Black Bean and Rice Bake
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Our black bean and rice bake is one of our favorite vegetarian comfort food dinners – it’s packed with nutrients and tons of flavor in every bite!
We’re constantly working to create the best healthy comfort food dinners we can so we can share them with you. We truly believe there’s no reason you need to sacrifice taste and comfort for healthy food. We can have both!
This simple rice and bean bake does just that. With tons of nutritional value and relatively affordable ingredients, this recipe makes for the perfect healthy, satisfying dinner on a budget. But thanks to some crispy jasmine rice, a little Mexican cheese, and creamy avocado each bite makes for a cozy comforting meal – even if it sounds like an odd pairing!
What This Recipe Entails
This recipe takes a little time to prep before you can start baking. The rice has to first be steamed before being crisped and baked. Use this time to set up your mise en place to help make cooking easier.
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- Jasmine rice – Jasmine rice has tons of flavor and health benefits, so it’s a no-brainer for this nutritious rice bake. Plus, it crisps nicely in cast iron for the perfect golden-brown crunch!
- Poblano pepper – Thin strips of this relatively mild green pepper add some Mexican flair to this dish, along with a number of antioxidants and vitamins.
- Jalapeno pepper – We love the added spice that jalapeno brings to this dish while providing extra nutrients.
- Roma tomato – Fresh tomatoes add both juiciness and sweetness to this otherwise spicy dish. These flavors balance out nicely as everything bakes in the oven.
- Canned black beans – For convenience and ease of preparation, simply drain a can of black beans and rinse them in a mesh strainer before adding to your bean bake. Black beans are a great source of protein, plus they’re pretty cheap!
- Seasonings – This recipe has tons of fresh flavor just from the peppers, rice, and beans, so you don’t want to drown it in seasonings. That’s why we use just a dash of garlic, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, and salt for a subtle hint of spice. And of course, there are plenty of surprising health benefits from spices themselves!
- Mexican-blend cheese – We all know cheese tastes great on rice and beans! A blend of cheddar and Monterey jack adds mild flavor and puts some moisture back into the rice as it melts.
- Avocado – Top your rice and bean bake with ripe avocado slices for a burst of freshness and creamy texture in every bite! Avocado really makes this dish pop. Plus, like most of the ingredients in this bean bake, they provide tons of nutrients and health benefits.
- Lime juice – A little bit of acid goes a long way in making the flavors pop in this dish! Use fresh lime juice for the best flavor.
How To Make Black Bean and Rice Bake
- Prep the ingredients – Steam the rice, chop the veggies, and drain and rinse the beans.
- Cook the vegetables – Saute the veggies in an oven safe pan, preferably cast iron. Once the vegetables have softened, add the tomatoes, black beans, and seasonings. Cook until the beans are soft and the tomatoes are juicy. Once everything is cooked, transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl and set aside.
- Crisp the rice – Add a little vegetable oil to the cast iron pan, and cook the steamed rice, pressing it into a bowl shape within the pan. After a couple minutes stir the rice and press it back into the pan. The goal here is to get all the rice a little crispy. Repeat this process a third or even fourth time if needed. Stop once the rice is a light golden brown.
- Top and bake – Press the rice into a bowl shape one last time, sprinkle with Mexican cheese, and then add the cooked ingredients back in. Season with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 F.
- Garnish – Top the rice and bean bake with sliced avocado and any other desired toppings such as hot sauce, fresh cilantro, or queso fresco.
Equipment Spotlight: Cuisinel 2-in-1 Cast Iron
Since it’s a rice and bean bake, you’ll need a pan that can cook on the stovetop but also in the oven. We have this awesome 2-in-1 cast iron set that works perfectly for recipes like this one, especially since we can use the small side for a single batch of bean bake, or the large side for a double batch.
Notes On Scaling
If you’d like to double this recipe, we recommend making a few minor adjustments:
- Use an extra-deep or extra-wide pan for a double batch so there’s plenty of room for everything. The larger side of this 2-in-1 cast iron set works great.
- If you’d like to have a bit more of the black bean filling and less rice, you can 1.5x the rice for a double batch of beans and veggies. This will also make it easier to get that nice “bowl” of rice on the inside of the pan to encompass the filling, depending on the size and shape of your pan.
- Depending on if your pan is extra wide or extra deep, you may or may not want to increase the amount of cheese. If your pan has a 10-inch diameter, you won’t need more cheese – you simply want a thin layer on top of the rice. But if your pan is much wider, use extra cheese as desired to top the whole bed of rice.
Recipe Customizations
Although we recommend sticking to our tried-and-true recipe below, it’s easy to customize any rice and bean bake to your liking! Here are a few tips for making this dish your own:
- Try a different kind of rice, if you prefer brown or basmati over jasmine. Note that each type of rice has its own set of nutritional benefits, so choose one that fits your needs.
- You can easily substitute the poblano and jalapeno peppers with other peppers if you are looking for a spicier or milder version of this dish.
- The mild flavor of shredded Mexican-blend cheese complements the rice, beans, peppers, and tomatoes nicely, but you can always substitute with cheddar, mozzarella, or pepper jack.
- For a dairy-free dish, you can skip the cheese entirely or opt for vegan cashew cheese instead.
- If you love spice, try drizzling some of your favorite hot sauce as an additional topping.
Our black bean and rice bake was one of the first healthy comfort food recipes we created and now it’s what we specialize in! It turns out, a spoonful of crispy rice and a little gooey cheese balanced out by spicy black beans, veggies, and creamy avocado is just so satisfying that we couldn’t bear to eat any other way. It’s warm, it’s healthy, and it’s cheap – so it’s the perfect staple dinner recipe for anyone trying to eat less meat and spend less on groceries without sacrificing on flavor. Try the recipe below and don’t forget to rate, comment, and share if you enjoy it. We’d love to hear what you think!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- Chili Lime Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Black Bean and Rice Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice dry
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or avocado oil divided
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper diced
- 1 medium poblano pepper sliced thin and into 2-inch long strips
- 1 medium roma tomato diced
- 15 ounces canned black beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 pinch salt
- ⅓ cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- ½ medium lime juiced
- 1 small avocado sliced
Instructions
- First, make the rice. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan and stir in jasmine rice. Cover and cook over low heat until the water has evaporated and rice is fluffy, about 20 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the black beans and veggies. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, jalapeno, and poblano peppers and sauté until peppers are slightly softened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Next, add the tomatoes and black beans. Season with cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, and salt and cook until beans are slightly softened and tomato juices have started to come out, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then transfer black beans and veggies to a bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Return the cast iron pan to medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, carefully swirling it around to coat the inside of the pan.
- Add the cooked rice to the cast iron pan. Spread it out into an even layer and gently press down on it with your spatula. Let it crisp until lightly golden on the bottom, about 3 to 5 minutes, then stir and press down into an even layer again. Let it crisp one more time, about 3 to 5 minutes, until golden. Then stir again, and press down into the bottom of the pan and around the edges to create a wide, shallow well for the beans and veggies.
- Remove the cast iron pan from heat. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the rice, then top with the black beans and veggies. Season with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.Bake in the oven for 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.
- Serve hot, topped with avocado slices and an optional garnish of chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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