Preserving ingredients through pickling, salting, drying, and smoking has led to some of the most promising culinary breakthroughs throughout history. In this, black beans are no different.
Hailing from Central and South America over 7,000 years ago, this starchy item has been a favorite in many exotic recipes. Although its skin is satiny black, its flesh is white and soft.
It’s often used as a more flavorful substitute to regular kidney beans, which are often bland. The unique salty taste, intense aroma, and iconic appearance has allowed it to become famous all over the world.
By canning black beans, it has become possible to ship high-quality beans to different parts of the globe. Their flavors are preserved and they are perfectly ready to be used for cooking at any time. In this regard, the five canned black beans you’ll find here are definitely worthy of consideration if you are looking for some you can include in your dish today.
Best Canned Black Beans Comparison & Rating
Image | Canned Black Beans | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 95% | |
| 92% | |
| 91% | |
| 89% | |
| 88% |
Want to Learn More?
Before you decide which canned black beans to buy, you might want to find out more about the best options available. This is to make sure that you will absolutely enjoy the canned black beans that you would get for your kitchen. Also, be sure to click the yellow buttons below to see their best deals on Amazon! With that, here are five of the best options that we rounded up especially for you.
Eden Organic Black Beans
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 12.1 x 9 x 4.5 inches |
Weight | 1.16 pounds |
Main Ingredients | Organic Black, Turtle Beans, Water, and Kombu Seaweed |
Package | 12 cans |
This is an incredibly healthy option for black beans enthusiasts. Because it doesn’t come with salt, those who have health concerns regarding sodium can still eat it. Thanks to the use of kombu as a replacement, you can also use this for making Japanese dishes. The flavor is still there, though much lighter than you would expect from regular canned black beans. More importantly, that distinct umami flavor is also more pronounced thanks to the seaweed.
S&W Organic Black Beans
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 12.6 x 6.1 x 4.84 inches |
Weight | 8.7 pounds |
Main Ingredients | Organic Prepared Black Beans, Water, Sea Salt |
Package | 8 cans |
This is a prime example of what a high-quality canned black bean product is supposed to be. The flavors are preserved nicely, even after several months. The texture still retains a bit of firmness, which is perfect for stir-fries. You can also count on the aroma to be thick and pungent, just the way it should be. Once added to savory dishes, you won’t even need to add much salt.
BUSH'S BEST Organic Beans
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 12.15 x 9 x 4.5 inches |
Weight | 1 pound |
Main Ingredients | Prepared Organic Black Beans, Water, and Sea Salt |
Package | 12 cans |
You are going to love using these canned black beans for your soups and stews that require a more exotic touch. The texture and flavor can absolutely enhance the savoriness of certain dishes. You can make the most of this product with more acidic recipes that have a bit of spiciness, as well. The unique taste and aroma simply roll around in your mouth for that exquisite experience. Try this next time you make a burrito and see the difference.
Goya Black Bean Soup
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 2.7 x 2.9 x 4.3 inches |
Weight | 1.15 pounds |
Main Ingredients | Black Beans, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Water, Tomato Paste, Onion, and Bell Pepper |
Package | One 15 oz can |
For those who like their soup to be intensely flavorful, this is the canned black beans to get. You are going to enjoy just how filling this canned good can be. Just open it up, pour the contents into a pot, and heat it up. There is no need to add seasonings unless you want extra flavors and aromas. If you don’t want to eat this as soup, you can drain the liquids and then toss it into a frying pan with some noodles or rice.
Goya Black Beans - Delicious Frijoles Negros
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 12 x 5 x 6 inches |
Weight | 7.7 pounds |
Main Ingredients | Black Beans, Water, Salt |
Package | 8 cans |
This is a pretty good deal if you are looking to buy canned black beans in bulk. The flavor of the legumes are perfect for less intense dishes where you only require additional texture and taste. The black beans themselves retain their forms and look excellent for garnish. As a side dish, you can pair this with some savory or sweet food items. Fry the beans up and you can even munch on them while drinking with friends!
Canned Black Beans Buyer's Guide
There are actually different varieties of black beans, with the black turtle type being the most common. However, you are also going to find others like domino, black magic, blackhawk, condor, and raven. Their differences are pretty much negligible and it’s really just a matter of where they come from and what they look like. So it wouldn’t really matter all that much even if you do end up with the other varieties.
Canned black beans can differ in the size of the cans, as well. You can typically rely on the most common ones to be around 15 ounces or so, but there are those that are going to be bigger or small. In fact, there are preserved black beans that are sold in a packet. There are going to be some differences in them, though, particularly in the taste and texture department.
Since it would not make sense for you to buy a single can of black beans online, you would naturally need to do so in bulk. Your options can range from two to 30 or more. Unless you are running a food business that uses black beans as the main ingredient, though, you might want to stick to the smaller packages. Even if these beans can last for years, they still have expiration dates.
Thanks to globalization, black beans are now grown literally everywhere in the world where the climate suits the legume. As such, you can expect that there are going to be differences in how they are going to taste, smell, look, and even feel in your mouth depending on where they come from. After all, those factors are affected by things like the soil quality, the weather, the elevation, and more.
Though the main ingredient of regular canned black beans is the black beans themselves, they would typically come with other substances, as well. Salt and water are the basics, but they can also include flavorings of some kind if the canned good is meant for a more specific purpose. Black bean soup, for example, can contain ingredients like carrots and onions along with the intact black beans.
FAQs
There is no avoiding the distinctions that occur when comparing the taste of freshly cooked black beans versus black beans that have been canned. However, many brands of canned black beans are excellent in how they seal in the flavor and texture of this wonderful ingredient. The mixture of flavorings and liquids also plays a role in ensuring that canned black beans will taste good, even after a while.
Canned beans are great for a lot of dishes that hail from pretty much every part of the world. They can be used with spring rolls, with Mexican food, with a wide variety of super savory dishes, especially those that come from Asian cultures. They can fulfill any role, as well, from being the main attraction to a side dish to a simple garnish. You could even find several noodle recipes that emphasize the use of black beans.
They are both good but in different ways. There is no denying that dried black beans tend to have a more earthly and concentrated flavor compared to the milder, softer taste of canned black beans. This makes dried black beans perfect for certain dishes, especially the fermented kind while canned black beans are more suited to wet cooking like soups and stews.
It depends on what you are looking for. There are several options with regard to the canned black beans in the market, with pertinent details including their origins, their ingredients, and even what they are used for. Some products only contained cooked black beans that are submerged in water and salt. Others are canned dishes with black beans as the main ingredient like soup or puree.