Rick Bayless: What is Epazote and How to Use it

A few tips (and a recipe) for your Epazote.

🍃 What is it? A pungently flavored cooked herb, typically with black beans, but also with a wide variety of sauces in all but west-central and northern Mexico.

🔎 Where can you find it?: In some Mexican groceries, growing wild in many places, cultivated in your own garden.

🤔 Choosing: In Mexican groceries, epazote can be rather wilted. It will still be good for cooking.

📌 Storage: Once picked, store epazote in the refrigerator, in a glass with water, as you would cut flowers, loosely covered with a plastic bag; or in the refrigerator, rolled in a very lightly dampened towel, in a plastic bag.

RECIPE ⬇️ ⬇️ Black Beans Cooked with Epazote in an Electric Pressure Cooker (like an Instant Pot)**

Pour your dried black beans into the pot of your pressure cooker. Whatever their volume, add twice that much water. A few slices of onion and a spoonful of lard or bacon drippings add deliciousness. A big sprig or two of epazote add the classic flavor of black beans you’ll find throughout central, southern and southeastern Mexico. For 2 cups of dried beans (about 12 ounces), you’ll need 4 cups water, a small sliced onion, about 2 tablespoons lard or bacon drippings and 1 or 2 sprigs of epazote. Beans are very rarely soaked in Mexico

Pressure cook on high for 1 hour. If time allows, let the pressure release naturally. Uncover, turn the electric pressure cooker to slow-cook or simmer, and season the beans with salt. (The above quantity needs a generous teaspoon.) The beans should be tender; but if they’re not, simmer them on the “sauté” setting for 15 minutes or so to finish the cooking. Two cups of dried beans will give you 6 cups of soupy beans.

[fathersonandskillet]

One thing you didn't mention is that epazote will help reduce the amount of intestinal gas that beans give you. That's a reason to love it right there.

[gaffpearce]

I just went to my Mexican grocery and bought some fresh epazote, black beans, white onion and made these delicious black beans! OMG, they were the best beans I have ever made. If you like beans give this recipe a try! Easy, simple, and delicious food. I waiting to see if the epazote works with gas...
UPDATE: Not scientific but, the beans taste much better on day two and beyond and I have had VERY LITTLE GAS! I have had had bowls of beans, black bean quesadillas, and black beans in tacos with no bloating or discomfort. From now on, epazote will go in all my beans. Thank you Chef Bayless for this wonderful, simple recipe!

[marthavillegas]

In Mexico City we use epazote a lot, we use it on chilaquiles, mole of olla, quesadillas, etc, etc. Thanks for this series Rick.

[luro]

I learned from my husband how to make a delicious soup using this herb. It's an authentic soup from the Andean region of Cajamarca, Peru. It's usually eaten for breakfast. This is how it's made: Take a bunch of well washed epazote and blend it with about 1 to 2 cups of water until smooth. Set aside. Mash or shred some garlic and also set aside. Chop some peeled off potatoes and boil with salt to taste. When potatoes are soft, crack some eggs into the boiling pot and cook until done. Add the garlic and turn off the heat. Wait until it stops boiling to add the epazote juice. Soup is ready. You can serve it with avocados and fresh cheese if desire but this is optional. I personally like to add some shredded ginger at the end but this is my own note. Some people also make this soup using different herbs or a combination of them. You can experiment with cilantro, parsley, mint, spearmint, ruda, etc but the authentic soup is made with epazote. I don't measure anything. Just add ingredients to your personal preference or needs. You will either hate or love this soup. I love it!

[brittonparnell]

Love epazote in beans. It adds a dimension that you just cannot mimic. One of my favorite seasons was when I was just learning about epazote many years ago, and a stray plant of it just popped up in my backyard. So good!

[kat]

We are loving the grocery trip series Rick. Thanku for keeping us on our toes. 😉

[nbgirl]

Epazote is such an underrated herb. I wish more stores would carry it!

[sevenandthelittlestmew]

We use epazote in green pozole. It adds a really clean, herbal flavor that balances really nicely with the tomatillo, cilantro, lime and chiles. good! We have grown it in containers in the back yard here in Texas.

[equinoxshadow]

I have tried cooking beans in an Instant Pot, Lid-on stove top pot and Lid-off stove top pot.
So far, Lid-off cooking of beans with a slow simmer is my favorite. I have to add some hot water once an hour and it does take a long time, but the payoff is a great tasting concentrated dark broth.

[elpicacho]

Thanks Rick for talking about Epazote I like it in chilaquiles, caldo rojos frijoles de holla, frijoles payanados en las quesadillas de flor de calabaza y también las quesadillas de requezon .

[ginacosby]

Thank you, chef Rick, for decoding the secrets of the great Mexican Cuisine for us. Blessings to you and your family.

[maryrancourt]

Epazote also is easy to grow and reseeds itself in my zone 5b garden.

[heathersumner]

I have seen people use epazote and I finally found and purchased seeds. Good timing for this topic!!

[lisstyler]

Rick, you are such a treasure! I have been watching you for a long time. I love the grocery store tips.

[lalac]

Im from Durango, like Rick said we dont use this ingredient in our cooking but because Rick recomends it i will give it a try. Te amo Rick eres mi gringo favorito

[c.cookies]

Epazote and culantro were forgotten herbs up until recently. I'd love to get a tutorial on the difference on culantro vs cilantro along with some recipes

[LaMaiStyle]

Do a more in depth grocery video‼️👍Showing what is available to make Mexican food. Beginners like me don’t know what ingredients to use in a local grocery store.

[sandromayers]

Hola señor!
I love the fact that you said " you could turn them into FRIED beans by FRYING them..." and not 'you could REFRIED them'. Many people would say you could refried them. There's a difference between fried and refried.

[zihuanena]

As kids (1of5) my mom served us frijoles de la olla (beans from the pot/bean soup) topped with freshly chopped onions, cilantro, jalapeño and optional crema, sour cream or mayo. Yum 😋

[chuctanundaspiderbone]

Why don't they soak the beans in Mexico? Because the beans you get in Mexico haven't sat around in a warehouse for three years before they get to your local grocery store. If you are in a place like Oaxaca, you can shop in the market, and not a grocery store chain, & the lady who sold the beans to you likely grew them too, or someone she knows did, and they were likely recently harvested & come from close by. I used to live in Miahuatlan de Porfirio Diaz, and the Monday market was the highlight of my week. But I never learned enough to take full advantage of the bounty there. Literal pyramids of food, much of which I'd never seen before. Thanks, Rick for sharing your deep knowledge about Mexican cooking, & presenting it in a clear, simple & fun way. You take the mystery out of preparing Mexican food. Simple things like how to cook beans properly & how to use the Epazote, makes all the difference.