Copycat Chipotle Black Beans
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These Copycat Chipotle Black Beans will have you making burrito bowls at your house like a pro! They’re easy to make too – just adding a few ingredients will make these beans taste so much better than black beans on their own!
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What You’ll Love About These Beans
I made a big batch of these Chipotle Beans because the leftovers are great with rice, tacos, salads and veggies all week long! If you’re just making these to put in burritos or a burrito bowl – you could cut the recipe in half and not have leftovers.
What are Chipotle Black Beans made of?
The ingredients are simple – but you might be surprised what all goes into them! The seasonings and citrus are where the flavor comes from! Here’s what you’ll need:
- canned black beans – canned are so much easier – so go with it!
- olive oil
- sweet yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- water
- spices: kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, chipotle chili powder, oregano & bay leaf
- Lime & lemon

How to make Chipotle black beans at home?
I decided to start with canned beans – it makes it a lot quicker and easier – which is necessary for me when I’m working two jobs! So this black bean recipe is simple and EASY! Here’s all there is to it:
- Add oil to a large cast iron skillet on medium-high heat
- Once oil shimmers, add onions and saute for 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally until translucent
- Add in garlic and cook 1 minute
- Add in beans, salt, cumin and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir every five minutes or so to make sure it’s not sticking
- As liquid cooks down – add water, stir and continue cooking until thickened
- Remove the bay leaf, add in lime juice & lemon juice and serve

Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Nope
Yup!
No – but if you like a kick – add more of the Chipotle Chili Powder!
The canned ones are great – but then you’ve got leftover canned peppers. You can put them in ice cube trays and freeze them. But I like using the powdered seasoning – it’s much more flexible!
There are 13 grams in my recipe, 22 g in theirs.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. If reheating a small amount, the microwave is the easiest route. If reheating a larger amount, place in a saucepan and add in water or vegetable broth to loosen them up.

What to serve with this Copycat Chipotle Black Beans recipe?
Who doesn’t love a great side dish? Here’s what goes great with these beans:
- Love After Lockup Rice Bowl
- Cilantro Lime Pork Tacos
- Carlos O’Kelly’s Enchilada de Monterrey
- Chipotle Cauliflower Rice
More Delicious Recipes with Black Beans
There are so many dishes you can add these black beans to! Here are my favorites:
More Copycat Recipes

Copycat Chipotle Black Beans
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 yellow onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 15-oz cans of black beans
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 juice from lime
- 1/2 juice from lemon
Instructions
- Add oil to a large cast iron skillet on medium heat
- Once oil shimmers, add onions and cook for 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally until translucent
- Add in garlic and cook 1 minute
- Add in beans, salt, cumin and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir every five minutes or so to make sure it's not sticking
- As liquid cooks down – add water, stir and continue cooking until thickened
- Remove the bay leaf, add in lime & lemon juice and serve
I just love, love, love your Mexican recipes!!! Anytime we crave Tex-Mex, (which is quite often! Haha!) we turn to no where else but here! Your Carlos recipes are AMAZING. and now this!!!!!! I you ever get either of Carlos’ Rice recipes or make the Sancho recipe PLEASE POST! The Enchilada de Monterrey is seriously my favorite recipe of all time! 🙂
aw thanks – i have the sancho on my list!
YAY!!!!! We loved getting the Sancho De Monterrey there!!🙌🙌 I seriously can’t thank you enough for your amazing recipes!!
Where does the lemon come in? I see half a lemon but the recipe
instructions doesn’t call for it
same time as lime juice – i fixed the recipe card -thanks
Do you drain and rinse the beans before adding to the pan?
I do not… 🙂
These are fantastic. I have tried to recreate Chipotle’s black beans before but never been quite satisfied. I didn’t change a thing and I can’t say enough good things about this dish. This recipe is a keeper !
Thanks – i’m so glad you liked it!!!!
This recipe was very easy to follow. Soooo good I will be making again! Thank you!
This is the second time I have made these beans. So good. I doubled the recipe the first time and discovered I don’t need to add the water.
It would be great if you fixed the directions. I assume you add the chipotle powder, pepper and bay leaf the same time you add the other spices. For less experienced cooks, proper directions are important.
Can I make this in a crock pot or would the beans get too mushy/soft?
I’ve made it before as directed and they are 10/10 delicious!
I definitely think you could do in a crock pot!