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Growing up in Miami, Fl has given me a healthy love of Cuban food. Moros is a personal favorite of mine, and will always be my side dish of choice when dining at a Cuban restaurant. Moros, short for moros y cristianos, is a dish in which rice is cooked with black beans, and gets its name from the wars between the dark skinned Moors (moros) and the light skinned Spaniards (cristianos) from the Eighth Century.
Before owning an Instant Pot, all of my previous attempts at cooking beans had always ended in failure. I tried all of the tips and tricks that I got online or from word of mouth, and nothing yielded me a tender bean. I only ever successfully made moros using canned black beans, and it just was never the same as what I would get in the restaurants. Now, nine months after getting my pot, I’m cooking all sorts of beans and not once has there been a failure. I finally set out to reconfigure my moros recipe to use dried beans, and it has been a huge success.
You will start by cooking the beans. Add the beans, bay leaves, ham hock, chunked green pepper, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and some salt to the pot. Pour in a quart of chicken stock, then seal and cook for 20 minutes at high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally. While this is happening, you can prep the rest of your ingredients.
When the beans are done, drain them (save the bean liquid) and discard the bay leaves and green pepper. If you used a meaty ham hock, remove the meat from the bone and chop it up for later use. Wash and dry your pot liner and return to the pot.
Set the pressure cooker to Saute (Browning) function, then adjust to the highest setting. When it’s ready, add the bacon and cook until it is brown and crispy. Take the bacon out of the pot (leave the fat), set aside, and then add the onions and peppers in with the bacon fat. When they start to soften, add the garlic and seasonings, and cook until fragrant. Add your vinegar. Add enough water to the bean liquid to make 3 cups of liquid, then add that to the pot. Adjust seasoning as needed, then stir in the washed rice and the beans. Cover, seal, then switch the pot to the Rice setting and cook. When the cooking cycle is done, allow the pressure to release naturally.
Fluff your finished moros with a fork, then stir in the bacon. If you have any meat from your ham hock, add that as well.
You can serve moros as a side dish for your favorite Cuban entrees, such as lechon asado, palomilla steak, or masas de puerco. However, this moros is so hearty and flavorful that it can easily stand alone as a meal. The jalapeno adds a nice punch to the flavor profile, but feel free to leave it out for a mild version.
This recipe makes a LOT, so it’s great for large families, parties, or make-ahead freezer meals. Leftovers reheat great!
Moros (Cuban-style Black Beans and Rice)
Ingredients
- 1 green pepper, cut into large chunks
- 1 cup diced green pepper
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- 2 cups diced onion
- 10 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
- 1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any stones
- 1 quart chicken stock or broth
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 4 slices thick bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed and finely chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 cups long grain white rice, rinsed
Directions
In the liner of the pressure cooker, add the dried beans, chunked green pepper, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tsp salt, bay leaves, and ham hock. Pour in the chicken stock, then seal and cook on Manual (high pressure) for 20 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid, then set aside along with the ham hock (remove meat from bone and chop up) and discard the bay leaves and green pepper pieces. Wash and dry the pressure cooker liner, then return to the pot.
Set the pot to Saute (Browning). When ready, add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and set aside. In the hot bacon fat that’s still in the pot, saute the diced onions, diced green peppers, diced red peppers, and chopped jalapeno (if using) until softened. Add the remaining garlic, oregano, cumin, , salt and pepper, stirring until fragrant. Add the vinegar. Take the reserved bean liquid and add enough water to make 3 cups of liquid total. Add this to the pot, then stir. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. You will want it to taste over-seasoned, because it will mellow out once you add the rice.
Add the rinsed rice and cooked beans, then stir to combine. Seal the pot once more and switch to the Rice setting, allowing pressure to release naturally after the cooking cycle is complete. Uncover, fluff rice with fork, and stir in the crispy bacon and chopped meat from the ham hock. Serve hot.
Makes about 5 quarts.
October 3, 2017 at 6:14 pm
You say to discard green pepper pieces, but later you add them, can you clarify this confusion
October 3, 2017 at 9:28 pm
Hello Connie!
If you look at the ingredients, there are two green peppers used. There is one green pepper that is cut into large chunks and another green pepper that is diced. The green pepper that’s cut into large chunks goes into the pot with the dried beans and is then discarded when the beans are cooked. The green pepper that is diced goes into the saute with the remaining veggies before adding the rice.
Hope this helps!
December 19, 2017 at 6:08 pm
How big is your pressure cooker? Also, I wonder if it would work if I halved the recipe
December 20, 2017 at 9:39 am
Hello, Jessica!
I have a 6qt Pressure Cooker. I don’t think it will be a problem if you only make half a batch.
Hope this helps!
July 1, 2018 at 7:37 pm
Made this today without meat or chicken stock.
Next time I will need to add more water when the rice goes in.
The flavor was perfection!!
Thank you for figuring out the recipe for the IP.
I never liked black beans and rice until we went to Key West 2 yrs. ago and they were served with everything. So I tried them and they were all so flavorful- yours are better!
July 1, 2018 at 10:44 pm
Hi Kathy!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe. You are right that not everyone knows how to make them flavorful!
April 5, 2020 at 7:02 pm
Moros tend to be drier than normal rice in general, unless the rice is not cooked fully, in which case add more water.
December 18, 2018 at 9:51 pm
Your recipe looks fantastic. Question. Whats the difference between your recipe of Moros (Cuban-style Black Beans and Rice) and Arroz Congri (Cuban Rice And Black Beans)? Are they the same?
December 19, 2018 at 8:07 am
Hello donell1000!
Whether they are the same thing or different is actually a subject of much debate. Growing up, I was taught that Moros is the one with black beans and Congri is the same dish except made with RED beans. Here in Miami, a lot of Cuban restaurants use the term interchangeably to refer to the black beans version, though.
A few years ago, a Cuban coworker (moved to the US when he was 9) said that NO, this is untrue. The difference between Moros and Congri is in the preparation. With one, you cook the rice and the beans together. With the other, you start with rice that is already cooked before adding your beans and cooking again (similar to Central American gallo pinto).
As you can see, I don’t have a solid answer to your question, as the answer will change depending on who you speak to. But, chances are that what you have been calling Congri and my recipe for Moros are one and the same. 🙂
December 19, 2018 at 10:15 pm
Thanks for the lesson (-.-).
January 25, 2019 at 12:23 pm
This is now my Moros y Chrisianos recipe. It was a lot of work, but worth every moment. I made a half batch and IMHO got it right the very first time.
January 25, 2019 at 12:49 pm
Tokind thank you so much for visiting my blog. I am so glad you enjoyed the moros! You’re right, there are a lot of steps involved, which is why I normally make the full batch and then just freeze the leftovers. But oh, the payoff is so worth it!
To cut down on prep time, sometimes I will dice my veggies and bacon the day before.
April 20, 2019 at 11:29 am
jalapeños ? – I am Cuban… definitely no jalapeños in any Cuban dish.
April 20, 2019 at 7:03 pm
Hello Carlos.
Thank for you commenting on my recipe. The jalapeño is listed as optional in the recipe specifically because it’s not traditionally found in the dish. I enjoy the subtle kick that it gives, and I did get blessings from my Cuban friends before adding it in there and they like it too. 🙂
December 22, 2021 at 3:05 pm
Hi. Did you soak the dried beans overnight in water before adding to instant pot? Thank you.
December 20, 2020 at 1:37 am
How many cups of rice? I saw it says to save 3 cups of liquid for the beans but how much of the rice
December 20, 2020 at 1:09 pm
Hello Linda! The recipe ingredients list 3 cups of washed rice. Hope this helps! 🙂
January 25, 2021 at 4:12 pm
I’m excited to make this for my husband and I—thank you for sharing! My pressure cooker doesn’t have a rice setting though, so how long would I need to cook it in there for it to be fully cooked and ready to serve?
March 1, 2021 at 9:54 am
Hello Elle,
So sorry for the late reply.
The Rice setting on my Instant Pot is 12 mins on Low Pressure, so you can use that as your guide for how long to cook your rice. 🙂
July 25, 2023 at 6:57 pm
I made this 5 years ago for my brother in law’s annual Cuban-style pig roast. It was such a hit that now I’m always asked, “You’re bringing your black beans and rice dish again, I hope?”
The 2nd year, I decided to make a vegan version in addition to this recipe so everyone in our group could find something to eat at the party. The meat eaters in the group did a blind taste test and couldn’t tell the difference between the 2 versions.
Here’s how to veganize it:
Replace the ham hock with
¼ tsp liquid smoke
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 Tbs smoked paprika
And omit the bacon
My household eats meat so I keep it simple & use what I have on hand. You could add tempeh, if that’s your thing, but the vegans at our parties day it doesn’t need it. Everybody fight over who gets to take home the leftovers, and everyone wants a copy of the recipe.
The vegan version has become my go-to contribution for pot lucks. It’s the easiest, tastiest thing ever, and without animal ingredients, everybody can eat (including those who are gluten free!) and everybody feels included, which is really important to me.
August 26, 2023 at 1:02 pm
I am so glad that you all enjoyed it!