Slow Cooker Black Beans

This week I made a big pot of black beans.  My favorite dinner of all time is black beans and yellow rice (believe it or not), but as I've recently been trying a healthier diet, I realized I need to cut back on the amount of sodium I consume.  Typically I'd use canned beans and pre-packaged yellow rice, both of which have an enormous sodium content, so I was sad to have to cut those out of my options for a "healthy" dinner.  But then, I read Lisa Leake's post on making refried beans from scratch (which are really good, by the way).  I got excited as I realized that I could modify this recipe to make my own black beans from scratch and freeze any leftovers to have an easy meal later without using canned beans.  So, here it is, ladies and gents! Make your own black beans instead of using the canned stuff!

Slow Cooker Black Beans


You will need:

• 2 cups dry black beans
• 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 hot pepper, halved, or 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or 1 teaspoon of table salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 3 teaspoons cumin (can adjust to taste)
• 6 cups water

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook on high for about 6 hours.  Drain off unwanted fluid, and remove onion pieces if desired.  Enjoy!

That's it! Super easy.  Instead of serving the beans over yellow rice, I cooked up some brown rice, using homemade chicken broth instead of water for a richer taste, but still less sodium than using store-bought broth.  Feel free to add whatever toppings you think would go with black beans.  I like to top this dish with tomato, cheese and homemade "sour cream" (very thick yogurt).  These beans would also be good in a burrito, soup, omelet, and any other recipe that calls for canned black beans.  Enjoy your beans with less sodium!

All dressed up and ready to eat!