Frijoles de Olla (Homestyle Black Beans)

I just made this recipe for the second time, and it’s a keeper. I’m here to say that even a dirtbag version of this with onion + garlic + bay leaf + a little dried oregano is delicious. The beauty of this recipe is that it tastes great without my usual sauté of onions and garlic toward the end.

I think beans are why God created the Instapot. You can do this same recipe using the Instapot in about 1.5 hours (25 minutes cooking then the natural release of the steam). I usually just add salt, and an onion cut in half. That way, you can add spices for different dishes. I only have canned beans in case of a bean emergency...

Will any kind of avocado leaves work? Can I just grab some off my backyard tree?

The worst day of my life was the day my Dad died. The second worst day was 2 weeks later when I realized my Dad took all his recipes to his grave. He made the best black beans, among other dishes. He would watch the Mets while he picked through a big bowl of dried beans. I remember their aroma as they cooked, but I don’t have any idea how to cook them. Hoping this recipe will bring back happy memories!❤️

I add in some chopped tomatoes, and then some other spices -- cumin, oregano, chili powder, and a dash of cayenne or black pepper. I sometimes also add in some bacon pieces, & a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease for the flavour and to create a smoother texture to the beans.

Cuban decent people add a 1/2 green pepper, chopped & 1/2 Tsp. cumin to this recipe. My grandmother's recipe didn't call for epazote, parsely, oregano or mint. It's served with long grain rice. Pork can be served with this dish.

I’ve made these a couple of times. They are hands down the best beans I’ve ever had, and I live in California where we have lots of excellent Mexican food. It’s well worth hunting down the leaves. I usually use half of them and freeze the other half in a quart zipper lock bag to avoid bean fatigue with only two of us in the household.

I used Anali's suggestions: I cooked unsoaked beans 35 minutes in multicooker, released naturally, and added to browned onions and lots of olive oil in enameled Dutch oven; salted, and cooked down until liquid thickened. Oh my goodness! This is what all the fuss is about!

Electric pressure cooker. Onions and other veggies in frying pan and sauté. Dump in cooker. Pressure cook beans 6 to 8 minutes and 10 minutes for reaching and releasing pressure Mushrooms make a great beef substitute in pressure cooker veggie recipes Risotto in pressure cooker 3 minutes

I would love to try this, but have a question. I do not have access to fresh epazote. I do have dried…or I can get fresh versions of the substitute herbs. Which would you recommend?

Agree with all the comments on pre-soaking the beans, after 3h simmering, i finished them with 25 min in the pressure cooker. I would also start with 1/2 or 2/3 of the salt, and adjust at the end, they were a bit salty for my taste.

There's discussion about salt preventing beans from softening. Salt will not, but acid will. Don't add acid to beans until they are softened.

David Morris: Agreed. I prefer Goya brand canned black beans and always keep them on hand because I love black beans. But have never been disappointed by any canned black beans. Ybor City in Tampa is where I first bonded with black beans. As you no doubt know, Ybor is long-time Cuban area and the Columbia plus many other restaurants there are superb. Sometimes add chopped green pepper to them if I have one handy.

Delicious! I had makrut lime leaves, so I used those instead of avocado. I first fried the onion in lard in the same pot as the rest of the cook. Only used 12 cups of water.

Agree that a gallon of water will take a long time to cook down for these beans. Beans may be overcooked by then. Starting with a pound of dried beans and 3 quarts of water should be enough. It's easier to add boiled water later than to remove too much liquid with its flavor later to get the consistency desired.