Cuban Black Bean Soup with Rice
A delectable classic made from scratch Cuban Bean Soup. Serve with rice and garnish with sour cream and red onion.
- Total Time: Several hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 10 cups ham broth or ham broth plus water to equal 10 cups (See Best Ham Stock, Instant Pot or Stovetop)
- about 1 1/4 cup diced ham
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and medium dice
- 2 green peppers, medium dice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups cooked rice
- garnishes as desired, recommended, finely diced red onion and cilantro
Instructions
Spread out beans on a pan and sort, discarding any stones or foreign objects. Rinse, then cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil and soak for one hour up to five. (The longer you soak, the shorter the cooking time, but a full overnight soak tends to split the beans – if overnight’s easier, go for it.)
In the Dutch oven, add beans, stock, garlic, vegetables, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer gently, with lid askew, until beans are tender, but not falling apart, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the age of the beans and how long they’ve soaked. Add more water if necessary at any point.
When the beans are fully cooked, add the ham and heat through, then add vinegar, salt to taste and olive oil. Serve over rice (use about a 1/2 cup per of rice per person) and garnish as desired.
Notes: If the beans are old, they may take much, much longer to cook, in which case start them out before adding any vegetables, cook until they are mostly tender, then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Extra water may need to be added.
Nutrition per serving: Cal 287; Cal from Fat 31, 11%fat; Tot Fat 4g, Sat Fat 0g; Chol 4mg; Sod 654mg; Pot 643 mg; Tot Carb 53g; Fib 10g, Sug 6g, Prot 12g