Monday, March 30, 2009

Black Beans and Rice

I am adding this post to The Gluten Free Homemaker's "What's for Dinner Wednesday" --Hope everyone enjoys some Beans-n-Rice!

One of my favorite GF recipes is one that I had been making long before I knew that gluten was killing me. One of my friends got a crock pot in college, and made this for a party--actually, a Jazz party. Anyway, it was amazing and I was hooked.

I make this in a 2-quart crock pot.


  • 1-lb dry black beans (one bag), or 2 (16 oz.) cans beans
  • 4 cloves minced garlic (or 5-6 tsp. from a jar)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 3 medium carrots
  • 1 can tomatoes (14-16 oz.) diced or stewed
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. basil
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Texas Pete, etc.)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/8 tsp. baking soda, if you have hard water (when using dry beans)
  • 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
  • enough water to fill up the crock pot
  • 2 or 3 cups cooked rice
Chop the vegetables, rinse the beans, then put everything (except the rice!) in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours, until beans are tender. The beans will never get soft enough in hard (city) water if you don't add the baking soda, I have learned.

Feel free to skip one or two ingredients that you don't have around--I often skip the celery or carrots, depending on what's in the fridge. You could probably add stuff like green peppers, too. Good luck.

Anyway, once the beans are soft, it's time for the rice. The first serving, I serve the beans over the rice (as in photo), but after that I mix all the remaining rice into the bean mixture and freeze individual portions for lunches.

*****
Underground tips: Use the baking soda, seriously. Also, while cooking in the crock pot, the bean stew will seem pretty spicy to taste (and I usually overdo the spices on purpose). You want that, because when you add the rice, it will dull the flavor somewhat.

Serve with Tabasco, shredded cheese or sour cream. Maybe even a little fresh cilantro. Mmm.

8 comments:

  1. Black beans are a favorite at my house and they were befroe we knew about celiac disease. So satisfying. I have a bag in the cupboard right now.

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  2. I love beans and rice, AND Jazz! I'm totally into the freeze for later idea too. Thanks
    Jessie

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  3. Thanks for the recipe! I love beans and rice too, and I like trying different recipes with it. I haven't had it in a long time, so maybe I should try this out soon!

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  4. Oh, look. I've commented already and with at least one typo. So typical. :) Next time you're in town, we should have a GF blogger lunch. There are three of us here.

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  5. I don't love beans, but I make them once in a while, and this recipe sounds good enough to try. Thanks for joining What's for dinner Wed.

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  6. I love all of the veggies you have added to the beans. Great!

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  7. Hmmm, I've never tried making beans and rice, I'm sure it would go over well, both the boys love beans... and rice. So serving them together should be a hit.

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  8. Thanks for the comments, everyone! What a great wednesday! Comment back if you try the recipe sometime and let me know how it goes.

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