How Many Ways Can We Cook Rice and Beans?

I have an abundance of rice and beans in my house. I also love how versatile rice and beans can be: Indian, Mexican, African, Costa Rican, Louisianian, Japanese, and more. In March I want to see how many different recipes I can make using rice and beans, join me!

This will be a thread for everyone to post their rice and beans recipes! Also to challenge us all on how to use these simple ingredients in new ways.

Tonight I did acorn squash risotto with garbanzo beans

If anyone has pro tips on how to cook rice and beans feel free to include too.

Pro tip: if you start with dried beans and do an overnight soak with baking soda, rinsing the water a couple of times the beans can make you less gassy (or if you are using canned make sure to rinse them from the juice they are in). There is a sugar on the skin of beans that breaks down into gas in your digestive system and the baking soda can help break down this sugar before you eat it.

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Awesome! Tonight I made tex-mex enchiladas. The filling was awesome. First I made some homemade “refried” beans with mashed canned black beans and sour cream and spices. I sautéed a bunch of garlic and peppers and green onions and also air fried like 3 sweet potatoes (cut into bite-sized portions). I mixed the filling ingredients together then added in some shredded cheese I needed to use and an entire chopped bunch of cilantro. I used a modified version of Budget Bytes enchilada sauce for baking (I require more kick than she includes, haha) and it was really good! Super happy with it!

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Tonight I had chickpeas, spinach, and mushrooms in a premade Malabar Indian simmer sauce :yum:. Easy, delicious, and my home smells amazing now lol. (Also the Denver-based company that made it is called Nummy Nibbles, which delights me)

Some other recipes I very much enjoy:

Chickpea Melts (but I use butter beans or similar softer white beans too)
https://www.thekitchn.com/cheesy-chickpea-melts-23035443

This bean salad. I’m lazy and use frozen corn, and also use two cans of black beans and serve over couscous or rice.

These classic beans from a Moosewood cookbook

Budget Bytes Spanish chickpeas and rice

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I love this challenge so much. Last night we straight up had a salad and brothy beans for dinner. Rancho Gordo scarlet runners cooked from dry with onions and garlic. Being a member of the Rancho Gordo club is not the least expensive way to enjoy beans but it is very fun.

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I make this a lot:

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I cannot eat this while pregnant so of course it’s all I want.

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This is one of my favorites!

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We are flush with rice and beans but eat them multiple times a week. Maybe my goal will be to eat down the random grains I’ve got sitting around (I’m looking at you sorghum).

Making this tonight with brown rice.

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Oh my goodness these all look so good!! I have some black beans soaking now. I will let you know the results!

I feel like I need a random generator for type of cuisine to make (to the internet! I bet something like this already exists). It just needs to tell me what country the dish needs to be from and I will find a way to make it for dinner.

@Panda I am going to be checking out nummy nibbles that just makes me giggle. :smiley:

@noodle I had never heard of Ranco Gordo but it sounds really cool! It looks like there are alot of recipes on their website too.

@TrisPrior That looks so good! I think Garam Masala is the one spice we don’t have so I will add that to our list.

@noodle I have never thought to put an egg on rice (I have put it on oatmeal so this isn’t too far of a stretch) I am gonna give it a try soon!

@Rhubarbsoda that looks so delicious! Let me know how it turns out! I will allow the challenge to go beyond rice, I think it will be fun for you to find a way to use the other random grains!! We have a ton of quinoa too so I know I will be using that too.

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Oh. I am so in for this.

I really enjoy misir wot with rice – not how you’d eat it at a restaurant, but delicious.

This is a good misir wot recipe: Misir Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils) - The Daring Gourmet

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There’s lots of ways to pasteurize eggs. I use the sou vide, but you just have to bring it to the right temps and hold it long enough to get to the center. It makes the white cloudy, but should be good enough. If that’s the concern.

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That was the concern! It was a passing craving but I’ll look for ways to pasteurize (no sous vide here) if it comes back…

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Yes, I do a really half assed version of this recipe because I never have all of the spices. Put enough berbere in it and it’s fine though!
I’ve never had it with rice either. Hm.

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Yeah, I never have niter kibbeh so it’s just the berbere for me. I really need to try making the niter kibbeh sometime, assuming I can get the spices…

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I sort of half ass the niter kibbeh too. I don’t make it separate but I do throw a generous gob of butter in a pot and add some garlic, ginger, and whatever spices from that recipe that I have on hand. Usually that is cinnamon, cardamom (ground, not pods), cloves, coriander, oregano, cumin, and turmeric. I’m certain it’s not as complex of flavor like you get when you order it in a restaurant but it is still pretty good.

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Last night I made my favorite rice dish of all time, risotto!


I make a huge amount (3 cups of dry rice) because the day after making risotto I usually make Arancini (stuffed with homemade meat and sauce) so I will do that today. I’ll eat some and freeze a lot of them right after rolling in breadcrumbs. Frozen Arancini are an awesome quick meal to have on hand, I cook them straight from frozen in the air fryer but oven works too.

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I have been doing a combo of black beans and rice as the base for our meals the last two days! Seasoned with salt, pepper, and a hint of lemon juice. We watched the Salt, Fat, acid, heat docuseries on Netflix and I asked for the cook book for my birthday. It’s fun to experiment with flavors I’m not used to using.

The below chicken breast was out of this world. Bonus we used rice, black beans, and green beans!

Picture of chicken

I watched the Gordon Ramsey masterclass and he had a whole lesson on how to butcher a chicken into the individual cuts. This was chicken breast with skin on. The pan sauce was incredible ( onion, garlic, thyme, beef stock, and butter).

No picture but tonight we used the rest of the chicken with This sauce. Substituted the heavy cream with home made cashew cream sauce. The rice and black beans was the base. Very delicious dinner, and pretty easy too!

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Do you freeze them in a single layer and then later combine into a bag??? We have some leftover acorn squash risotto so I might be making this!!!

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Yes! I freeze them on a baking sheet (uncovered) first and then when they’re hard I toss them in a gallon freezer ziplock.

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This weekends rice and beans (outside of using the black beans and rice mixture).

Chickpea salad melt (chick peas mixed with guacamole on bread)

Rice pudding! So yummy. The recipe called for adding eggs and I was really nervous they would scramble. Taking it off of heat and adding while stirring constantly for 2 minutes was the move.

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