Black beans (cooked) vs White rice (cooked)

The short answer

This is a pair, not a contest. On their own, rice and black beans each have an incomplete amino-acid profile; eaten together they complete each other into a full protein. The table shows what each brings — rice the light starch, beans the protein and fibre — but the point is they belong together, not that you choose one over the other.

Black beans (cooked) and White rice (cooked), per 100 g and per portion. A gap means USDA has no value for it — not zero.

	Black beans (cooked) · per 100 g	White rice (cooked) · per 100 g
Calories	132	130
Protein	8.9 g	2.7 g
Fat	0.5 g	0.3 g
Carbs	23.7 g	28.2 g
Fiber	8.7 g	0.4 g
Sugars	0.3 g	0.1 g
Sodium	1 mg	1 mg
Vitamins & minerals — where both carry data
Calcium	27 mg	10 mg
Folate	149 µg	58 µg
Iron	2.1 mg	1.2 mg
Magnesium	70 mg	12 mg
Niacin	0.5 mg	1.5 mg
Phosphorus	140 mg	43 mg
Potassium	355 mg	35 mg
Riboflavin	0.1 mg	0 mg
Thiamin	0.2 mg	0.2 mg
Vitamin A	0 µg	0 µg
Vitamin B12	0 µg	0 µg
Vitamin B6	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Vitamin C	0 mg	0 mg
Vitamin D	0 µg	0 µg
Vitamin E	0.9 mg	0 mg
Vitamin K	3.3 µg	0 µg
Zinc	1.1 mg	0.5 mg

At equal calories (per 100 kcal)

Protein — Black beans (cooked): 6.7 g, White rice (cooked): 2.1 g · Fiber — Black beans (cooked): 6.6 g, White rice (cooked): 0.3 g · Sodium — Black beans (cooked): 0.8 mg, White rice (cooked): 0.8 mg

Generic USDA foods (not brands), so both carry micronutrients. Numbers are per 100 g unless the portion toggle is on. USDA FoodData Central, as of 2026-08-12.

Common questions

Is Black beans (cooked) or White rice (cooked) better?

Neither is “better” on its own — it depends what you want from it. The table shows where each is higher; the short answer says when each one fits. Compare on the same basis (per 100 g) and pick for your dish and your goal.

How were these numbers worked out?

Straight from USDA FoodData Central for the generic form of each food, per 100 g. We show the portion view too, but portion sizes differ between foods, so per 100 g is the fair comparison.

Why does one column say “no data”?

Because USDA has no value for that nutrient in that food — so we leave it blank rather than print a 0 that would read as “none”. A real zero from USDA still shows as 0.