Here’s the thing with a burrito bowl, it can be made in 15 minutes with pantry items and toppings from the fridge. Canned beans, reheated frozen cooked rice, prepared salsa. It’s fast, it’s easy, it works. Or you can take your burrito bowl to another level and cook your beans from scratch (on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker), or even make Spanish rice or cilantro rice. For this burrito bowl pictured here I cooked up a bag of beautiful Rancho Gordo black beans from scratch, in a cumin, garlic, and bay leaf infused broth. We also experimented with canned beans, which if you use, you will want to reheat with a few extras.
Who Makes the Best Canned Black Beans?
If you go the canned bean route, I strongly recommend using a good quality canned bean. We tested 5 different brands of canned black beans. The Whole Foods 365 brand was completely lacking in flavor; we don’t recommend it. The other four are pictured here. Of these, we like S&W Premium Black Beans, as well as Bush’s Black Beans. The Rosarita and the La Costeña were both like soupy pinto beans, nothing special, and not nearly as good as the S&W and Bush’s. This recipe makes a lot, but the leftovers keep well. You can easily cut the recipe in half. Once the beans are boiling, add the cumin-garlic mixture to the pot with the beans. Add 2 bay leaves and 2 teaspoons kosher salt to the pot as well. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low to maintain a very low simmer. Cover and cook from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the type of rice (again, check the package instructions for the rice you are using). Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes, covered, before fluffing with a fork to serve.
