Yes, the rumors are true, rice is my love language. Spoken like a true Cuban girl. Ha!
I love rice and always make it a point to make homemade recipes with rice as often as I can. Now, if you haven’t had rice with black beans, you don’t know what you’re missing!
Congri or Moros y Cristianos (depending on how you call it) is my favorite Cuban rice side dish. *heart eyes emoji*
What is Moros y Cristianos?
First things first, please don’t confuse this dish with arroz con frijoles which is classic Cuban rice and beans that are cooked separately.
Moros y Cristianos is a flavorful Cuban rice dish made with black beans that are cooked together with white rice, spices, and BACON. Yep, you heard right – BACON!
My mom is undefeated in making this moros rice recipe. Then again, I’m biased.
Arroz Congri vs Moro Rice: What’s the Difference?
Ok, here’s the deal. There’s always been quite the debate when it comes to congri and moros y cristianos. Trust me, I get DMs and emails about it all the time.
Congri [pronounced kon-gree] is made with red beans while Moros y Cristianos [pronounced moe-roes-e-chris-tee-anos] is made with black beans.
But depending on where you were born, you’d call it congri whereas, in other parts of Cuba, you’d call it moros. The names are switched depending on where you lived or how your family called it while growing up.
For example, I grew up knowing and enjoying this dish as congri which to me was black beans cooked with white rice. That’s how my family always called this dish so that’s what stuck and that’s why this post is titled the way it is (Google likes it too).
I know that triggers some of you based on the emails I’ve received so for the rest of this post, I’ll call this recipe moros however if you’re like me and still call it congri, I won’t be mad.
How To Make this Moros y Cristianos
- First, make bacon! In a Dutch oven, add bacon slices and fry until fully cooked and crispy. Do not discard the bacon fat. Transfer the bacon slices to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Set aside.
- Sauté the sofrito. In the same Dutch oven with the bacon fat, add chopped green peppers and chopped onions. Sauté for about 3 minutes then add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Make the moros. Add rice, canned beans with the liquid, water, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 40 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. The steam is what cooks the rice.
- Fluff the rice. After 40 minutes, remove from heat. Keep the lid on for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Fold in the bacon. Using a sharp knife, chop up the bacon into bite-size pieces and fold it into the rice.
Why are my Moros lighter in color?
If you follow the recipe exactly as it is below, the Moros y Cristianos will be lighter in color.
If you’d like your Moros y Cristianos darker (like the photos in this post), I recommend you use dried beans instead of canned beans.
How To Make Moros with Dry Black Beans Instead of Canned Beans
To make this recipe with dry black beans, you have to soften the beans overnight before starting this recipe.
Here’s how to soften dry black beans for the moros.
- Soak 6 ounces of dry black beans in a pot full of 3 cups of water overnight.
- The next day, drain and then add 5 new cups of water to the pot.
- Bring to a boil and cook them for 60 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful not to let the beans dry out completely.
- You can add 1 cup of water if they are absorbing the water too quickly. Keep an eye on them. You can remove a few beans from the pot and squish them with the back of a spoon to make sure they have softened.
- After softening the beans for 60 minutes, transfer them to a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of its cooking liquid. Set aside.
- Continue making the Moros in step 3 of the recipe following the ingredients exactly as they are stated in the Moros recipe using the softened black beans with their reserved liquid in place of the canned beans.
What do Moros taste like?
The great thing about Moros y Cristianos is that the black beans take on the flavor of the spices and aromatics while the rice takes on the flavor of the black beans.
Together they make a flavorful Cuban rice dish that I’m sure will become a staple in your home!
You can serve moros with vaca frita de pollo, lechon asado, and maduros.
Moros y Cristianos/Arroz Congri (Cuban Black Beans + Rice)
Ingredients
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon (save the bacon fat!)
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 15 ounces canned black beans*
- 1 1/2 cups water (if using dry black beans, see note below)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cuban Roast Pork
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, add bacon slices and fry until fully cooked and crispy. Do not discard the bacon fat. Transfer the bacon slices to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Roughly chop them and set aside.
- In the same Dutch oven with the bacon fat, add green peppers and onions. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add rice, black beans with the liquid from the can (if using dry black beans, see note below), water, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 40 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. The steam is what cooks the rice.
- After 40 minutes, remove from heat. Keep the lid on for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork then stir in the chopped bacon. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Soak 6 ounces of dry black beans in a pot full of 3 cups of water overnight.
- The next day, drain and then add 5 new cups of water to the pot.
- Bring to a boil and cook them for 60 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful not to let the beans dry out completely.
- You can add 1 cup of water if they are absorbing the water too quickly. Keep an eye on them. You can remove a few beans from the pot and squish them with the back of a spoon to make sure they have softened.
- After softening the beans for 60 minutes, transfer them to a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of its cooking liquid. Set aside.
- Continue making the Moros in step 3 of the recipe following the ingredients exactly as they are stated in the Moros recipe using the softened black beans with their reserved liquid in place of the canned beans.
Amanda Loughran says
If using dry beans that you’ve soaked/cooked instead of canned, should you be adding extra liquid to the recipe, to replace the liquid from the can?
Jamie Silva says
Hi Amanda, after soaking the dry black beans overnight, you need to drain and then add 5 new cups of water to the pot the following day. You then bring the pot to a boil and cook them for 60 minutes, stirring frequently, being careful not to let the beans dry out completely. You can add 1 cup of water if they are absorbing the water too quickly. Make sure to keep an eye on them. After softening them for 60 minutes, drain and transfer to a bowl then continue the recipe in step 3 using the now softened beans instead of the canned beans as it states in the recipe. Hope this helps!
Kristen Zajac says
Absolutely delish! It looks like mashed potatoes included in your photograph. Is it yucca, or mashed cauliflower? Thanks!
Jamie Silva says
Yuca! You can find the Yuca con Mojo recipe here!
Betty says
Made the congrí and came out delicious. Cooked the bacon and the sofrito in a pot and once done placed all ingredients in the rice cooker…. Thanks
Jamie Silva says
So happy you loved it, Betty!
Ash says
This was delicious, thank you for the recipe! All I had was turkey bacon, so I used that and added in some coconut oil to sauté the congri.
Jamie Silva says
Happy you loved it, Ash! :)
April says
Could this be made a day ahead of time and reheated?
Jamie Silva says
Yes, you can!
Belen says
I made this but not sure how it resembles the picture as the rice doesnt seem to have the pepper or onions in it. Do you cook the rice with them and then remove it when serving? confused on that, any feedback would be great!
Jamie Silva says
Hi! I always cook the rice with veggies however I typically finely dice them. That’s just my preference. How did it taste??
Gerri says
I cooked this for the first time this past weekend. For some reason, my rice was way too mushy. I love the “individual” grains and I don’t know what happened. I did use canned beans because it was a last minute decision to try the recipe. Next time will use dry beans. But I never had this happen to the rice before. Any suggestions?
Jamie Silva says
Hi Gerri! The moros are supposed to be more on the fluffy, moist side. If it’s wet, mushy, it may have cooked for too long or not rinsed through enough. If you’re looking for a dry, grainy consistency, you can try using less water or try using dry black beans that are softened overnight. Happy cooking!
Gerri says
Thank you, will definitely give it another try.
Linda Martinez Rosario says
I call it congri too! That is how I was raised and I can’t imagine calling it anything else!
Jamie Silva says
Yessss!! Thank you!
Sandra says
My mom used to make it, and I so miss it! I’ll have to try it! Sounds really easy and good! I too grew up calling it Congri
Jamie Silva says
Yes!! Glad to know I’m not alone in calling it congri Ha! Thank you!
Graciela C Jones says
Can’t wait to try it.
Lazaro Alvarez says
Thank you. It will help me cook for my AMERICAN family.
Joele Luder says
I followed this to a “T” and it did not come out like the picture. The rice was still whitish. Did I use the wrong black beans? What could I have done wrong?
Maria says
Hi Joele!
I’m Puerto Rican not Cuban but I think I can help you out with this recipe because I’ve made it several times and its identical to my Puerto Rican red bean rice recipe. I don’t see anyone getting the dark color you’re seeking using canned beans. Try cooking with bagged beans instead. You will get a darker bean liquid which is necessary for the color you want. Buen Provecho!