Habichuelas Guisadas
My favorite pot of Habichuelas Guisadas, stewed beans. Made from scratch and mixed with my favorite blend of spices and fresh herbs.
Okay, my nutrition lesson of the day, don’t let people tell you that your cultural foods aren’t nutritious. They absolutely can be and should be celebrated! Now, enter these beans. Something I’ve grown up eating regularly, and they never disappoint!
Why You’ll Love These Habichuelas Guisadas
- A great option to bulk prep. I tend to make this as a freezer meal. I make a large batch, freeze it and reheat it whenever I am craving this.
- Cheap! Beans are fantastic because they are still incredibly cheap to prep. And this is made even cheaper by prepping the beans from scratch. Definitely a skill worth learning!
- Will make you fall in love with beans. I love beans because I know how to make them taste good, and you can too! It really comes down to how you are making them and what flavors you are infusing into them. You should have bean recipes that you crave in your arsenal!
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beans: I used dried pinto beans, but pink beans, white beans, and red kidney beans work super well here.
- Onion: I used a yellow onion for the soup base and some red onions for the sofrito. Feel free to use just one variety of onion if you prefer.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best, and luckily you can just throw it into a food processor to chop up for you.
- Pepper: I used green bell pepper for my sofrito and jalapeño to spice up the beans as they are the most accessible. This works better with cubanelle peppers, so if you have access to that, feel free to use!
- Cilantro: Unfortunately, this is a critical part of the recipe. You could try using a combo of parsley and fresh chives, but it will not have the same flavor. If you want a cilantro-free bean recipe, try my charred lemon beans. The base does not use any cilantro.
- Vinegar: I recommend apple cider vinegar for the right tang. If you don’t have, then red wine vinegar can work here too.
- Bouillon: I like to use either the vegan chicken bouillon cubes from Edward & Sons or the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base. They tend to be the most flavorful.
- Squash: My mom sometimes adds some winter squash to her beans. If she can’t get a hold of it, cubed up Yukon gold potatoes work just as well.
- Seasonings: I used a combination of sofrito and adobo seasonings to flavor. These are common seasonings you can find at your local grocery store, typically sold down the ethnic aisle.
How to Make Habichuelas Guisadas
Place your dry beans in a large bowl and cover them with water by 2 inches. Allow the beans to soak for 8 hours or overnight. The beans should double in size.
Drain and rinse your beans well then place in a large pot with fresh water to cover them by 2 inches. Add the onion halves, garlic cloves, and bay leaf then bring the pot to a low boil. Partially cover with a lid and allow the beans to cook for 30 minutes.
Skim off any noticeable foam floating on the top then add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. If the beans are above the water line, add additional water as needed. Partially cover again and cook for another 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the beans have softened. To make sure they are cooked, test a few beans from different spots in the pot to make sure they cooked through. Remove from heat and discard the onions and bay leaf.
To make the sofrito, add the garlic, pepper, scallion, cilantro, onion, vinegar, bouillon, sazón, lime juice, and a generous pinch of salt to a blender cup and pulse until everything is evenly minced.
Place a separate large pot over medium low heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the onion, jalapeño, and a generous pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Add the tomato paste and sauté in the oil for 2-3 minutes to deepen the color. Pour in the sofrito and continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Transfer the beans and 4 cups of the cooking liquid to the pot. Add the squash, adobo and cilantro and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine then bring everything to simmer then partially cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes until the squash has softened.
If you want a thicker consistency, use the back of your cooking spoon to lightly mash some of the squash and beans. Stir well then remove from heat and serve as desired.
Expert Tips
- Save time cooking! Make it semi-homemade by using 3-4, 15oz canned beans. This will help you skip the soaking and hour boil. Sauté the vegetables, tomato paste, and sofrito then add the drained and rinsed beans, water or vegetable broth, and squash and cook as instructed. Taste and adjust the salt based on your personal taste.
- Ingredient prep tips. Make the sofrito ahead of time. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen in ice cube trays to use for later. My mom would often cook a really large batch of the dry beans and freeze them to use for later. This made making a batch of the beans a lot faster during a week night and it would last her through the month.
- Make in the Instant Pot using the following recipe instructions.
- Adjust the consistency. After the beans have cooked, I like to lightly mash some of them to help thicken the broth. Feel free to omit this step if you want looser beans or add some extra water or broth to thin out the beans to your liking.
- Minimize gas. Make sure to soak your beans well, at least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse them really well then cook them in fresh water with either some epazote (a traditional Mexican herb) or a small piece of kombu (a type of seaweed). Either option helps to tenderize the beans and break down the starches that may cause bloating or discomfort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Allow the beans to appropriately cool then transfer the beans into individually portions containers to freeze. I personally like to use Souper Cubes to store these. After freezing the frozen blocks can be moved to a freezer safe bag and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can then just thaw the amount of beans you want and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through.
Canned beans can work and they help minimize the cooking time significantly. After cooking the sofrito, add in the canned beans along with their liquid plus additional water based on your preference. Normally I would add about 1-2 cups of extra water. Allow the beans to simmer with the squash and extra cilantro to allow the beans to absorb some of that flavor. Before removing from heat, taste the broth and adjust seasonings and salt to match your preference.
The nice thing about cooking beans from scratch is that you can adjust the sodium to meet your needs. You can always reduce the amount of salt you are using and wait to add the salt you would like to add right when serving. Feel free to also use reduced sodium options for your bouillon and adobo seasoning as you see fit.
This could be a sign that you are using older beans. You know, those beans you forgot in the back of your pantry for over a year. You can technically still cook them, but they will take much longer to cook and soften. When possible, try and restock your pantry with newer beans. You’ll have an easier time cooking them.
Once the beans cool appropriately, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you feel you can’t eat through them, definitely freeze using the instructions above!
Make It Balanced
Don’t be ashamed of enjoying familiar Caribbean foods (Dominican, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, etc.) you love! They can be incredibly nourishing meals.
- Seasonings like sofrito or sazón are loaded with nutritious ingredients like herbs, garlic, onions, and peppers, which absolutely counts towards your vegetable intake!
- Beans are high in fiber and provide filling protein to help regulate your glucose and support your gut health.
These flavorful meals become a vehicle for getting in so much nourishment, so don’t feel you need to shy away from this. From a nutrition perspective just focus on making sure that you are consuming the amount that is appropriate for your specific nutrition needs.
More Bean-spiration!
- Lime Drenched Sweet Potato Black Bean Patties
- Roasted Cauliflower Date Salad
- Charred Lemon Brothy Beans with Avocado Scallion Salsa
- Pickled Jalapeño Edamame Toast
- Chili Lime Chickpea Cauliflower Wrap
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
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Habichuelas Guisadas
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Dominican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
My favorite pot of Habichuelas Guisadas, stewed beans. Made from scratch and mixed with my favorite blend of spices and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
Beans from Scratch (feel free to skip and use 3-4, 15oz canned beans instead)
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 yellow onion, halved
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt
Sofrito (you can also use store bought)
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1/2 small green bell pepper or cubanelle pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 scallion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 bouillon cube (I used a vegan chicken bouillon or 1/2 tsp better than bouillon vegetable base)
- 1/2 tsp sazón
- Juice of 1 lime
Stewed Beans
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, diced (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3–4 tbsp sofrito
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning
- 1 cup kabocha squash or Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
- 3–4 sprigs cilantro
Instructions
- Place your dry beans in a large bowl and cover them with water by 2 inches. Allow the beans to soak for 8 hours or overnight. The beans should double in size.
- Drain and rinse your beans well then place in a large pot with fresh water to cover them by 2 inches. Add the onion halves, garlic cloves, and bay leaf then bring the pot to a low boil. Partially cover with a lid and allow the beans to cook for 30 minutes.
- Skim off any noticeable foam floating on the top then add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. If the beans are above the water line, add additional water as needed. Partially cover again and cook for another 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the beans have softened. To make sure they are cooked, test a few beans from different spots in the pot to make sure they cooked through. Remove from heat and discard the onions and bay leaf.
- To make the sofrito, add the garlic, pepper, scallion, cilantro, onion, vinegar, bouillon, sazón, lime juice, and a generous pinch of salt to a blender cup and pulse until everything is evenly minced.
- Place a separate large pot over medium low heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the onion, jalapeño, and a generous pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Add the tomato paste and sauté in the oil for 2-3 minutes to deepen the color. Pour in the sofrito and continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Transfer the beans and 4 cups of the cooking liquid to the pot. Add the squash, adobo and cilantro and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine then bring everything to simmer then partially cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes until the squash has softened.
- If you want a thicker consistency, use the back of your cooking spoon to lightly mash some of the squash and beans. Stir well then remove from heat and serve as desired.
Notes
Save time cooking! Make it semi-homemade by using 3-4, 15oz canned beans. This will help you skip the soaking and hour boil. Sauté the vegetables, tomato paste, and sofrito then add the drained and rinsed beans, water or vegetable broth, and squash and cook as instructed. Taste and adjust the salt based on your personal taste.
Ingredient prep tips. Make the sofrito ahead of time. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen in ice cube trays to use for later. My mom would often cook a really large batch of the dry beans and freeze them to use for later. This made making a batch of the beans a lot faster during a week night and it would last her through the month.
Make in the Instant Pot using the following recipe instructions.
Adjust the consistency. After the beans have cooked, I like to lightly mash some of them to help thicken the broth. Feel free to omit this step if you want looser beans or add some extra water or broth to thin out the beans to your liking.
Minimize gas. Make sure to soak your beans well, at least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse them really well then cook them in fresh water with either some epazote (a traditional Mexican herb) or a small piece of kombu (a type of seaweed). Either option helps to tenderize the beans and break down the starches that may cause bloating or discomfort.
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These beans are so delicious! Thank you for the recipe 🙂