Comforting Bean Bake

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45-60 minutes Serves: 4

At the time of writing, we’re presently in a nation-wide lock down, and we have a LOT of beans on hand—and not much else. This meal is inexpensive, tremendously satisfying, easy to assemble, and makes heavy use of ingredients we’re all likely to have readily available. Beans are both satiating and comforting, and this meal delivers!

Plus, we’ve been obsessed with mustard lately.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 15.5 oz black beans, rinsed (or one standard can)
  • 15.5 oz pinto beans, rinsed (or one standard can)
  • 15.5 oz kidney beans, rinsed (or one standard can)
  • 1 diced onion
  • ½ cup barbecue sauce (store bought, or use additional ingredients below)
  • 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard (or preferred variety)
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 cloves minced garlic (or 2 tsp garlic powder)
  • 1 tsp chipotle chili pepper (if you don’t have it, add ½ tsp cayenne and chili powder)
  • 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
  • For the Spicy Barbecue Sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • ¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot (or other hot sauce)
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or apple cider)
  • 1 tbsp molasses (or maple syrup if preferred)
  • ½ tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp chili powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°.
  2. Put on water and bring to a boil and add rice. Here you can add the optional teaspoon of turmeric. This will produce a fragrant, yellow rice, and is an easy way to add a bit more turmeric to your life! After the rice is added, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking mostly covered.
  3. If you are making your own barbecue sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients in a small container or measuring cup. Otherwise you can skip this step.
  4. After rinsing the beans, put them in casserole dish and combine them with the barbecue sauce, the diced onion and garlic, the mustard, and the maple syrup. Thoroughly mix until the beans are completely coated.
  5. Cook the beans for about 45 minutes to one hour. Most of the liquid should have cooked out of the bottom of the container.
  6. When the rice is done cooking, leave it covered with about ten minutes, and then combine the rice and beans.
  7. Enjoy!

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