These Copycat Chipotle Black Beans are made quickly and easily by using canned black beans! No soaking is required and no special equipment is needed to bring the taste of Chipotle to your home.
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This black bean recipe is a copycat version of the black beans served at Chipotle Mexican Grill! They are full of flavor, contain simple ingredients, and are easy to make!
Add these black beans to your burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and more for a boost of plant-based protein!
Ingredients
This vegan black bean recipe is made of simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. They are easy to make, inexpensive, healthy, and perfect for meal prep!
Olive Oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil but instead of buying new oil, you can use what you have! I typically have olive oil and avocado oil on hand.
Yellow Onion & Garlic Cloves: The best flavor duo! Dice the onions and cook until soft and starting to brown in the pan before adding the remaining ingredients. This will add a lot of flavor!
Bay Leaf: Dried bay leaves bring a lot of flavor and I don't recommend leaving them out.
Spices: I use a blend of chipotle powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and black pepper.
Canned Black Beans: I wanted to make this black bean copycat recipe as easy as possible so I went with canned. This recipe is easy to bring together and tastes amazing. This recipe wasn't developed using dry beans so I don't recommend them. That being said, you can use canned pinto beans.
Vegetable Broth: I like the added flavor that vegetable broth brings so I recommend it but you can also use water but you'll need to compensate by adding more salt. I recommend low-sodium vegetable broth.
How to Make This Recipe
With this easy chipotle black beans recipe, taco Tuesday never looked so good! You're going to love this super versatile and customizable recipe.
The full recipe can be found in the recipe card below.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Mince the onion and cook until soft and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Mince the garlic and add to the pot and cook for another 1-2 minutes before adding the bay leaves and the remaining spices and seasonings.
Then, add in the drained and rinsed black beans along with the vegetable broth.
Bring the black beans to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, take the lid off and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon and lime juice. Top with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Serving Ideas
Perfectly spiced and full of flavor, these smoky black beans are a super versatile pantry staple meal. They’re perfect, not just for tacos, but inside a burrito, scooped onto a tortilla chip, or on top of cilantro lime rice!
Serve with Chipotle Copycats: Cilantro Lime Rice, Chipotle Roasted Chili Corn Salsa, Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa, and the Chipotle fajita veggies found in my recipe card for Vegan Tostadas.
Serve with Tofu Sour Cream, Pico de Gallo, Homemade Guacamole, and Tofu Ground Beef in homemade burrito bowls, taco salad, or in tacos.
Substitutions & Additions
Black Beans: You can use canned pinto beans instead of black beans.
Make it spicy: Substitute the chili powder for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to add more heat.
Tips & Tricks
Drain and rinse the beans! Rinsing the canned beans will remove some of the salt and starch. If you don't do this, your black beans will be overly salty.
Brown the onions. Develop flavor by cooking the onion until soft and starting to brown.
Turn off the heat before adding the lemon and lime juice. Finishing the black beans with lime juice and lemon juice will provide a balance and a bright flavor.
Storage & Reheating
This is the perfect side dish to prep ahead and have on hand for easy dinners all week.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Reheating: Reheating in the microwave or stovetop until warmed through.
Freezing: This chipotle black bean recipe is perfect for freezing! Allow to cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, these black beans are delicious and make great meal prep! I recommend making a big batch and freezing in single-serve portions and thawing it when needed.
Yes, the black and pinto beans are vegan-friendly at Chipotle!
I love adding extra cayenne pepper or chili pepper for spice or chopped-up chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
This was simply inspired by Chipotle and not an exact recipe but my copycat black beans are incredibly delicious and are very flavorful and reminiscent of the black beans at Chipotle.
Depends on the recipe but in this chipotle copycat recipe, yes! It's necessary to remove excess salt and starch.
On Chipotle's website, the ingredients listed include black beans, bay leaf, black pepper, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, onion, oregano, rice bran oil, salt, and water
More Chipotle Copycat Recipes
Recipe
Copycat Chipotle Black Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion minced
- 3-5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Pinch Cayenne Pepper
- 2 cans Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 1 tablespoons Lime Juice more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice more to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Mince the onion and cook until soft and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Mince the garlic and add to the pot and cook for another 1-2 minutes before adding the bay leaves and the remaining spices and seasonings.
- Then, add in the drained and rinsed black beans along with vegetable broth.
- Bring the black beans to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the lid off and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon and lime juice then serve and enjoy!
Notes
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Beth says
LOVED this dish. I had it about four days straight for a working week meal prep. The flavour was rich, salty, and a little bit spicy which I loved. Feeling a little bit sad that it’s all gone.
The only tweaks I made was to add a little under a tablespoon of brown sugar with the spices to add some caramelisation along with a teaspoon of chipotle paste I had sitting in the fridge. Served with flatbreads and salad on some days, and Liv’s coriander and lime rice on others. Avocado and salsa a must!
Will definitely be adding this to my go-to meal prep list!
Liv says
I'm so glad you enjoyed!! The added brown sugar and chipotle paste sounds delicious. I'll definitely be trying that! Thank you for your review 🙂
Craig says
You nailed this one. Making these again tonight when friends come over for taco night.
Liv says
Amazing!! Enjoy 🙂