Grilled Portobello Panini with Artichoke Tapenade

This simple portobello panini is stacked with portobello mushrooms, a homemade artichoke tapenade, and fresh arugula. Yum! I kind of feel like a hypocrite posting this grilled portabella panini recipe because I always make fun of the way portabella mus…

This simple portobello panini is stacked with portobello mushrooms, a homemade artichoke tapenade, and fresh arugula. Yum! I kind of feel like a hypocrite posting this grilled portabella panini recipe because I always make fun of the way portabella mushrooms are the default filling for vegetarian sandwiches. The reasoning is usually, "portabellas are so meaty--they're...

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One pot meals and sheet pan meals are a dinner lifesaver and this One Pot Sausage Pasta is a favorite at our house. My boys LOVE it and I love that it comes together in no time! With this recipe, you don’t have to boil the pasta first, it cooks r…

One pot meals and sheet pan meals are a dinner lifesaver and this One Pot Sausage Pasta is a favorite at our house. My boys LOVE it and I love that it comes together in no time! With this recipe, you don’t have to boil the pasta first, it cooks right in the pot with…

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After what I posted last week about not being ready for fall recipes yet, you probably think I’m a big hypocrite for posting this Freezer-Friendly Vegetarian Chili today. But let me explain! This is not a fall recipe, you see.

Veggie-Loaded Chili Recipe
After what I posted last week about not being ready for fall recipes yet, you probably think I’m a big hypocrite for posting this Freezer-Friendly Vegetarian Chili today. But let me explain! This is not a fall recipe, you see.

Spanish Rice and Beans

This Spanish rice and beans brings big flavor to humble ingredients! It’s a tasty vegan and vegetarian main dish or easy side dish. Here’s a dish made with humble ingredients yet big flavor: Spanish rice and beans! Alex and I recently shared a Spanish rice recipe as part of our Ultimate Vegan Burrito, and it so tasty we wanted to find another way to serve it. Enter: rice and beans! It’s a pantry-staple sort of meal that works as a healthy vegan and vegetarian dinner or a hearty side. Flavored with salsa and adobo sauce, the rice is filled with tangy roasted red peppers, beans, and herby cilantro. Alex and I took one bite, and then couldn’t stop eating it. Here’s more about it, and how to make it! Looking for something more traditional? Try our Black Beans and Rice or Cuban Black Beans Recipe. Spanish rice and beans: more of a concept than a recipe! Spanish rice is actually Mexican dish, sometimes called Mexican rice or arroz rojo (“red rice” in Spanish). It gets its red color from cooking it with tomatoes. Here’s our take on this popular Mexican-style side dish, which pairs perfectly with tacos and enchiladas. It’s fantastic in […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

This Spanish rice and beans brings big flavor to humble ingredients! It’s a tasty vegan and vegetarian main dish or easy side dish.

Spanish rice and beans

Here’s a dish made with humble ingredients yet big flavor: Spanish rice and beans! Alex and I recently shared a Spanish rice recipe as part of our Ultimate Vegan Burrito, and it so tasty we wanted to find another way to serve it. Enter: rice and beans! It’s a pantry-staple sort of meal that works as a healthy vegan and vegetarian dinner or a hearty side. Flavored with salsa and adobo sauce, the rice is filled with tangy roasted red peppers, beans, and herby cilantro. Alex and I took one bite, and then couldn’t stop eating it. Here’s more about it, and how to make it!

Looking for something more traditional? Try our Black Beans and Rice or Cuban Black Beans Recipe.

Spanish rice and beans: more of a concept than a recipe!

Spanish rice is actually Mexican dish, sometimes called Mexican rice or arroz rojo (“red rice” in Spanish). It gets its red color from cooking it with tomatoes. Here’s our take on this popular Mexican-style side dish, which pairs perfectly with tacos and enchiladas. It’s fantastic in this Vegan Burrito, or alongside these Zesty Red Enchiladas.

Add beans, and you’ve got Spanish rice and beans! Interestingly, there’s not really a “recipe standard” for it, like there is for Spanish rice. So, you can use any sort of bean you’d like! Adding that plant-based protein turns this classic side dish into a healthy vegetarian and vegan dinner.

Mexican rice

Ingredients in Spanish rice and beans

There are lots of variations on how to make Spanish rice. Like coleslaw or potato salad, everyone has their own spin on this side dish. And as I mentioned above, there’s even more variation on the concept when you add beans to it. Here’s what is in this recipe:

  • White onion
  • Medium or long grain white rice
  • Salsa
  • Adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
  • Olive oil, vegetable broth, and kosher salt
  • Kidney beans, pinto beans or black beans
  • Roasted red peppers (from a jar)
  • Fresh cilantro

Use any beans you like!

This Spanish rice and beans recipe is more of a concept than a recipe, so remember: you can use whatever beans you’d like! Alex and I used kidney beans here since that’s a popular variation on the recipe, but you can use pinto beans or black beans as well.

Using kidney beans gave it a bit of a vibe of a sort of vegetarian paella! But using black beans gives it more of a straightforward Mexican vibe. You could also try our Black Beans and Rice recipe if you’d like to use black beans.

Spanish rice and beans

Find roasted red peppers in a jar

The great thing about using roasted red peppers in a jar is that they’re pantry friendly! Alex and I wanted this recipe to be an easy pantry meal using staples you can have on hand, so we used red peppers in a jar instead of fresh bell peppers. They’re easy to find at your local grocery, and are usually near the canned goods next to the olives and jarred artichokes.

Because the peppers are roasted, their flavor is beautifully tangy. Alex and I loved the zing they added to this Spanish rice and beans, so we’d recommend finding a few jars for your pantry and using one for this recipe. You’ll only use about 1 to 2 peppers, so you can refrigerate the rest for using later! An opened jar of roasted red peppers lasts about 1 month in the refrigerator.

More recipes with roasted red peppers: Greek Orzo Salad, Roasted Red Pepper Pita Pizza, and Romesco Gnocchi Sauce.

Spanish rice and beans

What to know about adobo sauce

This Spanish rice and beans recipe also stars adobo sauce: a tomato-chili sauce that brings savory, smoky flavor to Mexican dishes. It’s optional in this recipe, but we highly recommend it. It uses only 1 teaspoon, so it doesn’t add heat! Here’s what you need to know about it:

  • Chipotles in adobo sauce are available in the Mexican food section in most groceries. The can has both chipotle chiles (smoked and dried jalapeños that are rehydrated) and adobo sauce: a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and other spices.
  • This recipe calls for adobo sauce only, not the peppers! Pull out just 1 teaspoon sauce from the can and leave the peppers inside. Each brand of can has different amounts of adobo sauce, so you’ll have to experiment and find your favorite.
  • Refrigerate or freeze the rest for other recipes. You can refrigerate the can for a few weeks, or place the contents in a sealed container and freeze for a few months.

More recipes with adobo sauce: Enchilada SauceVegetarian Tortilla SoupQuinoa Chili, and Refried Bean Tacos.

Instant Pot Spanish rice

Instant Pot variation

If you have a pressure cooker, you can also make this Spanish rice and beans with it! Go to Instant Pot Spanish Rice to make the rice, then stir in the beans, roasted red peppers, and fresh cilantro at the end. The advantage to using an Instant Pot is that it makes it hands off! (The recipe will take about the same amount of time, so for this one it’s not a huge time saver.)

This Spanish rice and beans recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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Spanish rice and beans

Spanish Rice and Beans


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This Spanish rice and beans brings big flavor to humble ingredients! It’s a tasty vegan and vegetarian main dish or easy side dish.


Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium white onion (1 cup finely diced)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups medium or long grain white rice
  • 1 1/2 cups salsa
  • 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers*
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 15-ounce can beans (kidney, pinto, or black beans), drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers from a jar
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Finely dice the onion.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salsa, adobo sauce, broth, and kosher salt.
  3. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until all the liquid is cooked out. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes to steam.
  4. Fluff with a fork. Stir in the beans (drained and rinsed), chopped roasted red peppers and cilantro. Serve immediately.

  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keywords: Spanish beans and rice

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

Recipe | Sweet & Spicy Mango Fajitas + Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix

Champagne mangoes are heeeere! I knew they’d be in season again soon, so I’ve been stalking Whole Foods waiting for the glorious day when there’s a huge crate of them front and center in the produce section. Every week, I’ve bee…

Champagne mangoes are heeeere! I knew they’d be in season again soon, so I’ve been stalking Whole Foods waiting for the glorious day when there’s a huge crate of them front and center in the produce section. Every week, I’ve been disappointed. And last week, I was prepared to be disappointed again when I didn’t see that big huge crate, but I managed to find the champagne mangoes in a small crate at the back of the produce section. Then I did a little dance. And for once it wasn’t because of the peppy instrumental version of “Big Country” playing over the PA system. No, it was because I finally had my precious champagne mangoes and I could make my Sweet & Spicy Mango Fajitas. I keep a huge running list of recipe ideas on my computer and mango fajitas has been on there for at least a year now. Oh sure, I could have made them with regular mangoes, but I wanted to wait for the champagne mangoes because: a) they’re cheaper than regular mangoes when they’re in season, b) they’re tastier than regular mangoes, and c) I have never bought a bad champagne mango, but it seems like […]