5 Inventive Meals To Make Out Of Beans And Rice

As far as stock foods go, it's tough to find cheaper, relatively healthier staples than beans and rice. While the thought of eating either as side dishes isn't very exciting, creative cooks can combine the two into interesting meals.

WiseBread offers these dishes you can craft from beans and rice:

* Korean pancakes. These gluten-free munchies work well as a snack or main dish.

* Soup. Pintos and brown rice meld together nicely in slurpable form.

* Burrito bowls. Cut those carb-toting tortillas out of the equation to enjoy the innards of your burrito without a wrap.

* Salad. Here's a recipe for a salsa, black beans and rice salad. Salsa can make boring things taste spectacular.

* Sticky rice balls. Beans go well with this Thai recipe for sticky rice balls, which just begs for a Saturday Night Live NPR parody featuring Alec Baldwin.

25 Tasty Ways to Enjoy Beans and Rice [WiseBread]