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    BLANK » Recipe Index » Main Entree

    Vegan Black Bean Curry (Instant Pot or Stove Top Option)

    Last Updated January 8, 2023. Published January 7, 2020 By Charla 16 Comments

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    A vegan style one pot curry that's great for weeknights or meal prep days
    A vegan style one pot curry that's great for weeknights or prep days

    This curry recipe made from highly nutritious black beans and it is so fragrant, tasty and super filling. It's a low carb plant based dish made with coconut milk, carrots, spinach, green beans, pepper bells and pairs well with cauliflower rice. A versatile recipe that can be made on the stovetop or pressure cooker!

    Black bean on a plate with cauliflower rice

    Another curry recipe? Yes, that's right! I'm totally in love with plant based curries right now. They are nutritious, very very filling and darn right tasty, if you pair it with the right balance of ingredients.

    No slow cooker is needed for this recipe, just some black beans and a sturdy stove top and you are good to go!

    Although, this recipe isn't exclusively Caribbean let me explain where my love for legumes comes from.

    Growing up in a Caribbean household legumes (or pea's as we call them) were a dietary staple.

    There wasn't a week that went by without consuming "peas" because they constitute the Jamaican Sunday dinner (rice and peas).

    For me "peas" play a crucial role in my upbringing and not something I could ever remove from my lifestyle.

    As a blogger I've learnt to embrace different types of legumes from pinto to kidney beans. They all have there rightful place in Charla's world.

    Before I go into discussing the recipe to hand, let's talk about dried black beans. While dried beans are a pain in the butt because they take forever to cook, on the plus side they are incredibly affordable.

    I consume a lot of legumes so as a result I simply cook a large batch and freeze them down.

    That way I have some to hand when I want to make a curry and not have to go through the process of soaking, simmer and waiting around for them to cook.

    To keep this recipe low carb I love to serve it with some Jamaican Steamed Cabbage or Herb Cauliflower Rice.

    Black beans in pot

    How To Cook Dry Black Beans

    First of all you want to soak the beans and rinse the beans, several times if possible. Legumes contain fibre and complex sugars that cannot be digested which can be problematic for people with digestive issues.

    Resulting in gas, cramps and/or bloating. You can reduce the impact of the aforementioned by soaking the beans overnight for at least 2-3 hours.

    How Much Dried Beans Do You Need?

    The beans double in size therefore only 1 cup is needed. This is about the equivalent to what a can of beans tends to be.

    Instant pot - Use about 4 cups of water to top the beans with and simply set on high pressure, seal the valve and adjust the cooking time to 20 minutes. Once the beans have cooked allow to unit to do a natural release which takes 15 minutes.

    Stove top - conventional way, but slightly longer. Bring a medium sized saucepan (filled half way) to a boil reduce then simmer for up to an hour. The beans will be soft and tender when cooked, keep an eye on the water levels and top up if needed.

    Pressure cooker - Fill the pressure cooker by half, make sure the valve is seal, bring the cooker to the boil then reduce to medium and pressure cook for 25 minutes.

    Tools That You May Need

    Casserole pot - I personally prefer to cook most of my dishes in these types of pots now because I find the height of them allow me to accommodate more liquid and vegetables hassle free.

    Dried black beans - affordable, bulk buy lasts for a long time

    Freezer friendly containers - A great way to store any leftover cooked curry.

    Chopping boards 

    Spoonula (spatula/spoon)

    How To Make Vegan Black Bean Curry

    Steps 1-2 saute onion, garlic, scallion and vegetables

    • Pour the oil into a frying pan/casserole pot on medium heat
    • Saute the onion, garlic and scallion until translucent and soft
    • Once soften, add the ginger, bell peppers, green beans and carrot and combine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring throughout the given time.

    steps 3-4 adding tomatoes and spices with thyme

    • Pour in the passata (tomato) then season with curry powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, parsley, thyme and salt
    • Steps 5-6 beans and coconut milk
    • Add the beans, coconut milk , water, spinach and chilli then give a final stir.

    Steps 7-8 adding spinach and chilli

    • Bring the pan/pot to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes.
    • Serve accordingly

    How To Make This Curry In An Instant Pot.

    • Switch the instant pot unit on and select "saute" then pour the oil into the inner pot
    • Saute the onion, garlic and scallion until translucent and soft and then "cancel" the saute option so the rest of the ingredient cook using the residual heat.
    • Now add the ginger, bell peppers, green beans and carrots.
    • Pour in the passata (tomato) then season with curry powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, parsley, thyme and salt
    • Switch on the unit again and select "saute" and cook the vegetables for 5 minutes
    • Add the black beans, coconut milk, spinach and chilli
    • cancel the "saute" option and adjust to high pressure time using the "+/-" button for 20 minutes.
    • Allow the unit to come to pressure which takes several minutes then leave to cook for the stated time
    • Once the unit has indicted that the curry is cooked leave for a natural release which takes about 10-15 minutes.

    Notes and tips

    • Cooked beans are handy and time saving, see recipe on how to best prepare them.
    • The curry isn't overly hot, but feel free to leave out the chilli if you don't want any heat.
    • I used ¼ of a birds eye chilli, use whatever fresh chilli you can get hold of
    • If you cannot obtain fresh ingredients then use dried, the recipe card shows how much you will need instead.
    • If you cannot get hold of coconut milk simply use coconut yoghurt instead.
    • To reduce the calories even lower, use light coconut milk instead.
    • This recipe is freezer friendly so freeze in containers for up to a month or refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
    • The curry will thicken up as it cooks especially towards the end of cooking. If the curry is sticking in the pan or too thick, add a splash of water to loosen it up.

    Plate of beans with cauliflower rice

    Other Legume Recipes You May Like

    • Vegan Caribbean Plantain Curry
    • Refried Gungo Peas
    • Caribbean Curried Butter Beans
    • Belizean Inspired Stew Beans
    • Pigeon Pea Caribbean Salad
    • Caribbean Potato Curry
    • Red Pea Soup
    • Cuban Black Beans (Frijoles Negros)

    **Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends on and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find amazing recipes.**

    Black bean on a plate with cauliflower rice

    Vegan Black Bean Curry

    This delicious vegan black bean curry is so tasty and can be made in either the instant pot or stove top.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Entree
    Cuisine: Asian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
    Servings: 4 -6 servings
    Calories: 286kcal
    Author: Charla

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups of cooked black beans or 2 cans drained or 1 cup of uncooked, see recipe post
    • 1 can of coconut milk 400ml
    • 1 cup of  water 250ml(don't add this water if cooking in the instant pot)
    • 2 large carrots sliced and halved
    • 1 red bell pepper
    • 1 yellow bell pepper
    • 1 green bell pepper
    • ½ cup green beans chopped (45g)
    • 1 cup spinach tightly packed(30g)
    • 1 medium onion chopped
    • 4 garlic cloves minced
    • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger grated
    • 2 scallion sliced
    • 1 tablespoon curry powder heaping
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ cup passata tomato puree(125ml)
    • 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley chopped (or dried)
    • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme 1 tablespoon dried
    • 3 tablespoon of coconut oil
    • 1 teaspoon of himalayan pink salt or to taste
    • ¼ of bird eye chilli finely chopped (or ⅛ teaspoon of dried/flaked  chilli)

    Instructions

    • Pour the oil into a frying pan/casserole pot on medium heat
    • Saute the onion, garlic and scallion until translucent and soft
    • Once soften, add the ginger, bell peppers, green beans and carrot and combine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring throughout the given time.
    • Pour in the passata (tomato) then season with curry powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, parsley, thyme and salt
    • Add the beans, coconut milk , water, spinach and chilli then give a final stir.
    • Bring the pan/pot to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer on medium heat for 40-45 minutes.
    • Serve accordingly

    Notes

    • Cooked beans are handy and time saving, see recipe on how to best prepare them.
    • The curry isn't overly hot, but feel free to leave out the chilli if you don't want any heat.
    • I used ¼ of a birds eye chilli, use whatever fresh chilli you can get hold of
    • If you cannot obtain fresh ingredients then use dried, the recipe card shows how much you will need instead.
    • If you cannot get hold of coconut milk simply use coconut yoghurt instead
    • To reduce the calories even lower, use light coconut milk instead
    • This recipe is freezer friendly so freeze in containers for up to a month or refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
    • The curry will thicken up as it cooks especially towards the end of cooking. If the curry is sticking in the pan or too thick, add a splash of water to loosen it up.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 630mg | Potassium: 892mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 7607IU | Vitamin C: 133mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ThatGirlCooksHealthy or tag #ThatGirlCooksHealthy!
    « Herb Cauliflower Rice
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    About Charla

    I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nova

      November 17, 2022 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      I loved it. I used some red curry paste and it was good too. Thanks for the recepie

      Reply
      • Charla

        November 17, 2022 at 1:29 pm

        Yay! Thanks for the positive feedback Nova.

        Reply
    2. Kieran

      December 06, 2020 at 1:39 am

      5 stars
      It was delish! Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Charla

        December 06, 2020 at 8:18 am

        Thanks Kieran. Another happy tummy and you are most welcome.

        Reply
    3. Cynthia

      June 15, 2020 at 2:21 am

      I’m using dried black beans and an instant pot. Do I cook the black beans prior to making this recipe?

      Reply
      • Charla

        June 15, 2020 at 6:55 am

        No. there's a paragraph in the post entitled "how to make this curry in an instant pot" you need to follow those instructions to cook the recipe in the instant pot.

        Reply
    4. Katie

      March 11, 2020 at 2:41 pm

      5 stars
      My family would go crazy for this. Can't wait to try it!

      Reply
      • Charla

        March 11, 2020 at 3:26 pm

        I hope you enjoy it Katie

        Reply
    5. Jessica Formicola

      March 11, 2020 at 2:28 pm

      5 stars
      I'm so glad there is an Instant Pot and stovetop version! We will definitely be trying this for dinner this week!

      Reply
      • Charla

        March 11, 2020 at 3:26 pm

        Thanks Jessica. I'm trying my best to be diverse with my recipes.

        Reply
    6. Dannii

      March 11, 2020 at 2:03 pm

      5 stars
      We love an easy bean curry and this black bean version looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Charla

        March 11, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        Thanks Dannii

        Reply
    7. Aimee Mars

      March 11, 2020 at 1:33 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely LOVE black beans! I think I want to make this for next week's meal prep and eat this delicious recipe for lunch. It will be the highlight of my day.

      Reply
      • Charla

        March 11, 2020 at 1:34 pm

        Thank you Aimee. I truly hope this dish makes next week's meal prep

        Reply
    8. Danielle Wolter

      March 11, 2020 at 12:06 pm

      5 stars
      This curry was incredible! The flavors were spot on and I just love that you used black beans!

      Reply
      • Charla

        March 11, 2020 at 1:06 pm

        I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe Danielle

        Reply

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    I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes. Learn more about me

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