Crock Pot Black Beans

Posted by Gabi on 28 January 09

I love to cook with the crock pot in Winter-okay really anytime. It’s so easy and it holds the extra bonus of permeating the house with good smells and a real coziness to come home to after a long cold day.

Beans in the crock pot are super easy and I find black beans really satisfying. I read somewhere too that black beans can be very purifying for your kidneys plus they are loaded with protein and fiber- so what’s not to like? They can be a main dish, a side or the base for other meals such as chili with beans or soup.

Crock Pot Black Beans

1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed.
water to soak
1 or 2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar of prepared salsa (use a kind you like green or red), or 2 cups home made salsa
broth- chicken or vegetable to cover soaked beans
ham bone- optional- obviously leave out for vegetarian beans- you might want to add other flavourings if you leave it out.

All you need to do is pick over the beans for small stones or any other foreign matter, rinse them and soak in about four times the volume of water to beans for about eight hours. If you do this before you go to bed you can throw the beans in the crock pot in the morning to cook away all day. Once the beans are soaked, drain them and put them in the pot with the other ingredients. If you want to keep them vegan or lower in fat leave the ham bone out- but it does add a lot to flavour for very little extra added fat and calories. Cover the lot with the broth- the beans will soak up a lot of the liquid as they continue to soften and cook. Set the pot to whatever time you want the beans ready- or if your pot doesn’t have set times use high for about four hours or low for eight.

Serve over rice or in a bowl as a side dish. Leftovers beans can be used in other recipes such as the soup recipe I’ll post in the next few days.

We enjoyed them as a side for a pork tenderloin that was also cooked in a crock pot – I’ll post that too soon.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian, health focused recipes, side dishes Comments: 10 Comments to Read

Courtney said,

I think the first post I ever read of yours was for a chili with black beans. This looks both delicous and warming.
Marie said,

Whoa Gabi! Those beans look gorgeous! Love the salsa in there!
Cathy said,

These look fabulous! I’ve been searching for a recipe just like this — jackpot! I am making this tomorrow. THANK YOU!!
Maria said,

I love black beans! What a great way to fix them!
Donna said,

I adore black beans and these look fabulous!! Love the fact that they are done in the crockpot!! They look so inviting!!
Natashya said,

I love black beans – what a great and easy way of preparing them!
jill said,

this is perfect for the faculty lunch dish I need to have for tomorrow. simple, nutritious, and cheap! I am thinking of adding rice too!
Holly said,

This recipe is delicious! My husband and I ate the whole thing (over the course of a few days)! Tastes great either over rice or by itself with sour cream on top.
FoodieView Blog » Recipe Roundup: When You’re Too Busy to Cook, Let the Crockpot Help With Dinner said,

[...] which she says she’ll cook on low for 4-5 hours next time. At The Feast Within, Gabi makes Slow Cooker Black Beans that can cook in 4 hours on high. Alanna from A Veggie Venture says her Slow Cooker Peanut Soup was [...]
Dan Z said,

This was a hit at our house. Almost like a thick chili, but with a salsa flavor. It’s a keeper. We have a LOT of black beans so we’re set to make this quite a few times.