Black Beans, Chimichurri, Pickled Onion, and Pistachios

A mouthwatering bowl of black beans, chimichurri, and pickled onion with cotija cheese and pistachios. #blackbeans #chimichurri @mjskitchen

Treat yourself to a hearty and healthy vegetarian meal with this bowl of black beans, chimichurri, pickled onion, and pistachios.  There is so much flavor and texture packed into this bowl of beans that you won’t miss the meat.

For the black beans, you can use canned beans for a really quick meal, or cook up a simple pot of black beans using a pressure cooker or just slow cook on the stovetop (as I do in the recipe below).  You don’t need much seasoning for the beans because the toppings with the black beans create a dynamic flavor that will have you going back for a second bowl.

Hope you enjoy!

A mouthwatering bowl of black beans, chimichurri, and pickled onion with cotija cheese and pistachios. #blackbeans #chimichurri @mjskitchen

The following recipe may seem long because of the various components to this dish.  However, each component takes a small amount of prep and both the chimichurri and the pickled onion can be made the day before.  So please don’t let the recipe scare you off.  This bowl of black beans, chimichurri and pickled onion is worth the effort. 


A mouthwatering bowl of black beans served with chimichurri sauce, pickled onion, cotija cheese (optional), and chopped pistachios.  A hearty and healthy vegetarian entree.

The cook time and instructions include cooking dried beans from scratch.  You can shorten the total time by using canned beans, making this a very quick meal.

"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.

Course: Dried Beans, Main Course, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Mexican, Southwestern

Yields: 6 servings

Recipe Author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen

Black Beans Brine

  • 2 cups dried black beans*
  • 1 Tbsp. coarsely ground sea salt
  • 6 cups water

Black Beans Cook

  • Brined Black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tsp. red chile spice blend*
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. salt or to taste

Pickled onion

  • ½ red onion, sliced lengthwise thin
  • Brine from green olives, enough to cover onion

Chimichurri (Use the link in the Kitchen Notes for the recipe)

Other toppings

  • Crumbled Cotija cheese (optional)
  • Roasted and Lightly Salted Pistachios*, coarsely chopped

Brine the Beans - 4 hours

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the water.

  2. Add the beans and let soak for 4 hours.

  3. After 4 hours, drain and rinse the beans.

  4. Transfer to a Dutch Oven or Bean pot

Pickle the onion – At least 4 hours to pickle

  1. Transfer the sliced onion into a small plastic or glass container.

  2. Cover the onion with olive brine.

  3. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use at least 4 hours.

  4. Before topping the beans with the pickled onion, separate the onion slices into strips.

Cook the beans – 1 to 1 ½ hours

  1. Add 6 cups water to the beans along with the black pepper and red chile spice blend.

  2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

  3. Cover and simmer, stirring frequently for an hour or until beans are done to your likeness.

  4. Taste. Add salt if needed.

Chimichurri – Make while the beans are cooking if you don't have it already.

    Other toppings

    1. Crumble the cotija cheese. (optional)

    2. Shelled and coarsely chopped pistachios

    To serve

    1. For each serving, place a couple of ladles of beans in a bowl. Top with few strips of pickled onion.

    2. Top each serving with 1 Tbsp. chimichurri, then a little cheese and chopped pistachios.*

    Black Beans - The best beans are made from scratch.  The process in the recipe is a stovetop method which takes about an hour.  You could shorten the time by about 30 minutes by using the pressure cooker.  To shorten it even more and eliminate the time to brine, use canned beans.  Two cans should yield 2 - 3 servings.  If you use canned beans, add the pepper and red chile spice blend then heat in a pot.  Do not drain or add salt.

    Red Chile Spice Blend - If you don't have any, you could make a batch in about 5 minutes.  Or, just use a couple of different chile powders and a touch of garlic powder.

    Chimichurri Sauce

    Toppings - You don’t need much of each topping. You want the toppings to complement the beans, not overpower them.

    Pistachios - If you don't have pistachios, substitute sweet and spicy pepitas or toasted pinon (pine nuts).

    Note:  I recently purchased 8 pounds of lightly salted and roasted pistachios from the New Mexico Pecan Company, and along with eating them daily as a snack, I’ve been adding them here and there to a few dishes.  Their contribution to this bowl of beans was quite a surprise.  Not only did they provide an additional texture, but their flavor was a nice complement to the other ingredients. 

    A mouthwatering bowl of black beans, chimichurri, and pickled onion with cotija cheese and pistachios. #blackbeans #chimichurri | mjskitchen.com

    As you probably already know, there are a lot of bean recipes in my kitchen.  To see them all, click on the category – Beans.  Below are a few of my recipes that give you a nice, tasty bowl of beans for dinner.

    Slow-cooked Red Beans

    Navy Beans, Green Chile and Corn

    Red Beans and Rice with Tasso

    Black Bean Mole



    Source: http://mjskitchen.com/2018/05/black-beans-chimichurri-pistachios/