I make some version of this rice and beans recipe at least once a week. It uses two of my favorite kitchen tools — a sheet pan and my Instant Pot. This dish is healthy, inexpensive, and easily adaptable to what you have on hand in the fridge. I like to make large batches, then portion the leftovers into containers to bring to the office for lunch.

Like almost all of my weeknight go-to recipes, this is more of a framework than a true recipe. Use whatever rice and beans you have on hand and whatever veggies you have available. In the summer, I add tomatoes. In the spring, I add asparagus — you get the idea. For this recipe, the rice and beans are topped with roasted peppers, radishes, and shallots. Yum!

If you have spoken to me about home cooking, I have probably talked about the Instant Pot. Your favorite stovetop method will work if you don’t have one, but if you do, I encourage you to use it! I have tried many methods of cooking rice and beans in my Instant Pot, but this method from 101 Cookbooks using a double pot-in-pot (or PIP) is the best. It requires two containers that will stack, but it is totally worth it. 

Also, for this recipe, I love those adorable mini sweet peppers. If you can’t find them in your grocery store, any bell pepper cut into large strips will work!

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Weeknight Dinner: Rice, Beans, and Roasted Veggies

Like almost all of my weeknight go-to recipes, this is more of a framework than a true recipe. Use whatever beans you have on hand and whatever veggies you have available. In the summer, I add tomatoes. In the spring, I add asparagus — you get the idea.

Course Main Course

Type American

Servings 4 servings

What You'll Need

• 1 cup dried black beans soaked 4-6 hours or overnight
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 lb mini sweet peppers halved
• 8-10 radishes quartered or halved (depending on size)
• 2-3 shallots cut into ½ inch pieces
• 3-4 scallions sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: spices and seasonings of your choice Wildcard!

What to Do

For the rice and beans:

1. Place the rice and beans in separate, oven-safe or stainless steel bowls that can stack on top of each other
2. To the bowl with the rice, and salt and pepper to taste, spices of your choice, and an equal amount of water to rice (i.e. for 1 cup of rice, add 1 cup of water).
3. Don’t add anything else to the bowl with the beans (Yes, really.)
4. Add 1-2 cups of water to the inner pot. Place a trivet in the bottom. Stack the bowls on top of each other.
5. Secure the lid and ensure the valve is set to “Sealing”. Using the Manual setting on High Pressure, set the timer to 22 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes (confession: I get impatient and sometimes only wait 5).

For the veggies:

1. While the rice and beans are doing their thing, toss the veggies in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and any spices you like. Arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Giving the veggies enough room is important - use two sheet pans if you need to.
2. Roast in an oven preheated to 375°F until they are cooked to your liking. I like the vegetables to have some blackened edges, and it took about 25 minutes, tossing them halfway through.

Put it together:

1. Combine all of the components in a bowl, and top with the sliced scallions. If you’re putting some into containers for lunches, allow to cool slightly before putting the lid on your container. The rice bowls will keep in the fridge up to 4 days.