Cuban Black Beans Recipe (2024)

I adapted this recipe to instant pot yesterday with magical results. Cook step 1 in instant pot on manual high pressure for 22 minutes. After 10 minute natural release, manually release pressure, then remove beans and ham hock to different bowls and clean pot. Let ham cool and add to beans per recipe. Once complete, use instant pot sauté function to cook step 2 (sofrito), then add beans and ham back to instant pot, cook manual high pressure for 10 minutes, manual release and enjoy!

Mimie, I often make this without meat. I use pimintón (Spanish smoked paprika) to provide the smokiness that you'd otherwise get from the ham hock and bacon, and I think the results are very good. Pimintón is also great in vegetarian chilis, black-eyed peas, etc.

Authentic Cuban black beans, either as a soup, on top of white rice, or a congri (aka, Moros y Christianos), never, ever have Jalapeños. Cuban cooking is flavorful but never spicy. That seems to be a problem with most Cuban recipes on-line, always throwing one or two ingredients never used in Cuban cooking.

So, in other words, you made up your own recipe. You should read my review of Titanic. I didn't see the movie. I shot my own version in my pool with ship models and Barbie dolls.

Far too much salt. Because the bacon and ham already contain salt, the additional salt can be overwhelming.

I am Cuban and have been eating black beans for over 60 years. Cuban black beans have NO meat and NO jalapeno - never, ever! Our food is not hot-spicy. Try black beans at a real Cuban restaurant with sweet fried plantains and white rice.

Thanks for your post. I was taught that true Cuban black beans never have ham. If you must have meat in them, always use beef. The recipe posted by Johanna above from NYT, 8/23/1973, is much closer to authentic Cuban, except for soaking the beans. Black beans should not be soaked like other beans! If you simply cannot cook beans without soaking them first, do not drain or rinse them! Cook in the soaking liquid. That's how you get that good, rich, flavorful black sauce they are famous for.

Cumin and jalapeños are used in Mexican or Tex-Mex food, not Cuban food. Also, Cuban food is not spicy.

This is one of my favorite recipes, and I've made it many times. I like to substitute a smoked turkey leg for the ham hock; it's much meatier, which means that I can skip the bacon, and I think it's also a little healthier. If you want to make a completely vegetarian version, skip all the meat and add some pimintón or smoked paprika to supply the smoky flavor. It's pretty good with canned beans, too, if you're in a hurry.

Having lived with a Cuban for many years, not to mention his mother, four sisters, and countless home cooks in his extended family, I suggest that Jalapeños have no place in black beans. Nor do bacon or ham hocks. At least in my experience, black beans are intentionally vegetarian (and unintentionally vegan). Red beans, however, traditionally have ham bones in the recipe. Frijoles vs. habichuelas.

More Latin inspired than pure Cuban w/ jalapeno and pork included? Great sofrito absent bacon. Outcome very good flavors. Beware salt lick if you follow recipe! Soaked beans (always do) and they still took 1:45 to cook. Skeptical beans can cook in 1 hr per recipe when not soaked. Prep notes: 1) soaked beans overnight, 2) salted beans after cooking, 3) reduced salt by 2/3 overall, 4) no bacon. Next time: I'll quarter green bell used in simmering stage so I can remove it - gets mushy.

Best black beans recipe ever, I did add fresh cilantro for that extra punch at the moment of serving!

Stan, steps one and two could be done totally independently (even on different days), and saved in the fridge for a day or three, until you are ready to assemble the final dish. You could probably also make a larger batch of the sofrito (step 2), and freeze portions appropriate to future batches of the final recipe. Be creative!

Cuban black beans according to the Cuban cook Nitza Villapol only contain the following ingredients: soaked black beans, water, sofrito of a green bell pepper, onion and garlic, seasoned with salt, sugar to balance, oregano and a bay leaf. Later you add white wine and vinegar. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil. Cubans do not cook with jalapeños.

I veganized this so no meats, used canned black beans in their juice, barely a tsp of Kosher salt, no sugar. And subbed sherry for the white vinegar. Yummy!

Yum, best beans, love this recipe!

We always start our Noche Buena black beans by making chicharones to get the fat in the pan, no bacon or ham hock. We also add spanish chorizo, the little hard Goya ones, for our other meat. Our family also adds a healthy dose of spanish alcaparado, olives and capers, to the mix, so you get the sweet, salt, acid doses from the sugar, olives, vinegar. Mash up a few spoonfuls of the soft beans into the mix to thicken the batch and give it a more rich consistency. Buen provecho!

Red wine or sherry vinegar, not white vinegar.

Sorry, but bottled sofrito is never an adequate replacement for the real deal. As a Cuban American, I’ve never once eaten or been served true frijoles negros with meat or jalapeños

The best black beans I have ever eaten!!!

This recipe had so much potential, but became a complete salt bomb. I ended up throwing it out. What a waste of food! Wish I had read the comments before I made it.

Absolutely brilliant. Make it exactly as printed and don't drain the beans, you'll need the fluids. Best black bean recipe I've ever made.

These are absolutely delicious, assembled as directed and cooked in the pressure cooker! I used Rancho Gordon’s Avocete Negro beans, which are much bigger than regular black beans, and I didn’t soak, so the cook time was longer than it would have been for soaked grocery store black beans. I’ve made this dish twice and, while it might not be authentic, it’s a winner.

I did not use hammocks -- even with the amount of bacon it called for, it already felt too meaty; I probably could get away with using only 2 or 3 strips of bacon. I also did not use jalapeno or brown sugar to make it kid-friendly. I used apple cider vinegar as a sub for white vinegar, giving it a hint of sweetness, which was nice. Finally, I soaked the black beans overnight and boiled them with Kombu to reduce gas/bloating. Huge hit with my family!

Didn't have a ham hock so substituted chorizo, cooked in with the beans (Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans of course!) Exceptional dish- served with white rice, a dollop of creme fraiche, and cornbread! So delicious!

One green pepper and one jalapeño in beans.2 jalapeños in sofrito, Replaced ham hock with pork tenderloin.Would recommend soaking beans first to reduce cooking time.

Skipped meats.Soaked beans 24 hrs, used 6c of the soaking water + 2T EVOO to cook beans on InstantPot Bean setting. No salt. Lovely creaminess. Sofrito as described but: combo red + sherry vinegar, 1t cumin, 2t salt, red pepper, 1T smoked bittersweet paprika. Soupy, but who doesn't love black bean soup?Served from the pot with a nice drizzle of Crema Mexicana. Have refilled my "tasting ramekin" twice. Lots of other garnish options!Can't wait for the flavors to develop overnight. :)

I also found this to have way too much salt, more than double what is needed. I had to make a second batch without any salt and stir them together to make it palatable.