A bowl of creamy, rich black beans is the mark of a good Cuban restaurant in my book. This humble dish is one of my all-time favorite Latin side dishes. Give me a bowl of these black beans with a scoop of rice and sprinkling of chopped avocado, and I’m a happy girl. It’s actually a perfect Meatless Monday meal. In fact, these beans are so good, you can eat them all by themselves, no rice, no nothing. While this recipe is made on the stove top, you can also make this dish in the slow cooker. I’ll share both versions below.
Serves 8
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and picked clean
4 cups of water
1/4 cup sofrito
2 smoked ham hocks
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 packet Goya Sazon seasoning
2 bay leaves
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Pour the dried beans into a strainer, and rinse them off in cold water. Pick through them to check for small stones, sticks or deformed beans.
Pour the rinsed beans into a large pot, and cover them with 4 cups of water. Bring the beans to a boil, boil them for 2 minutes, and then turn them off. Allow the beans to soak for 1 hour. This is the quick soak method I use to cook dried beans without having to pre-soak them overnight.
Once the beans have soaked for an hour, turn the stove back on, to a medium heat.
Add the sofrito, ham hocks, cumin, oregano, Sazon and bay leaves into the beans. Pour in the chicken stock, and stir the mixture together to combine. Bring the beans to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and cook the beans for 2 hours, until they’re tender.
When the beans are done, add the vinegar, cilantro, and salt and pepper, to taste. I like mashing about a cup of the beans with a potato masher to make the liquid extra velvety. That’s totally up to you.
Serve the beans as is, or with some fluffy white rice.
Slow Cooker version:
Soak the beans overnight or do the quick soak method explained above.
Drain the beans of any residual liquid.
Add the soaked beans into the slow cooker insert, along with all the ingredients except the vinegar, cilantro, salt and pepper.
Cook the beans on low for 8 hours. When they’re done, add the vinegar, cilantro, salt and pepper.
What To Serve with Cuban Black Beans?
This recipe is so versatile. it can be served all by itself, or as a side dish with white or yellow rice.
Here are some other Cuban dishes to make this a whole Cuban meal:
- Cuban Bistec Empanizado (Breaded Steak)
- Pollo Asado (Latin Marinated Grilled Chicken)
- Slow Cooker Pernil (Roast Pork Shoulder)
- Twice Fried Plantains (Tostones)
Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans rinsed and picked clean
- 4 cups of water
- 1/4 cup sofrito
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 packet sazon seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Stovetop Version
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Pour the dry beans into a strainer, and rinse them off in cold water. Pick through them to check for small stones, sticks or deformed beans.
-
Pour the rinsed beans into a large pot, and cover them with 4 cups of water.
-
Bring the beans to a boil, boil them for 2 minutes, and then turn them off.
-
Allow the beans to soak for 1 hour.
-
Once the beans have soaked for an hour (don’t drain them), turn the stove back on, to a medium heat.
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Add the sofrito, ham hocks, cumin, oregano, Sazon and bay leaves into the beans.
-
Pour in the chicken stock, and stir the mixture together to combine.
-
Bring the beans to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low.
-
Cover the pot and cook the beans for 2 hours, until they’re tender.
-
When the beans are done, add the vinegar, cilantro, and salt and pepper, to taste.
Crockpot Version
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Pour the dry beans into a strainer, and rinse them off in cold water. Pick through them to check for small stones, sticks or deformed beans.
-
Soak the beans overnight in 4 cups of water, or pre-cook them using the quick soak method.
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Drain the beans and pour them into the slow cooker insert.
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Add the sofrito, ham hocks, cumin, oregano, Sazon and bay leaves into the beans.
-
Pour in the chicken stock, and stir the mixture together to combine.
-
Cook the beans on low for 8 hours, until tender.
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When the beans are done, add the vinegar, cilantro, and salt and pepper, to taste.
22 Responses
When using the crock pot to cook the beans should I only use the 4 cups of chicken stock ? Or should I add more water ? Thanks !
Jannesse,
I was wondering if I could put a pork loin in the beans to replace the ham hock?
Thank you
Smoked pork chops or bacon is a good substitute, regular pork loin doesn’t have a lot of flavor.
Thank you! I will try a few strips of bacon.
The beans turned out amazing, I did leave the ham hock out.
What measurement do I use to sub the Packet of Sazon seasoning with the tub one that I have sitting in my pantry?
1 1/2 teaspoons equals one packet of commercial sazon.
Question : if I use a pressure cooker for long should I set for to cook?
I usually do my beans in the pressure cooker and from the time they start boiling I leave them 30 – 35 minutes. Hope this helps you.
Wonderful flavor ! Everyone loved these black beans. I’m definitely making them again.
These look amazing. I love black beans. My father is Cuban and his beans and black rice is to die for. Very similar recipe. The ham hocks definitely give the flavor! Can’t wait to check out your site. 🙂
How can you can it meatless if you use Ham Hocks?
You can leave the ham hocks out if needed.
Hi what packet sazon seasoning do I use there is a few different ones
The one without annatto for this recipe. Badia makes a great version.
I want to try this recipe! But one question, if I do stovetop, do I drain the water I used to boil-presoak the beans? Only use chicken stock right?
Hi Jennifer, if you’re using the stovetop don’t drain the beans after the boil/presoak, and check out the printable recipe at the bottom of the blog. Enjoy!
I knew by the ingredient that the beans were going to come out good. I just didn’t know how it was going to taste without tomato sauce. I actually enjoyed them better this way, they didn’t sit so heavy in my stomach. Great recipe!!
Thanks Sonia! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! I love Cuban black beans!
I will try making these! I love black beans but haven’t been successful making them from scratch. It’s likely I can’t find ham hocks in my area though, is there a substitute or just do without?
Hi Lori, you can use some sliced bacon as a substitute, put 2-3 whole slices into the pot while the beans cook, then fish them out at the end.