:24 am

    Thank you for another great recipe, Cathy! I just discovered this one about 3 months ago, when I was looking for something different to make with some leftover rice. Since then, I have made it 5 or 6 times. It has become one of our regulars, like so many from this site. I usually make it with yams instead of Yukons, add a red bell pepper and increase the mushrooms. Yum!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      July 17, 2015 at 2:57 pm

      Thanks Kris! 😉

      Reply
  18. Jennifer says

    September 23, 2015 at 4:09 am

    Thanks so much for this recipe Cathy! So thrilled to try it out. Just a question though? Don’t particularly like the taste of celery. Do you know how’s this minus the celery? If i exclude it, does it take out a lot from the taste of the meal? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      September 23, 2015 at 3:42 pm

      No, I’d just leave it out. 🙂

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        September 25, 2015 at 2:46 am

        Thank you!! 🙂

        Reply
  19. Susan says

    October 21, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    Hey Cathy. Just came across your site while recipe searching. Had everything on hand to make the black bean and rice stew. Yummy. I used chili ready tomatoes, some dried oregano, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a couple of bay leaves.
    Question: does this freeze well?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      October 21, 2017 at 8:40 pm

      Yum! I believe it would. 🙂

      Reply

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Welcome to Straight Up Food! I’m Cathy Fisher, a chef and teacher whose passion is creating recipes without animal foods, salt, oil or sugar, and very few processed foods. Eating a whole-foods diet dramatically improves the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment—there are no downsides, only benefits! For more information about this blog and my work, click here. Thank you!

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