Low Calorie Main Dish Vegetarian

Chipotle Black Beans with Mexican Rice

June 5, 2014

I do the happy dance when I find recipes for my favorite foods, but that are healthier versions. It’s like having your cake and eating it, too! I love beans and rice, especially when I can swirl them with a dollop of creamy, cool sour cream. When I go to Mexican restaurants and the combo comes with only one, it’s the toughest decision deciding between the two. I really could just eat a large plate with both and call it dinner. Now you see why I was so giddy when I tried Chipotle Black Beans with Mexican Rice. It’s a healthier version than what you’ll find in restaurants, but with some major flavor twists.

Chipotle Black Beans with Mexican Rice

So, how’s it taste?

I gotta tell you I was nervous about this one. It’s kind of a lot to put together, although worth it for all the flavor. The rice starts in a skillet and then finishes cooking in the oven, which was what made me worry. It took forever to cook. There’s a homemade tomato sauce that goes in both the rice and beans and it’s really thin. I didn’t think the rice would ever soak up all that moisture. Next time I’ll cook the rice in a saucepan and forget the oven part. Same with the beans in that I thought they’d be super runny and never thicken, but they eventually did. Even though the cooking had me a little flustered, I knew the flavor would be outstanding. The rice is cooked with the simple tomato sauce, garlic, jalapeño, broth, and tomato paste. The beans get their big flavor from more of the homemade tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, and chipotles. Both went together so well and of course, I topped my servings with sour cream! A bit of cilantro brightens the dish, too.

This is another great recipe that comes from the Everyday Healthy ebook. I’ve really enjoyed every dish I’ve made from it so far. I have found a few tweaks here and there to the calorie count, but mostly to my benefit. For instance, this recipe is four servings, but it’s way too much food that way. I easily got six out of this recipe, so that lowered the calorie count. There’s so much variety in the type of dishes, I can’t wait to try more. If you’d like to get the recipe for this dish or the Pra Ram Long Song, check out Everyday Healthy. You can view the full recipe I adapted for Moroccan Salad with Cilantro Orange Dressing for a sample. Happy healthy eating!

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  • danielle June 5, 2014 at 10:44 am

    I just posted a rice and lentils recipe where I declared my love for rice and beans as well. Youre dish sounds perfect to me.

  • Natalie @ Tastes Lovely June 5, 2014 at 11:05 am

    Oh how I love Mexican food! You sure know how to cook recipes I love Leah! I feel like a real food blogger because I just bought my first can of chipotle peppers for a marinade. They are delicious, and I was thinking I need to find more recipes to use up the extras. You read my mind!

    • Leah Short June 5, 2014 at 1:17 pm

      OMG the flavor from that adobo sauce that the chipotles are in is life-changing. So so good!

  • Olivia June 5, 2014 at 11:55 am

    I love everything about this dish. I wish I could have that for lunch today. Looks very delicious 😉

    • Leah Short June 5, 2014 at 1:16 pm

      Thanks Olivia!

  • Isadora @ she likes food June 5, 2014 at 3:05 pm

    I could live on beans and rice! I might want a few corn chips to dip into them though 🙂 I hate having to just choose one, you really can’t have one without the other! Your beans and rice looks so good and so flavorful!

    • Leah Short June 5, 2014 at 3:22 pm

      Agree on the corn chips!

  • Lolly July 12, 2014 at 7:48 am

    Read your blog. Clicked on the link and no recipe. I prefer blogs where you actually do have the recipe. A lot of search time wasted. Do you have a recipe?

    • Leah Short July 12, 2014 at 8:47 am

      Hi Lolly, thanks for your comment. Most of my posts do include a recipe, however if you actually read the post you’d learn that this recipe comes from an eBook “Everyday Healthy.” If you’d like the recipe, get the eBook.