Vegan Tomato and Black Bean Stew
Black beans are without a doubt my favourite bean (and my kids’ favourite too), and I absolutely love this simple black bean stew. It’s nothing fancy or complicated, just good, honest food – simply black beans in a rich tomato sauce, cooked with a few straightforward spices, and served up however you like. And best of all, it can be on the table in less than half an hour.
This easy recipe uses canned black beans, because who’s got time for cooking dried beans on a busy weeknight – or any other time?! Certainly not me, and I love using canned beans for a quick dinner. Just simmer them until the stew is nice and thick, and they really could not be more delicious.
🍚 How to Serve Black Bean Stew
I’ve made this dish dozens of times, and served it in so many different ways. It’s a really versatile recipe. Here are some ideas for how to serve this easy black bean stew:
- simply served with rice (and toppings, like avocado and sour cream)
- wrapped up in a soft tortilla to make an amazing bean burrito
- loaded into a taco shell with salad and extra toppings
- heaped onto a baked potato
- served with lots of roasted veggies (crispy potato wedges would be great)
- with tortilla chips on the side for scooping
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🥗 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- black beans. Canned black beans ensure this recipe is quick and easy. If you prefer, you can cook dried beans from scratch beforehand, then follow the recipe as written.
- onion – I used half an onion, because I find a whole large onion is too much in this recipe. If you’d rather not have half an onion left over, try to just use a small one instead.
- tomatoes (try to use good quality ones)
- tomato paste
- garlic – I used minced garlic from a jar, but fresh garlic would also be fine.
- smoked paprika
- ground cumin
- fresh chilli (or chilli flakes, if you prefer) – I always choose a small, mild chilli. I do like things quite spicy, but adding too much spice can spoil a meal very quickly! If you’re not sure how hot your chilli is, start with just a small amount – you can always add more later.
Becca’s Top Tip
If you find you sometimes get stomach issues from eating too many beans or other legumes, make sure you rinse canned beans before cooking with them. This can help to wash away the gas-inducing substances from the beans.
📹 Recipe Video
🖨️ Printable Instructions
Vegan Tomato and Black Bean Stew
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 onion (or 1 small onion), finely diced
- 1 tsp garlic puree (or 4 cloves garlic, minced)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 small mild chilli, finely diced (or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes)
- ~ 5 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained (480g, or ~ 2 1/2 cups, in total when drained)
- 75 ml (~ 1/3 cup) water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the diced onion, and cook for around 5 minutes, until fairly soft but not browned.
- Add the garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and chopped chilli, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. You can start with just half of the chilli if you’re unsure how hot it is.
- Next, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture forms a thick, tomatoey paste.
- Add the drained black beans to the pan, along with the water, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and allow to simmer for at least 5 minutes – leave it longer if you have time, ideally more like 15-20 minutes. The mixture should be thick and rich. You can remove the lid for the last few minutes if your stew needs thickening up.
- Serve warm. I like to serve mine with rice and a dollop of sour cream.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Yes – this stew will reheat nicely, so it’s no problem to prepare it in advance. Once it’s cooked, allow it to cool, and store in the fridge in an airtight tub until you’re ready to reheat.
You can reheat any leftovers in the microwave, or in a pan on the stovetop. You may need to add a splash of water when reheating if the stew has dried out a little. Ensure the beans are piping hot before serving.
Yes! This bean stew is both vegan and gluten-free.
So good and versatile. Use in burritos, dip etc.
Wow! By far the best black bean recipe ever! My husband is vegetarian. I am not. I make this recipe weekly. It’s fantastic with Mexican, just potatoes or rice and salad. My quick and easy go to recipe. Great recipe!
Thanks Franny, so glad you enjoy these! :D
Made this last night and loved it! Even my husband who is a meat lover said that he didn’t miss the meat :-D which is a definite win in my book! So pleased I found your blog, can’t wait to make more of your homely, comforting meals!
Oh great, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :D I hope you find lots more here you like!
Family loved it…….. I know my son love it, he didn’t even say a word, he just shoveled it down! He gave me a big thumbs up! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Haha I’m glad, thanks for the feedback :)
I made this for dinner to go with our tomatillo chicken rice bowls and they were amazing! This is the recipe I have been searching for. I used an Anaheim pepper from my garden instead of the red pepper to make it mild so my kids would eat it, but apparently my Anaheim pepper was really hot. Even my husband said how spicy they were. Next time I might have to leave the pepper out :( But I thought they were perfect!
Glad you enjoyed them Kati! :) at least you’ll know for next time!
thanks for the recipe- made these for lunch today and they were fabulous.
Thanks Cami, glad you enjoyed them :)