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Black Beans

March 4, 2010

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The day that Chloe started eating solid foods, I was over the moon. I really love the baby food puree stage, but I find it so much more gratifying making Chloe foods that she can enjoy alongside the rest of the family. I believe that when a baby sees that the food on the plate in front of her is the same as the food mommy and daddy are eating, it serves as a powerful connection to the group for them.

Beans are an amazing first solid food for babies to try because they're soft, easy to chew, packed with protein and full of flavor. They're also great for baby's developing dexterity as he/she learns to pick up the beans and feed him/herself.

In our house we eat black beans like they're going out of style. Inexpensive, healthy and easy to store in the fridge, we keep a container of cooked beans on hand at all time to add to recipes like Chicken and Rice Burritos, Black Bean Cakes, Nachos or just to eat on their own or with some brown rice. Whether your family has a bunch of wee ones, big kids or all of the above, black beans are always a good idea.

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Black Beans  (Serves 4)

  • Prep Time:1 days,
  • Cook Time: 1 minutes,
  • Total Time: 1 days, 1 hours,

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces (2 cups) dried black beans
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt (optional)

Preparation

  1. 1. The night before you want to cook the beans (about 8-12 hours prior to cooking), cover the beans with water and soak them overnight (this reduces the cooking time of the beans). * If you don’t soak the beans overnight, just double the cooking time in step #5 and keep tasting until the beans are tender.
  2. 2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan.
  3. 3. Add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
  4. 4. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  5. 5. Add the bay leaf, black beans, water and salt (if desired). Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.
  6. 6. Serve.
  7. *Allow to cool, place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in a pot over low-medium heat or allow to defrost in fridge for 24-48 hours.
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Comments






  1. Kristin

    November 9, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Reply

    When you freeze the beans, do you include some of the cooking liquid?

    Thanks!

    • catherine

      November 9, 2012 at 11:48 am

      Reply

      Yes, include the cooking liquid! This will help the beans to not dry out or get freezer burn!

  2. nmaywerff

    August 15, 2012 at 12:34 pm

    Reply

    I have had trouble with beans lately… I soaked my black beans overnight and cooked them for almost 3 hours! They still were not as tender and they should have been. Any input as to why this might be? (Beans too old, brand of beans, cooking wrong…??!)

    • Oril

      August 30, 2012 at 2:19 pm

      Reply

      Did you add salt at the beginning? That can also keep your beans from becomming tender during the normal cooking time. Try adding salt towards the end of your cooking time and hopefully that will help.

    • catherine

      August 15, 2012 at 1:00 pm

      Reply

      It could be that the beans are too old. :( I’m sorry you’ve had trouble with these! Also, make sure you’re simmering the beans and not boiling. There shouldn’t be lots of bubbles in the liquid during cooking. The occasional bubble is fine, just not constant bubbles!

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    November 27, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    Reply

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    November 23, 2011 at 12:24 am

    Reply

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  6. Esther

    October 26, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    Reply

    Would this also work with kidney beans?

  7. memama

    August 20, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Reply

    Actually this was my daughter’s first food, we didn’t do any purees or spoon-feed anything. We wanted her to learn to eat naturally so we just continued exclusively breastfeeding and offering her bits of food that we were eating that she could feed to herself, which was around 10/11 months when she started really trying stuff. Then around 13 months is when she got to really wanting to “eat” and not just “taste”.

    Just another option if someone wants to take a more natural/traditional approach.

    Here’s some more info on baby led eating.
    http://www.tribalbaby.org/babyLedEating.html

  8. Amy

    March 4, 2010 at 3:29 am

    Reply

    Thanks for the recipe. I love using beans. I also love that my twins are now out of the pureed food stage. It makes life so much easier to feed everyone the same thing. I love that this is also something that they can try to feed themselves.



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