This Line of “Soulfully Seasoned” Vegan Beans Is Our New Quarantine Obsession

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If you’re anything like us, recent weeks have presented a challenge when it comes to cooking. With limited inventory at supermarkets and our general desire to avoid buying too many perishables, “what’s for dinner?” has morphed into an anxiety-filled question.

That’s why we’ve recently been relying on pantry staples in our daily cooking repertoire. But there are only so many days we can build a meal around bland cans of chickpeas that no amount of harissa seasoning will disguise and goopy black beans.

No more! Enter: A Dozen Cousins. The mission-driven brand was born in 2018 inspired by founder Ibraheem’s Brooklyn upbringing with his mom’s southern cooking that melded with the flavors of their neighbors’ Caribbean and Latin American backgrounds. The result? A line of slow-simmered beans from traditional African American and Latino recipes that come pre-seasoned in microwaveable pouches. (You can also pour the beans from the bag into a pot and heat them on the stove.)

Currently, they’re available in three flavors: Cuban Black Beans, Mexican Cowboy Beans, and Trinidadian Chickpea Curry with a suggested retail price of $24.99 for a six-pack of 10 ounce bags.

With six-to-eight grams of satiating protein per serving, these beans also work magic in warding off the late-night stir-crazy hunger pangs. (We’re looking forward to the day when our eating routines return to normal and that 10 p.m. PB&J is a thing of the past.)

A Dozen Cousins Beans in Bowl
A Dozen Cousins

All the non-GMO, plant-based beans use ingredients like avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, fenugreek, ginger powder, and other high-quality spices—ensuring its a meal that not only tastes good, but an ingredient list you can feel good about.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to chop up some mango, cook up some brown rice, grab our Dozen Cousin black beans, and get ready for that pre-PB&J dinner.