Cuban Black Beans II

Great black beans! Very easy to make, and smells up the house nicely. I would use a little less pepper next time - was a tad too spicy for me. Make ahead - these were SO much better the next day. Thanks for the recipe!

totally worth five stars, and i don't usually like black beans! But my boyfriend wanted to try some because we have been doing weight training and black beans have so much fiber without the load of carbs in bread. we both don't like peppers or pimentos, so i just left them out, and i used canned beans instead of dry. The trick to canned beans is to pick the low-sodium variety with the most spices already in it. (More flavorful beans, the usual is salt sugar and dehydrated onion, but if you can find canned beans with more than that they're even better!) I used two cans, drained, and DIDN'T ADD THE 5 CUPS OF WATER!!!! this is very important, as a few reviers have mentioned their beans came out watery. The water is to soak the dry beans in, and then to be drained off. If you need some extra liquid while cooking the beans, add a little chicken broth. (Or vegetable if you're vegetarian) :) It turned out -so- good, i'll be making them often! Thanks :)

First off: this recipe does NOT work as written with canned beans. I used three 15-oz. cans of beans and only 4 c. of water, and it was still way too watery. I had to simmer it forever to even get it close to not looking like soup. Now, perhaps this isn't the case when you use regular beans, and/or perhaps this is how soupy it's supposed to be. Regardless, next time I'll use at the most 2 c. of water, if not less. Also, this could use a few more spices; I increased the black pepper and added cayenne pepper.

These beans were a perfect side to Tinga poblana de pollo. They have just a hint of sweetness and complemented the spicy chicken dish beautifully. I made them a day ahead because I think that beans, like chili, always taste better the next day. For those who had issues using canned beans, dried beans are healthier, tastier, and have a much better texture than canned. You do not need to soak overnight. Boil the beans in water for two minutes and then let them sit for one hour. Drain, rinse, and continue on with the recipe. I will use these as a vegetarian filling for tortillas, as well as a side.

These beans were tasty, but definately not "Cuban". No bonafide Cuban would ever put tomato sauce/paste in their beans. I added a large bay leaf, some cumin, used red wine vinegar instead of white vinegar and added about a tablespoon of sugar and of course, NO TOMATO paste.

Very good. Based on other reviews & what I ate a cuban restaurant, I left out the tomato paste and sugar. Even my picky 7 year old liked them. I'm not a fan of green bell peppers, but they blend well once cooked in this recipe. Different than our normal black beans & rice with cumin/cilantro from Allrecipes.

I'm not a picky person. These don't taste like the black beans I had all the time when I lived in Miami. These are very sweet, which I don't like when it comes to black beans. I don't like throwing food away, so I'm going to add hot sausage to it and hope that makes the taste better. 8/12/06 - UPDATE: I crumbled up some Jimmy Dean Hot sausage, browned it, and added it to these beans. WOW. huge difference in taste. It was actually good after that.

This is totally awesome!! I warmed some up at the office one day. The aroma made EVERYONE request a copy of the recipe!! We've had it over rice, with fresh bread, over pasta...even my 5-year old loved it! Scrump-dilly!

Good basic recipe, definitely not spicy enough for my family. If I make again, would have to add some chili powder, hot peppers, hot sauce, etc.

We love this recipe. The smell is intoxicating while its cooking. My husband and I have made ourselves sick because we couldn't stop eating it one night. As far as modifications, I have never actually added the pimentos, we never have them. Sometimes I'll sub with roasted red pepper, but I usually don't worry about it. I also cook this in a pressure cooker for about 25 minutes. We never have added the toppings, and we like it on brown rice. Thanks for a great recipe.

Thanks for the great recipe! This was pretty easy to make and very cheap as well. Everything I needed was found easily at the Mexican grocery three blocks away, which saved me a trip to the supermarket. I may make it again in the future with some spicy sausage and omitting some of the oil to compensate. I didn't have a problem with the vinegar making the beans hard because I soaked the beans for about 18 hours. However, the beans were tender but not as smooth as they would be if I had used canned beans, so I will probably stir in the vinegar toward the end of cooking next time.

Great recipe but need modifications. As other reviewers said, vinegar, sugar, and salt prevent beans from cooking. So here is what I did: I soaked dried beans for five hours, then pressure cooked them for 12 minutes on high. Meanwhile, fry the onion, garlic and green bell peppers. I added chipotle chile powder and cumin at the end of frying (I like it spciy). When the beans are done, check how much liquid is left...if there is too much, pour it out until beans are only half covered with cooking liquid. Add the onion mixture to the pot with tomato paste and salt, vinegar and other seasonings. Simmer for twenty minutes and serve with chedder cheese sprinkled on it!

I believe that lady that made these beans every wednesday was Mexican but nt Cuban . We do not make our Black beans with sugar, pimentos or tomatoe sauce. Nor, do we serve them with sour cream and cheese heeped on top...That sounds very Tex Mex...soryy!!

DELICIOUS! I used 3 cans of black beans and 3 cups of water as suggested. I didn't have tomato paste so I used a can of tomatoes with green chilies. My hubby couldn't stop raving about them. The next day we had black bean burritos with the leftovers. YUM!!

If you use canned beans, don't add that much water. 1 cup at the most or non at all - depending on how long you cook the dish. you need 5 cups of water if you cook fresh beans as they need to get soft. It also could use some more spices, but other than that this is pretty good.

Great but needed adjusting when using canned black beans. Use 2 cans of beans, use only 1/4 can of tomato paste or else it's too tomatoey, add a little water, add hot pepper sauce.

These were the tastiest black beans I have ever tried! I highly recommend them. I topped them with shredded mozzarella.

Not very tasty but doesn't taste bad either. Very mild. I can't imagine what it would taste like without the garlic. DON"T skip the garlic. My family enjoyed these beans - I put it in a bun to serve and told them it was Cuban Sloppy Joe's. I will add a few dashes of red pepper seeds next time.

Way to doctor up black beans! I was too lazy to start from scratch with dried beans, so I scaled the recipe down to two servings, the equivalent of one can of beans. I kind of winged it on the measurements, added very little water, and simmered it only briefly, maybe 5-10 minutes. Lots of flavor, and went great with yellow rice and Cuban Shredded Pork, recipe also from this site.

This was great. Very easy and after soaking beans overnight, I put it all in a 6 qt crockpot and let it simmer all day. Didn't use the olive oil or the pimentos and it was great. Sriracha on top makes it even nicer.

This is very good, especially after the first day. But I checked out Cuban Black Beans and added cumin and paprika as that recipe suggests. I'll definitely make this again.

Pretty good.

This is a new family favorite!! I did tweak the recipe to fit what I had on hand and my family's finicky tastes but it still turned out delicious! I spent all of $5 on this meal and was able to use my kitchen staples for the rest - what a bargain for a delicious dish! I omitted the pimentos, tomato paste and vinegar and added 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp tsp cayenne and a handful of chopped cilantro (I had some on hand - but next time I'll be sure to pick some up just for this dish). About 30 minutes from the end, I added 1 tsp cocoa powder to take the bite off the spice. This was so filling and yummy, and we have left overs for burritos tomorrow. Oh - and just for the record - I used dried beans, soaked over night - it was worth it to save my family from the sodium.

Great flavor, easy, and cheap! What more can one ask? I did leave out the green peppers because we don't like them, otherwise I followed the recipe as is.

Scrumptious, and very filling. Really nothing else is needed to make a meal except bread. We like cornbread with it!

Boy, did I love this! We served it as a side dish to chicken and steak soaked in Mojo Grilling Marinade (from this site), rice, mango and avocado salad...all washed down with Mojitos (also from this site). Outstanding meal!

I did a pressure cooker quick soak on dry beans, drained and rinsed and then proceeded and this turned out perfect. The tomatoes, vinegar, etc. had no effect on the cooking time for me. These beans were tender and flavorful. Only change I made was to add a whole chopped jalapeno and instead of tomato paste, I used a small can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes (undrained). Served over rice. Very good and will make this meatless meal again soon.

What can I say, but WOW! I used this recipe Friday night when hubby dropped a BBQ on me last minute. The commissary was closed and all I had was canned black beans. Everyone ate these up!! I plan to make these again very soon, but I want to try it with the dried beans just to see if it can get any better, though I doubt that's possible, since this was amazing!!

We love these beans! I cooked the beans for much longer. I notice some batches of beans do not soften as quickly, so allow extra time just in case. Also, I added the vinegar towards the end of cooking and it didn't absorb well, but the next day, it had soaked in and was very tasty. Today I am making again and will add the vinegar in at first.

Delicious! I held off on adding the vinegar, salt and tomato paste until the beans were almost done because I read that any of those could prevent them from getting soft. They are delicious and I'll be making them again for sure.

I listened to some previous advice about using canned beans, which helped tremendously. Instead I used 2 cans of black beans and reduced the water to 15 ounces (tomato paste can filled two and a half times) and they turned out fantastic! We served the beans over a cilantro rice with ropa vieja and it was a perfect dinner.

We loved these... The only modification I made was adding 1 small bay leaf and some chopped cilantro. I noticed that the beans were looking more "soupy" than I wanted them to be, so I removed the lid and simmered them uncovered for the last 30-40 mins to cook them down a bit. This might just be a matter of personal preference, though. This was my first time cooking dried beans, and they came out great. I will definitely make these again.

Really good version. My picky son liked them! :)

These were fantastic! I used 2 cans of black beans, no water, no tomato paste, but I did use 1/2 can of diced tomatoes. Simmered until they were perfect. Even my kids ate these.

These beans were fantastic. I read quite a few reviews before starting these beans. I decided that I would make them straight from the recipe given. I made the right decision. With my expierence at cooking raw beans, I knew that they would not cook in a couple of hours. They need to cook most of the day. The results are wonderful. I just added a little more salt at the end. p.s. spoon them over some brown rice and you have a wonderful low fat healthy meal.

Tasty. I'd be happy (and not surprised) to get this as a side dish at a (say, Mexican) restaurant. <b>However</b>, while tasty, the traditional way of cooking it did not work for me -- the beans didn't get soft all the way through, even after I simmered it for an *extra* hour and a half. (This could be because the vinegar gets added before cooking the beans. According to the AllRecipes page on beans, using vinegar or other acids before cooking can prevent beans from ever getting soft.) <br> I'm giving this recipe four stars under the assumption that I'll find a good alternative way of cooking it; if so, I'll try to update this review. (The current way, with the beans still keeping a snap to them, was good enough to eat but I'd definitely prefer entirely cooked beans.)

I halved this recipe and used 1 can of canned black beans. So I omitted the water and boiling time -- you just need to heat it at that point, cooking canned beans for an hour and a half is ridiculous and is not what the author intended when she suggested you use canned beans. That the user who said it "doesn't work with canned beans" got "highly helpful" points does this recipe a grave disservice, because it came out quite tasty and was simple to do with canned beans. (It'd be simple with dry beans, too, just not as fast.) Thank you for sharing your recipe!

This was great. My changes: 3 cans of beans, 3 cups of water, a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes, and no pimientos. I served this with sour cream and cheese, and no one used them- the beans were great on their own over yellow rice. A great, easy, low-fat meal, I'll make it again and again.

Really good using some of the comments from others -- added bay leaf, 1 t cumin, lime juice, no tomato paste, used red wine vinegar, a bit more salt and a bit more sugar.

My family loves this recipe! A favorite of my husband and my four year old son. Even my one year old likes it! They request it often! I serve it over bowtie pasta topped with sour cream and cheddar cheese, as suggested.

didn't have pimentos so I used dry red chiles and fried them with the garlic and added a whole lot of black pepper and garlic salt. I also left out the sugar, Used a lot more water and simmered for hours while doing chores. everyone LOVED them and they were so easy.

Wow! My husband can't stop talking about how good these beans are. He's right! They're really great. I made a batch of them today to bring to a pot-luck at a friend's house (and served them along with a pot of plain white rice). They were a big hit at the dinner. I was a little apprehensive about adding tomato paste, but think about it - one little 6 oz. can of tomato paste in a pound of black beans isn't really that much. I hardly noticed it. I didn't have a green bell pepper, but I did have some small red, orange, and yellow peppers so I threw them in instead. I was also frying bacon for some potato salad and didn't know what to do with the leftover grease... so I added it to the beans - WHOA! That really works. I didn't measure how much bacon grease I added, but I'd guess around 1/4 cup. Oh yeah, one more change. I didn't have time to soak the beans overnight before cooking so I ended up adding an extra six cups water and cooked the beans about 4 hours. Whenever the beans looked like they had absorbed almost all the water, I added two more cups. I ended up doing this three times.

These beans are delicious and easily modified to suit your preferences. I was already sauteing the onions, bell pepper and garlic tonight when I realized I didn't have tomato paste. Too lazy to go to the store, I used the closest thing I had-- red enchilada sauce. The beans turned out great! Don't be afraid to modify this recipe--I've followed it as written and it's remarkable, but it's never turned out less than really good when I increase and substitute ingredients. I like this recipe best when I use two CANS of black beans (rinsed), 1/2 onion, three cloves garlic, one cup water, omit the pimentos, and double the vinegar and salt,--follow the rest as written.

Mywhole family loved this! I made it exactly as written, except I added a jalapeno, and a little more salt. It was delicious! I like beans really well done though so i did cook it longer, close to 4 hours. Will definitely make again.

These were good, I expected a bit more flavor, but I can add that next time. Nice & Healthy basic recipe.

This is the first time I have even make black beans and rice. This recipe was great. My boyfriend is Cuban and he was suprised that it was my first time making them, he was impressed. Thanks!!

Flavorful and easy. I served it over brown rice with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Next time I'll reduce the water by 1 cup.

This recipe was not what i expected. More like a vegetarian chili. Not like pictured!!

Served with BBQ chicken and basmanti rice. I used 3 cans of black beans and omitted all the water. However I did dilute the paste with 1 c or so of water to get a consistency that I liked. Next time I will use less tomato paste. Also added 1 1/2 t cumin and added 1/2 t more cidar vinegar, plus I doubled the sugar. Omitted the pimentos and cut the salt to 1t. Absolutely wonderful with the rice.

I only used about 2 tbsp. of oil to save calories & fat. I cooked these almost 2 hours and did not use pimentos. We had this over white rice, it was a yummy, inexpensive, healthy dinner.

I have never made beans from scratch before, but these came out so delicious! Two professional cooks could not believe I made those beans!!! (I am a very amateur cook.) But these were easy and Great!

Worked well with canned beans and 3 cups of water.

My husband liked them, but my daughter and I did not. To me they're rather bland, and just tasted like a bland, meatless chili. I don't really know what the point of the pimentos is, as you can't taste them at all. And one teaspoon of sugar was not enough, as the tomato paste left them pretty sour.

When I made this, I used 3 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed. I also put in a HUGE tablespoonful of Biryani curry paste. I decreased the water by 1 cup, and served this dish over Basmati rice, with a pork tenderloin. The combination of the beans, rice and pork was a great compliment to one another

With all the back and forth over the addition of water to the recipe I honestly wasn't very comfortable with it. Most reviews seemed to indicate the water should be left out and that it was possibly only meant for soaking the beans and left in the recipe by mistake. Others said there was no need for the water, but I should add some broth. I dropped the water but did use a can of chicken broth, however the whole time I was wondering if I was making a mistake in not cooking the beans first. I don't see how canned beans could be substituted for raw(soaked) beans when canned beans are cleary fully cooked. In the end, the beans came out ok, but even after cooking longer than instructed the beans were tougher than they should be. I told myself, and the other eaters(heh) that it was just the way black beans were eaten. Anyway, the beans were rather easy to make and they were really good over rice. If I make these again I might try some canned beans to see the difference in texture.

I always loved black beans. Whenever I am in Miami I get them. There are no Cuban restaurants where I live, so it is nice to know how to make them your self. Very authentic and delicious!

Pretty good. Didn't have bell peppers and didn't have pimentos, so I omitted them. Used canned beans and turned out fine. Thanks!

The best beans ever! Had to make some modifications - I used 3 cans of black beans so I reduced the water to 2 cups. I also had to omit the green pepper and pimento because I didn't have them on hand. Reduced simmer time to about an hour! These were wonderful and very versatile - they could be served with many things. The whole family agreed that this will become a staple recipe in our house! By the way, I also reduced the oil to 2 Tbsp. - much healthier and didn't seem to affect the taste or texture.

Lacked flavor. This was not the recipe for black beans I was hoping for. It was very watery and bland. I won't be using this recipe again.

Wow, very good! I had a bag of red kidney beans, so I used them instead of black beans. Other than that I did not change anything, and it was so good over rice. Just right amount of seasoning. Thanks for the recipe!

This has quickly become an absolute favorite in my house! I made a few changes , mostly based on the ingredients I had in my house. I used three 15 oz cans of black beans, NO water, NO oil (alot of unecessary fat), and one 15 oz can of tomato sauce. I also used balsamic vinegar and added red peppers and frozen corn. YUM! I serve it with fried plantains.

Halfway through the recipe I realized that I was out of tomato paste so I had to substitute a can of condensed tomato soup (not the same but I had no choice). I cut back a little on the chicken broth that I used to replace the water because of that and left out the sugar all together. My family loved this.

I attemptd fresh cooked beans on several occasions and it always ended the same...in the GARBAGE! I was really hesitant to give it another shot but I figured why not. It was a bit time consuming but worth it. I cooked them for over 4 hours on a low fire. If you follow the cook time your beans will be somewhat hard. I like my beans really tender. It was a really good recipe. I did not give it 5 stars because I did feel the need to tweek it a bit after tasting it. I decided to add an additional 1/2 tspn of Salt as I found it just a bit bland...I am not big on salt so 1/2 tspn did the trick. Also, I found the flavor to be quite good but it was missing something...so I figured I'de add Cilantro, because that's the way my family cooks beans...and low and behold...IT WAS PERFECT!!!! Everyone at dinner was amazed by the taste and my son ate 3 servings. This is my worst critic people. Remember the beans that ended up in the Garbage earlier? He hated them that much and for him to eat 3 servings is unheard of. My entire family competes for his approval in the beans department and Mommie went from the bottom of the list to the top with this recipe!!!! You have got to try this!

Beans were very tasty, however, took much longer to cook than recipe called for. Next time I will put them in the slow cooker for the day. We did add some creole seasoning to spice it up a bit as was a bit bland for ouf family.

I love this recipe. My husband is cuban, so I figured I would try to make some of his favorite foods. It is great! I altered the recipe a little bit. I used the 3 cans of black beans and only used about 3 cans of water. I dont like them to be soupy. I also used olives instead of the pimentos. It seemed to be a hit.

Yummy Yummy Yummy. I served these with a green salad and fried plantains, and everyone raved. I even served them to some friends who describe themselves as carnivores and they had no problem with a vegetarian meal once they tasted these beans. Both of them wanted the recipe. Thanks!

I didn't find this recipe until my beans were almost cooked. Due to scarce ingredients, I didn't add pimentos and used two chopped small brown onions and 1/2 red bell pepper instead of a green pepper. Delicious on corn tortillas with chopped lettuce and sour cream.

So yummy! I halved the recipe (only had 1/2 pound of black beans!), it turned out wonderful!! Didnt have pimentos on hand. Served over white rice and added some baked chicken breast. VERY GOOD!!

The flavor is good made exactly as written. It did take the beans longer than stated to be tender. I was afraid that maybe there would be too much salt and pepper, but that was not the case. If one used canned beans, it would be way too salty. A really good meatless dish.

This recipe is simple to follow and absolutely delicious. I did not stray from the original recipe and I am very happy with how it turned out. I mix the beans with rice and put an egg on top with some Salsa Lizano. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Although I didn't have the means to make these exact, they were delicious! I would not take out the paste as others suggested. It is part of the uniquness of this recipe. Also, if you are a huge garlic fan like me, add extra! Thanks for the recipe!

Muy, muy deliciosa recipe!!! Very different than the usual spice up can of black beans as well as a favorite Cuban restaurant's. My family feasted on this flavor filled dish.

Oh lordy this was good! I used canned beans, undrained and served over rice. My fiance loved it! It's going in my file! I added a bit more garlic, cayenne, and onion just to suit our taste better.

I found this recipe really bland, and it took about three times as long to cook as it should have. I soaked the beans overnight, cooked them on high in a crockpot for 3 hours, and it still took 3-4 more hours on the stovetop for them to cook. The results were unremarkable, but they were pretty good on top of nachos.

This is an excellent recipe - cheap, easy, healthy and vegetarian. I used dried beans and soaked them over night, which worked fine. I found I had to cook the beans a little longer than suggested to get them tender, but otherwise, I made no changes. Next time, I may add some spices to give it more kick. This is a recipe that is worth making ahead. You need some time to soak and cook the beans anyway, plus a few days in the fridge really enhances the flavor. I'll be making this again!

Wonderful and easy. I cook the beans for 1 1/2 hours or until soft, then add all the other ingredients and cook for 45 minutes to an hour more. Instead of pimentoes I use chopped green olives. Instead of suger I use Splenda. Thank you for a great recipe!

these were just OK to me. I love black beans, and I guess I'm just not used to them with the tomato sauce. I prefer a more lime-based mexican black bean.

This is a great recipe, especially over rice. Also great for leftovers, bean enchiladas anyone?

My husband and I both loved this recipe. I always forget to soak beans overnight, so I covered the beans with water and brought them almost to a boil, then turned off the heat and let them soak for about 2 hours. Then drained the beans and continued with the recipe. I used only half the oil and only 4 cups of water, added a bit more onion and let it simmer most of the afternoon. Served over quinoa, instead of rice, with a salad made a hearty vegetarian meal. I will definitely add this to my list of "keeper" vegetarian recipes that I'm working into my repertoire.

I followed the recipe and the beans were pretty darn bland. I had to add a lot more spices to give this some flavor. It came out tasty but I think you need to double or even triple the spices for this recipe.

This was SO GOOD. I made this for some friends and it was a definite hit. I used 1/2 bell pepper and 1/2 onion instead of whole ones, and by accident I bought a 2oz. jar of pimentos instead of 4oz. and it still came out very flavourful. Not spicy and definitely a little sweet--very tasty! I definitely want to make them again. Oh, and it is good to use either salsa or sour cream as a garnish.

EXCELENT. might use goya sofrito for tomato flavor. also, lime juice at end makes it even better.

So delicious we couldnt wait for dinner so ate it as a dip with lime tortilla chips! Served with fried cuban pork and coconut rice. One of my favorite meals!

In all fairness to this recipe, contrary to the previous review, the recipe does not call for canned beans.

Decent recipe, but NOT Cuban style. Cuban black beans are very simply seasoned and served over hot white rice--maybe with some chopped onions/cilantro/parsley but never with salsa, cheese and sour cream! This sounds more like a Mexican style way of serving beans!

These were the BEST black beans I have ever had! I substituted a can of diced tomatoes for the tomato paste and I added a bit of fresh chopped cilantro. My brother-in-law, who doesn't eat anything but meat and potatoes, went back for seconds and asked me when I had learned how to cook (I hadn't seen him in more than 10 years). I served these with a pork roast, yellow rice and asparagus. YUMMY!!

Needs to cook longer like 3 hours.

Good beans. Easy to make. This is a very good meatless recipe.

Delicious! I didn't have tomato paste so I used Goya Sofrito instead since it has a tomato base. These came out so good! Will definitely make again.

One of our favorite recipes. I make it at least once a month and serve leftovers with sauteed veggies as fajitas. One important note: Cook the beans COMPLETELY before adding tomatoes or vinegar. Other than that, it's awesome without any changes.

Great basic recipe. Fry one chopped onion, one chopped pepper, four stalks chopped celery, and 12 cloves garlic (don't be afraid). Add to 2# rinsed dried beans, a couple bay leaves, and water to cover in the crockpot. No soaking necessary. Add vinegar at the end. No tomato paste or sugar. Delish. Once I also threw in a ham steak and a couple leftover grilled chopped chicken breasts for my hungry teens. This is a low cost, low effort meal everyone will love. This is one of a few slow cooker bean dishes in regular Sunday rotation in my home.

used black beans in a can, skipped the 5cups of water and used a 1/4 cup if that. followed the rest of the recipe to a tee and got rave reviews on it. yummy!

My family loved this dish. I had to cook the beans longer than the recipe stated because they were still a bit crunchy. Also, everything turned black, so next time, I think I'll cook the beans with the five cups of water, then rinse them and continue with the recipe.

I made this with cornbread muffins and it was really good. My husband thought it was a little starchy, so next time we'll try adding vegetarian crumbles (a ground beef substitute.)

phenomenal. first time with making black beans without blowing off the jackets. did so in a stove top pressure cooker with 5c water and timed for 20 minutes and air cooled. fantastic with some salt, aromatics ( 5 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, 3 bay leaf, one onion quartered.) Perfectly cooked as it came out with lots of stock left over. I simmered Cuban sauce independently of beans as I was leery of over cooking perfectly done beans. as I simmered sauce I kept adding bean stock for flavor. When peppers almost cooked, I added beans and simmered 10 more min. FAB! don't know if this is Cuban or no, but it is a keeper recipe AND I learned new skill. win win

As far as bean dishes go, this is pretty amazing. I used canned black beans and it worked out great. I found it to be really flavorful and I definitely wouldn't add any extra spice.

easy and good! Used slow cooker

This recipe was amazing (and cheap)! I used 2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed, and 2 cups of water. I omitted the pimento and added extra veggies - 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 jalapeno, 1 white onion, and 1 vidalia onion. I substituted brown sugar for white sugar and added some cumin and smoked paprika. I simmered it for 2 hours and served over leftover brown rice and topped with shredded cheddar. Next time I might add a dash of cayenne.my husband and I finished this off in 2 days!

Oh man, did I have a hard time getting these to the table. I just wanted to eat them with a spoon right out of the pot!! We had a special Cuban lunch for friends and I made these to go with the Cuban-Style pork roast on Allrecipes. I didn't have ground cumin, so just tossed in some seeds and let the whole thing cook for about 3 hours, low and slow. Otherwise, I followed the recipe, just doubling all of it. I used pre-cooked beans. Since I have some health issues, I didn't add any salt but provided it for those who wanted. This was a great side dish that will happen more often in the future. Thanks for a terrific recipe!!