Name: One Pot Dominican Rice with Beans (Moro)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Dominican
Ingredients: 2 Cups of Extra Long Grain White Rice; 3 Tbsp Neutral Oil, plus more for drizzling; 1 Can Black Beans, drain most of the liquid out; 2 Heaping Tbsp of Sofrito; 1 Tsp Ground Cumin; 1 Tsp Dried Oregano; 2 Tsp Adobo*; 1 Tsp Tomato Paste; 2 3/4 Cups of Water or Stock; Kosher Salt, to taste

This One Pot Dominican Rice with Beans is a hearty delicious rice dish, packed with so much flavor, it’ll surely be your fave new staple!

Moro also known as Dominican rice with beans is a one pot side dish typically made on special occasions and holidays. I say typically because we make this whenever the craving hits. Moro is also not to be confused with Locrio, thats also a one pot rice dish but made with meat.

This recipe can be made with any bean. You’ve probably seen it with Gandules (green pigeon peas) the most but black beans are my fave so chances are if I’m making moro its going to be moro de habichula negra.. One pot rice with black beans:-)

brown rice with beans in a gray pot with a gray spoon sticking out of it

Mise En Place

Lets round up our equipment and ingredients to make this One Pot Dominican Rice with Beans.

Equipment:

Mesh strainer to rinse the rice
Can opener to open the can of beans
Large pot with lid to cook rice in
Stirring spoon, safe to use on whatever pot you’re using.

Ingredients:

Extra Long Grain Rice – the grains are slim and long and by far the easiest cooking grain. When cooked the grains stay fluffy and stay separate.
Black Beans – canned is convenient and no need to completely drain it. Always buy sodium free whenever possible.
Sofrito – a multi-purpose seasoning/marinade and the first step in building flavor.
Cumin – ground cumin is earthy with a twinge of citrus. It goes really well with the black beans.
Dominican Oregano – darker in color than regular oregano and has a more savory pungent flavor. You can sub any oregano you have in its place.
Adobo – a powdered seasoning made up of turmeric, garlic, onion, and salt. There are lots of brands out there, most can be found in any supermarket. My fave brand is Loisa.
Tomato Paste – adds depth of flavor and helps with the coloring of the rice.
Stock or water – rice needs liquid to cook and if you’re presented with an opportunity to add flavor, do so and pick stock over water.
Kosher Salt – salt coaxes out flavor, don’t be afraid to use it.
Veg. Oil – used to cook the sofrito and provides the necessary slippage for the rice

grains of rice, mesh strainer, black beans in a bowl, green liquid in a bowl, oil in a small bowl, tomato paste in a smaller bowl, all in a gray blue surface

Lets make One Pot Dominican Rice with Beans!

This rice is super easy to make. It all starts with sofrito, the building block of flavor. We heat the sofrito over medium heat to release its water and intensify the flavor. It’s ready when it resembles wet paste. The spices and tomato paste is next. The heat of the pan helps to toast the spices and tomato paste and wakes it up. It doesn’t have to toast long, a minute is fine. Next we add the beans with some of the canning liquid. Stir to coat the beans in all the flavor we built, followed by the rice, stock or water. Now taste it! The rice water should be slightly salty. No the rice will not be salty, trust me 😉 After all that the lid goes back on and the rice continues to cook. After about 18ish minutes remove the lid and add a healthy drizzle of oil on the surface of the rice and stir it in, lid goes right back on. Turn off the heat and let it steam this way for about 10 minutes.. thats it! your done!

Not making it today…Prep it.

We have two prepping opportunities here:

Make a batch of sofrito ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 weeks or in the freezer (use ice cube trays) for up to 6 months
Open the beans and transfer the contents to a pint or quart container. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.