Beans and soy

Black beans nutrition, and what the pan changes.

Weigh out 1 cup of boiled black beans and you are looking at 227 calories, with 15 g of protein inside them. Specifically, this is the USDA record “Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt”. Preparation shifts it more than most tables admit, from 91 calories per 100 g at the low end to 341 at the top. Choose how much you are eating and the panel does the arithmetic from there.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Drawn from USDA FoodData Central, FDC 173735, 173734, 175188. No account, no upload, percentages against FDA Daily Values.

Black beans calories by portion

USDA puts 1 cup of boiled black beans at 227 calories and 100 g at 132. Other household measures follow, each with its weighed gram figure.

Black beans and its protein content

Protein in 1 cup of boiled black beans comes to 15 g. Against the 50 g Daily Value, that covers 30 percent. 27 percent of the calories here are protein: a supporting role, and a decent one.

Energy-wise, protein contributes 26 percent, fat 4 percent and carbohydrate 70 percent, which makes it mostly a carbohydrate.

How preparation changes black beans

Go from canned to raw and 100 g of black beans climbs from 91 to 341 calories. That 275 percent rise is down to cooking water soaked up by the dry ingredient.

The table holds the weight constant at 172 g, which leaves the preparation as the single variable.

Choosing and cooking black beans

These small, oval legumes have deep black skins and cream-coloured flesh. You will find them sold dry in bags or cooked in cans. When buying dry, look for smooth, shiny skins without wrinkling or cracks. Avoid bags containing lots of dust or broken pieces, which suggest old stock that will cook unevenly.

Simmering dry black beans gently yields a rich, dark broth and tender textures. Hard boiling splits their skins and makes them mushy. The most common mistake is adding salt or acidic ingredients like tomatoes too early. This toughens the skins, meaning the beans will remain hard despite a very long simmer.

These beans suit many Latin American and Caribbean dishes, often paired with rice, coriander, and lime. In Chinese cooking, fermented black beans offer a pungent, salty depth to stir-fries. Stew them with garlic and cumin, or mash them into cakes to fry in a hot pan.

Black beans: the full nutrient profile

What 1 cup of boiled black beans supplies most of: 64 percent of a day’s folate, 35 percent of a day’s thiamin, 29 percent of a day’s magnesium. All rows below respond to the serving you chose.

Black beans packs 8.7 g of fibre into 100 g, covering 31 percent of what the label rules call a day’s worth.

Black beans against a daily budget

1 cup of boiled black beans uses 11 percent of a 2,000 calorie day and returns 30 percent of the protein reference. Your own budget is probably not 2,000; the TDEE calculator works it out, and the macro calculator splits it into protein, carbs and fat.

Three recipes built around black beans

These are the Calorie Counter Team’s recipes for black beans. Their nutrition panels are arithmetic: ingredient weights multiplied through USDA records, divided by servings.

Lunch · Mediterranean

Black Bean and Cucumber Salad

A cold salad of black beans, cucumber and feta cheese tossed with olive oil and lime juice.

10 min · serves 2

317kcal

15gprotein

15gfat

33gcarbs

Ingredients

• Canned black beans, drained 240 g
• Cucumber 150 g
• Feta cheese 60 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Lime juice 15 g
• Salt 2 g

Method

1. Rinse the black beans in cold water and drain them thoroughly.
2. Cut the cucumber into one-centimetre cubes and crumble the feta cheese.
3. Combine the black beans, cucumber, feta cheese, olive oil, lime juice and salt in a bowl.
4. Mix the ingredients gently with a spoon until evenly coated.

6 USDA records went into this total. It describes the ingredients as weighed, not the dish after cooking losses.

Dinner · Mexican-style

Spiced Black Bean Soup

A warm, blended soup made with black beans, onions, garlic and ground cumin.

25 min · serves 2

319kcal

16gprotein

8.1gfat

48gcarbs

Ingredients

• Canned black beans 480 g
• Vegetable stock 350 g
• Onion 110 g
• Olive oil 14 g
• Garlic 6 g
• Ground cumin 2 g
• Salt 3 g

Method

1. Chop the onion and mince the garlic.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for five minutes.
3. Add the black beans, vegetable stock, ground cumin and salt to the saucepan.
4. Simmer the mixture on low heat for ten minutes.
5. Puree half of the soup in a blender and stir it back into the pan to thicken.

Nutrition per serving, calculated across 7 USDA ingredient records. Expect small differences once cooked.

Breakfast · American

Black Bean and Potato Hash

A pan-fried breakfast hash of potatoes, black beans and red peppers served with fried eggs.

30 min · serves 2

482kcal

20gprotein

20gfat

58gcarbs

Ingredients

• Potatoes 300 g
• Canned black beans, drained 240 g
• Red bell pepper 100 g
• Olive oil 28 g
• Large eggs 100 g
• Salt 3 g

Method

1. Cut the potatoes and red bell pepper into one-centimetre cubes.
2. Heat half of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the potatoes for twelve minutes.
3. Add the red bell pepper and drained black beans to the pan and cook for six minutes.
4. Season the mixture with the salt and transfer it to a warm plate.
5. Fry the eggs in the remaining olive oil in the same pan and serve on top of the hash.

6 USDA records went into this total. It describes the ingredients as weighed, not the dish after cooking losses.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

A plate built around black beans

To see how black beans adds up in a meal, here it is beside two ordinary companions, all three from USDA figures.

Black beans against other beans and soy

Compared gram for gram, with the form of each food stated. Follow any link for that food’s full page.

Black beans: common questions

How many calories does 1 cup of boiled black beans have?

USDA measures 1 cup of boiled black beans at 227 calories, or 132 calories for each 100 g. The record used is “Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt” (FDC 173735).

How much protein does black beans have?

You get 15 g from 1 cup of boiled black beans, equal to 30 percent of the daily reference amount; 100 g holds 8.9 g.

Does cooking change the calories in black beans?

The weight stays the same but the number moves. 172 g of black beans is 157 calories canned, rising to 587 raw.

Is black beans good for weight loss?

That depends on the rest of the day, not on black beans. For planning: 1 cup of boiled black beans is 227 calories and 15 g of protein, 27 percent protein by energy, so pair it with something that carries more protein.

Should I soak dry black beans before cooking them?

Soaking is optional but recommended. It shortens the simmer time and helps the beans cook more evenly. If you omit this step, the beans will still soften, but you must simmer them for much longer.

Why does the cooking water turn black when boiling these beans?

The dark pigments in the bean skins dissolve easily in water during cooking. This dark liquid is full of savoury flavour and is often kept to thicken stews or colour the accompanying rice.

Sources

• Beans, black, mature seeds, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173734
• Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173735
• Beans, black turtle, mature seeds, canned — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 175188
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9