Beans and Rice Five Ways Nobody Will Call Cheap

One pound of dry black beans turns into about 6 cups cooked. That's five dinners for a family of four if you know what to do next, and the whole reason beans got a bad reputation is that most people don't. They boil them in plain water, dump them on rice, and wonder why everyone's quiet at the table.

Fix the two base pots first. Everything after that's twenty minutes.

The bean pot

Makes about 6 cups | Prep 10 min | Cook 1 hr 30 min | Total 1 hr 40 min

• 1 lb dry black, pinto or small red beans
• 8 cups water
• 1 yellow onion, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

1. Pour the beans onto a sheet pan and pick out any pebbles or split shells. Rinse in a colander.
2. Put everything in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then drop to the barest simmer, lid slightly ajar.
3. Cook 60 to 90 minutes. They're done when you can crush one against the roof of your mouth with no chalk in the center. Taste three, not one.
4. Pull the onion halves and bay leaves. Keep the beans in their liquid. That liquid is the whole point.

Skip the overnight soak if you forgot. Unsoaked beans take about 20 extra minutes and taste the same. Salt early, by the way. The old rule about salt toughening skins doesn't hold up, but acid does, so no tomatoes, vinegar or lime until the beans are already tender.

The rice pot

Makes about 6 cups | Prep 5 min | Cook 18 min | Total 30 min

• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp butter or oil

1. Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swishing with your hand, until the water runs mostly clear. Three changes usually does it.
2. Combine everything in a saucepan. Boil, stir once, cover, reduce to low.
3. Cook 15 minutes. Kill the heat and let it sit, lid on, 10 more minutes. Don't lift the lid to check. Fluff with a fork.

1. Cuban-style black beans

Serves 4 | Prep 10 min | Cook 25 min | Total 35 min

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cook 1 diced onion, 1 diced green bell pepper and 4 minced garlic cloves over medium for 8 minutes until soft and sweet. Stir in 2 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp dried oregano for 30 seconds. Add 3 cups cooked black beans with 1 cup of their liquid, plus 1 tbsp white vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. Simmer 15 minutes, mashing about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan. That's what makes it glossy instead of soupy.

Serve over white rice with diced raw onion on top and a lime wedge. The raw onion isn't optional. It's the part people remember.

2. Red beans and smoked sausage

Serves 5 | Prep 15 min | Cook 40 min | Total 55 min

Brown 12 oz sliced andouille or smoked sausage in 1 tbsp oil until the edges char, about 6 minutes. Set aside. In the same pot, cook 1 diced onion, 2 diced celery ribs and 1 diced green pepper for 10 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme and 1/2 tsp cayenne.

Add 4 cups cooked red beans with 2 cups liquid and the sausage back in. Simmer uncovered 25 minutes until it coats a spoon. Precooked smoked sausage just needs to reach 165°F; if you're using fresh sausage, same number, checked in the thickest slice.

Finish with 2 tbsp butter and a splash of hot sauce. Ladle over rice. Green onions on top.

3. Tex-Mex skillet with ground beef

Serves 4 | Prep 10 min | Cook 20 min | Total 30 min

Brown 1 lb ground beef in a large skillet, breaking it up, until no pink remains and it hits 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Drain most of the fat, leaving about a tablespoon. Add 1 diced onion, cook 5 minutes, then 1 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Stir in 3 cups cooked pinto beans with 1/2 cup liquid and one 10-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies. Simmer 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir the juice of 1 lime and a handful of chopped cilantro into 4 cups warm rice. Build bowls: lime rice, beef and beans, shredded cheddar, sour cream, pickled jalapeños. This is the one the kids ask for again.

4. Crispy bean and rice cakes with fried eggs

Serves 4 | Prep 15 min | Cook 20 min | Total 35 min

This is the leftovers recipe, and it's better than either pot was on day one.

Mash 2 cups cooked beans roughly in a bowl. Add 2 cups cold cooked rice, 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup panko, 3 chopped green onions, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack. Mix with your hands and form 8 patties about 3/4 inch thick. Chill 10 minutes if the mix feels loose.

Fry in 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep brown and firm. Drain on paper towels. Top each with a fried egg and a spoon of salsa.

Cold rice is required. Fresh rice is too wet and the cakes fall apart in the pan.

5. Coconut rice and beans with blackened chicken thighs

Serves 4 | Prep 15 min | Cook 40 min | Total 55 min

Cook the rice again, but replace 1 1/2 cups of the water with one 13.5-oz can of full-fat coconut milk and add 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in 2 cups cooked red or black beans during the 10-minute rest so they warm through without turning to mush.

For the chicken: pat 8 boneless skinless thighs dry. Rub with 2 tbsp oil, then a mix of 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cayenne and 1 tsp salt. Sear in a hot cast-iron skillet 5 to 6 minutes per side. Thighs are best at 175°F, not 165°F, because the connective tissue needs the extra heat to go tender. Rest 5 minutes, slice, serve over the coconut rice.

What goes wrong

Old beans never soften. If they've simmered two hours and still crunch, the bag sat on a shelf for three years. Nothing saves them. Buy beans from a store that sells a lot of beans.

Acid too early. Vinegar, lime, tomatoes and salsa all slow down softening. Every recipe above adds them after the beans are already cooked, on purpose.

Bland bean liquid. If you taste the pot liquor and it's boring, the finished dish will be too. Salt it until it tastes like a good soup.

Gummy rice. You skipped the rinse or you peeked. Both are fatal.

Storage and make-ahead

Beans keep 5 days in the fridge in their liquid, or 3 months frozen in quart bags laid flat. Cooked rice is the one to be careful with: spread it on a sheet pan to cool within an hour, then refrigerate, and use it within 4 days. Reheat with a tablespoon of water per cup, covered, so it steams instead of drying.

Swaps are easy. Canned beans work in every variation above, two 15-oz cans per 3 cups, drained but with 1/2 cup of the can liquid kept for body. Brown rice needs 2 1/4 cups water and 45 minutes. Turkey subs for beef at the same 160°F.

Our sister site delicious.com has thousands more recipes if you want to keep going down this road.

Cook the two pots on Sunday afternoon while the game's on. By Thursday, when everybody's tired and nobody wants to talk about dinner, you'll have eight minutes between you and a plate that tastes like it cost three times what it did.