All the Things With Beans

Remember when I bought that 50 pound bag of black beans? If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the picture I posted with what looked like a sack of dog food. Well, we finally finished it off. (To be transparent, we slowed our consumption of black beans considerably as other foods became available, especially as I tired of eating black beans in my lunch salads every day). But we sure made a ton of things with that 50 pound bag of beans. I tried to record all the recipes we completed, but probably missed a few, so without further adieu, the list we have:

Entrees and mains:

Barbecue black bean pizza (Budget Bytes)

BBQ bean sliders (Budget Bytes)

*BBQ black bean tacos (She Likes Food)

*Beef and black bean tacos (Budget Bytes)

Black bean pasta bowl (Ready Set Eat)

*Brown Rice Burrito Bowls With Spicy Black Beans and Onions (Parade)

Dr. McDougall's black bean sloppy joes (Brand New Vegan)

*5-Ingredient vegetarian black bean and spinach enchiladas (Work Week Lunch)

Guinness chicken tacos (The Kitchen Paper)

Instant Pot black bean burrito bowls (Running with Spoons)

*Instant Pot black beans and rice (Cozy Peach Kitchen)

*Instant Pot black bean tacos with avocado crema (With Two Spoons)

Instant Pot cheesy enchilada rice (365 Days of Slow Cooking)

Instant Pot Mexican black beans and rice (365 Days of Slow Cooking)

Instant Pot Mexican quinoa (Cook with Manali, Project Meal Plan)

Loaded mashed potato bowls (Budget Bytes)

Mexican beef skillet (Fit Foodie Finds)

*One pot vegetarian chili mac (Budget Bytes)

Poor man's burrito bowls (Budget Bytes)

Pumpkin quesadillas with black beans and green chiles (She Likes Food)

Roasted sweet potato, black bean and lime rice bowls (This Wife Cooks)

Sheet pan sweet potato nachos (Bucket List Tummy)

Southwestern Black bean pasta salad (She Wears Many Hats)

Southwestern pot pie (Kitchen Stewardship)

Spicy bean and rice burritos (Key Ingredient)

Sweet potato and black bean enchiladas (Bowl of Delicious)

Sweet potato and black bean tacos (with honey and lime) (Cooking Classy)

Sweet potato black bean quesadillas (Well Plated by Erin)

Taco pasta salad (Brown Vegan)

*Taco stuffed sweet potatoes (Running with Spoons)

Vegan bean burgers (Detoxinista)

Vegan tacos with quinoa taco meat (My Crazy Good Life)

Side dishes:

"Baked" black beans (Ready Set Eat)

*Cowboy caviar (Budget Bytes)

Snacks and desserts:

Black bean brownie batter dip (Shaped by Charlotte)

*Flourless chocolate blender muffins (Chocolate Covered Katie)

(See my riff on the recipe here.)

Soups:

*Instant Pot black bean soup (The Food Network Kitchen)

Pressure-cooker black bean soup (Taste of Home)

Smoky chicken and butternut squash chili (Parade)

Spicy black bean soup with cilantro crema (Food and Wine)

Vegan black bean soup (Vegan Richa)

Uses for just plain beans:

-As filler in recipes (to stretch meat)

-As pizza topping

-In chicken and rice bowls
-In salads

-In dinner wraps (with fresh pico de gallo and sour cream)

-To give away (Yes, we did some of this, too!)

-As decoration (My husband has a cup of beans to hold all of his pencils and pens at his desk.)

*I noted recipes that we repeated, or were worth re-peating with an asterisk. We could probably make a lot more recipes with black beans, but after 50 pounds, we might take a break, at least a little one.

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Any recipes you would like to try from this list? Do you have any favorite black bean dishes? Please feel free to share in the comments section.

The Best Snack Ever

You all know I like oatmeal, and chocolate, and nighttime snack. But I've got a new recipe for you, one I've been making every week since we got that 50 pound bag of black beans. Simple, satisfying, sweet, but sugar free? This snack checks all the boxes. Don't knock it until you try it. Fudgy. Chocolate-y. Just right!

(Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie's Flourless Chocolate Blender Muffins)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c cooked black beans

1/3 c old-fashioned or quick oats

2/3 c unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c cocoa powder

1/4 c peanut butter

1 t vanilla

3/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/8 t baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. (I prefer to use coconut oil.)

2. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until mostly smooth. (There may be some lack of uniformity.)

3. Divide into 10 muffin cups and bake 20 minutes.

4. Remove muffin tins from the oven and let cool on baking racks.

5. Remove muffins and refrigerate until ready to eat.

*These muffins can also be frozen and thawed for later enjoyment.