Go Back
–+ servings
A bowl of stewed red beans
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Stewed Red Beans

This recipe works great for both canned and dried beans.  For directions on how to rehydrate beans, click here.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 69kcal
Author: Zoe Morman

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces of fatback fat or bacon small diced (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 onion peeled and diced
  • 1 cubanelle pepper diced and deseeded.
  • 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons of sofrito
  • 1 can of small red beans or 2 cups of rehydrated beans
  • 32 ounces of broth use as needed.
  • 1 can of tomato sauce
  • 2 bay leaf
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ oregano
  • ¼ cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, heat the choice of fat at medium heat.  
  • Once the fat is hot but not smoking, add the onions and cubanelle peppers.  Cook the veggies, stirring them occasionally until tender and translucent.
  • Add the garlic, and continue to cook until the garlic is soft and has a light golden color.
  • Add red beans, broth, tomato sauce, and bay leaf.  
  • Reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow beans to cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes.  
  • Stir the beans and check for the thickness of the sauce and doneness of the beans.  Add broth if necessary to adjust thickness.
  • Season with paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, and paper.  Cover and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.  
  • Serve beans over rice.

Notes

  1. I did not use either fatback or bacon for this recipe.  Olive oil was my choice of fat.  Achiote oil would also work in this recipe.
  2. If you choose to use fatback or bacon, you want to render as much fat from the fatback.  The fatback will reduce in size and become golden brown.  
  3. For bacon, you want to slow crisp and cook bacon thoroughly.
  4. Cook both fatback or bacon in low to medium heat, adjust heat to keep from burning.  Both fatback and bacon would stay in the pot through the cooking process.
  5. I normally skip the pork fat.  Only because I am trying to eat cleaner, but every now and then I use 2 strips of bacon for that smokey flavor. 
  6. If using canned beans, remember, canned beans are already cooked, you do not need to cook them as long.  
  7. Cubanelle peppers are great for this application.  They render great flavor while almost disappearing into the final product.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving spoon | Calories: 69kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.3g | Protein: 2.9g | Fat: 3.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.6g | Cholesterol: 1.1mg | Sodium: 379.5mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 2g