Easy Mayan Black Beans

One of the older McDougall recipes, one that was included in more than one book, newsletter, and the McDougall Made Irresistable DVD, is Easy Mayan Black Beans. It's really quick to pull together, even faster to heat.

Easy Mayan Black Beans

This is one of those simple, 5 ingredient recipes that is so easy to put together, yet it has
a delicious, hearty flavor. This will serve 2 people when used as a topping for baked
potatoes or rolled up in a tortilla. It is also wonderful served over sliced, baked polenta
and topped with some mango salsa.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2

1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh salsa: mild, medium, or hot
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Place all the ingredients except the cilantro in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the
cilantro, if desired, let rest for 1 minute and serve.

Hint: To serve over baked polenta, buy a tube of precooked polenta in the supermarket
or natural food store. Be sure to check the ingredients carefully-no diary products or oils
added. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. This may
also be grilled on a non-stick griddle. These beans also make a wonderful topping for
brown rice, or for a simple recipe variation, add about 3/4 cup of cooked brown rice to the
bean mixture about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. This recipe adapts
well to precooking: double the recipe, cook ahead of time, refrigerate half for use within
the next 2 days, freezing the remainder for later use.


I've seen this recipe for years but never made it. I figured I had enough black bean recipes already, so why bother, right?

Well, I bothered.

First off, I made a double batch. One can of beans for two people? Puh-lease! The only 2 ingredients I didn't double were the polenta and cilantro.

I'm not a fan of cilantro. It smells funny and tastes weird. Some have said it tastes soapy. I don't get that flavor, but something that's a cross between mint and a chemical smell. I figured a quarter cup for the double batch will go just fine.

I've used one tube of polenta for an entire meal a number of times and knew it would enough. If we have any leftover beans we'll eat them over Yukon Golds or rice for lunch.

No idea why this uploaded sideways. It's in portrait mode on my computer.

If you see, the topping salsa is not plain mango but a mango peach one. The polenta isn't plain corn but one with basil and garlic. The sodium is a little higher than Jeff Novick's guidelines, but Dr. McDougall doesn't worry as much about sodium as Jeff does, and it does taste great, even plain. I always toast up my polenta slices on a non-stick griddle, especially in this heat (94 outside right now, 82 in the kitchen). The bean mixture itself can even be heated in a microwave.

It was. . . nice. Nothing special, hardly worth a blog post. I've even made meals very similar to this without the cilantro many times. But I hadn't tried any new recipes in a while and this poor old blog was feeling a bit lonely. 

I'm planning on some more of those older McDougall recipes in the near future, so be prepared for more frequent posts, I hope. When it's this hot out, nobody feels like cooking OR eating hot foods.