Meaty black beans come together with pork belly and smoky kielbasa to create a nourishing and filling meal in this Black Beans with Smoked Kielbasa recipe. The perfect balance of heartiness and flavor. It’s loaded with flavor and texture, rick, smokey, filling and extremely satisfying. It’s a southern favorite and for us Latinos, a regular at our table.
A little about me and beans
As a Brazilian, I didn’t just learn how to cook beans — I grew up living and breathing them. Beans are basically our love language, our comfort food, and our daily fuel. We eat them every single day in more ways than I can count, so trust me when I say… I’ve put in the hours.
This black bean + smoked kielbasa version is one of those cozy, deeply-flavored pots that makes your whole kitchen smell like someone who really knows what they’re doing, even though it’s incredibly simple. It’s hearty, affordable, flexible, and the kind of meal that just gets better as it sits (beans have superpowers like that) or can be transformed into several other meals (more on this later)
If you’re new to cooking beans or looking to add a little extra comfort to your weekly menu, I’ve got you. And if you’re already a bean-lover, welcome to the club, we don’t gatekeep, we just eat really well.
Want more delicious homemade beans recipes?
Slow cooked beans that simmer with smoked meats and warm spices, deepen the flavor and yield a comforting, nourishing meal. Add a side of simple brown rice and grilled steak with veggies, and you’re in for an absolutely treat!
How Nutritious Are Black Beans?
Black beans are a good source of protein and fiber and are considered a complex carbohydrate so they won’t spike your blood sugar levels. Low in fat and and loaded with vitamins and minerals, if you haven’t added black beans to your diet now’s a good time to start.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe For Black Beans and Smoked Sausage
Flavorful: The flavor of this recipe really packs a punch from the seasonings, the pork belly and the sausage.
Hearty: Sausage and beans are very filling, you’ll be full for hours.
Balanced: The beans and the kielbasa are the perfect combination of protein and fiber for a balanced meal.
Versatile: use the beans in salads, soups and burritos. Perfect for freezing too!
Ingredients For This Smoked Sausage And Black Beans Recipe
- Black beans – Use dried black beans and soak them for 3+ hours or overnight.
- Water – Tap or filtered water are both good to soak the beans.
- Smoked kielbasa – Cut the smoked kielbasa into large chunks.
- Pork belly fat – Cubed pork belly fat adds loads of flavor.
- Bay leaves -Bay leaves add even more flavor.
- Tomato paste – Tomato paste adds a touch of tomato flavor and thickens up the beans.
- Olive oil – Extra virgin olive oil is best but any kind will do.
SPICES
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Smoked paprika
- Smoked maple rub
Soaking the beans
- Step 1: Empty black beans into a large bowl.
- Step 2: Fill the bowl with water, making sure to cover the beans completely with a little extra water as the beans will expand.
- Step 3: Let the beans soak for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Step 4: Once the beans are done soaking, rinse them and continue to follow the instructions for the recipe you are making.
Cooking black beans from scratch
- Step 1: Rinse beans in water and then transfer to a dutch oven.
- Step 2: Stir in water and add kielbasa, pork belly fat, bay leaves, and oil.
- Step 3: Add in the spices and stir well.
- Step 4: Cover the pot 3/4 of the way and cook on medium heat for 2 hours making sure to stir every half hour.
Tips and variations
Add even more flavor. Use chicken, beef or vegetable broth instead of the water. If possible use bone broth for additional health benefits.
Change up the spices. Use a combination of the spices or use your favorite spices.
Use a different type of sausage. Try using Andouille sausage or Bratwurst. Use bone marrow, pancetta, bacon ends and pork belly.
👉🏻 It can be tempting to cover the pot completely while the beans and kielbasa cook but leave a portion of the pot exposed so the steam can escape.
Make ahead and storage
This recipe for smoky black beans can easily be made a few days ahead of when you want to serve it. Store it in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Ways to stretch your homemade beans
Because a big pot of beans can become so much more than just dinner. Here are my favorite ways to turn one simple recipe into several wholesome, satisfying meals all week long.
If you’ve got a pot of beans simmering, you’re halfway to so many other wholesome meals! Try my Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Beans for a quick weeknight fix (can’t tell you how many times I fed this recipe to an entire hockey team!), or cozy up with this hearty Lentil Soup, or pile those beans high on Black Bean Tostadas. You can even toss them into an Autumn Kale Sweet Potato and Bean Salad or stir them into a crowd-pleasing Ground Beef Taco Dip for game night.
💡 Featured product is the Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid, color oyster white. This dutch oven is safe up to 500° F or on stovetop.
Black Beans Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black beans soaked 3+ hours
- 10 cups water
- 16 oz smoked kielbasa chunks
- 6 oz pork belly fat cubed
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Spices
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp coriander
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp smoked maple rub
Instructions
- Rinse soaked beans in cold running water then transfer to a dutch oven pot.
- Add water, kielbasa, pork belly fat, bay leaves and oil.
- Stir in all the seasoning and give it a good stir.
- Cover the pot about 3/4 of the way and cook on medium heat for 2 hours. Stir every half hour. Do not cover the pot fully.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
