Muy Bueno: Fiestas 
Frijoles Charros (Cowboy Beans) + Video
Beans, beans, the magical fruit – the more you eat, the more you…want more!
I think it’s amazing that simple pinto beans can be transformed into so many dishes. The purest and simplest pinto beans are beans from the pot, Frijoles de la Olla. Cook them in beer and add bacon and they become Borracho Beans, or add a few extra ingredients like chorizo, hotdog slices, ham, chicharrón (pork rinds), and it becomes a hearty dish called Frijoles Charros.
I always looked forward to family summer cookouts growing up because someone was always sure to contribute this Northern Mexican dish.
To be honest, I am not a fan of too many extra ingredients and I wanted to share a recipe where the beans are the star of the show. These frijoles charros are flavored with smoky bacon, onions, garlic, fire roasted diced tomatoes, and jalapeño slices.
This recipe can be made in a slow cooker, in a dutch oven on the stovetop, or in a magical Instant Pot. It is the ideal potluck or cookout dish to make – it’s inexpensive, easy to make, and extremely delicious.
When trying to develop a recipe I found a recipe by Rick Bayless that is perfect, so rather than reinventing the wheel I am sharing his recipe.
After the beans are cooked he adds two cups of beans and liquid in the blender to puree and adds them back to the pot of beans giving them a creamier consistency. I had never done that before, but really loved the texture and highly recommend it.
While the beans were simmering I was reminded of my grandmas’ kitchen – she always had a pot of beans on the stovetop and sour cream on her kitchen table. I used to love smothering a warm corn tortilla with sour cream and sprinkle it with salt. I’d roll it up tight like a mini burrito and eat it with a steaming bowl of freshly made beans.
Sure, you can serve these beans as a side-dish, but eating a warm bowl of beans like soup is a comforting meal and oh so heavenly.
Watch this video to see how simple these Frijoles Charros are made.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Large Pot, Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
- Colander
- Skillet
DO YOU HAVE TO SOAK DRIED BEANS BEFORE COOKING THEM?
No, not necessarily, but I like to soak for at least one hour to ensure beans are clean. Put the beans in a pot, cover with water by two inches and let them soak for an hour or overnight. Drain, rinse and proceed with your recipe.
HOW TO STORE COOKED BEANS
Beans can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and also freeze well in these plastic containers.
How to make Frijoles Charros in a slow cooker
(scroll down for detailed recipe)
- Measure out the beans. Spread the beans over your counter so you can look for beans that are broken, discolored, or shriveled and remove them. There will also be small stones or pebbles that should be sorted out of the beans during this phase. Discard all of the undesirable pieces.
- Place beans in a colander. Rinse the beans thoroughly with cool water.
- In a removable insert of a 6-quart slow cooker (or a large 10-inch skillet if your slow cooker does not have a stove-top safe insert) set over medium heat, cook the bacon several minutes, stirring regularly, until bacon starts to brown and renders its fat. Add the onion and cook until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeños and cook until the garlic begins to brown and is fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and cook another minute.
- Fit the insert into the slow cooker (or transfer the mixture from the skillet to the slow cooker) and add the beans, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 7 cups of water. Cover and turn the slow cooker to high. Your beans will be done in 3 to 4 hours, though you can hold them for longer.
- When ready to serve, remove 2 cups of the beans and process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the smooth beans back to pot and stir in the cilantro. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve.
No Slow Cooker?
(scroll down for detailed recipe)
- Follow the directions for cooking the bacon, onion, garlic, chiles and tomatoes in a medium-large (4- to 6-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven) over medium-high. Add the beans, salt, and 10 cups water. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to medium-low and cook the beans at a gentle simmer, partially covered, until thoroughly tender, about 2 hours. (You’ll find it necessary to add water from time to time to ensure that the level of liquid remains about the same.) Finish the recipe as directed above.
I want beans made in 30 minutes! Cook them in an Instant Pot.
(scroll down for detailed recipe)
OTHER DELICIOUS PINTO BEAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:
If you love these easy and delicious Frijoles Charros, be sure to check out some of my other favorite pinto bean recipes below.
Frijoles Charros (Cowboy Beans)
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 slices thick cut bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium white onion, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice , (preferably fire-roasted)
- 1 pound dried pinto beans, about 2 1/2 cups
- Salt
- 1 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Measure out the beans. Spread the beans over your counter so you can look for beans that are broken, discolored, or shriveled and remove them. There will also be small stones or pebbles that should be sorted out of the beans during this phase. Discard all of the undesirable pieces.
- Place beans in a colander. Rinse the beans thoroughly with cool water.
- In a removable insert of a 6-quart slow cooker (or a large 10-inch skillet if your slow cooker does not have a stove-top safe insert) set over medium heat, cook the bacon several minutes, stirring regularly, until bacon starts to brown and renders its fat. Add the onion and cook until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeños and cook until the garlic begins to brown and is fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and cook another minute.
- Fit the insert into the slow cooker (or transfer the mixture from the skillet to the slow cooker) and add the beans, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 7 cups of water. Cover and turn the slow cooker to high. Your beans will be done in 3 to 4 hours, though you can hold them for longer.
- When ready to serve, remove 2 cups of the beans and process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the smooth beans back to pot and stir in the cilantro. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve.
No Slow Cooker?
- Follow the directions for cooking the bacon, onion, garlic, chiles and tomatoes in a medium-large (4- to 6-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven) over medium-high. Add the beans, salt, and 2 ½ quarts water. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to medium-low and cook the beans at a gentle simmer, partially covered, until thoroughly tender, about 2 hours. (You’ll find it necessary to add water from time to time to ensure that the level of liquid remains about the same.) Finish the recipe as directed above.
Instructions for Instant Pot:
- Select Sauté on the Instant Pot and follow the directions for cooking the bacon, onion, garlic, and chiles.
- Add tomatoes, beans, salt, and 7 cups water.
- Use “manual” setting for 30 minutes of pressure.
- Allow pressure to naturally release, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
- When ready to serve, remove 2 cups of the beans and process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the smooth beans back to pot and stir in the cilantro. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Video
Notes
- Soak beans for one hour or overnight.
- Beans can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- The beans can be frozen in small bowls for later use.
Photography by Jenna Sparks
Originally published: February 2019
21 Comments on “Frijoles Charros (Cowboy Beans) + Video”
Made this tonight in our magical Instant Pot and it was a big hit. Rather than add salt I put 3 TBSP of powdered chicken broth in with the water; it’s full of salt. I used 1 TBSP of canned diced jalapeño since that’s what I had. Could have used more but I was afraid of making it too spicy. Soaked the beans overnight which worked great. One hack I’ve found if you’re short on time you can soak the beans on “keep warm” for 2-4 hours and get almost the same result (I use our rice cooker for this). Just don’t rise hot beans with cold water or they split. Same thing happens if you use quick release on the Instant Pot.
I did the optional step of taking out 2 cups and blending it with our immersion blender. I think I could have just done this right in the instant Pot and saved some clean up. I put out optional toppings of shredded cheese, sour cream, Pico de Gallo, tortilla chips and green onion. It’s great that everyone can make this into their own creation at the table. I’d like to try this starting with pork ribs to create the stock. So many possibilities starting with this as a base recipe.
These are freaking delicious. I shared your recipe with someone else from a different site I am on. I hope they try it. They will never want beans a different way- ever. So flavorful.
This recipe is fabulous! Great flavor and easy to make.
This recipe looks and sounds amazing. I just used my potato masher and mashed some of the beans right in the pot. no need to wash the blender. at my age and physical limitations I use as many short cuts as I can.
Why do you puree the beans? If I wanted to double the recipe, would I need to double ALL the ingredients?
CHARRO BEANS ARE THE BEST,MY FAVORITE TOPPED WITH FRESH ONIONS YUMMY.THANKS FOR SHARING.
Fantastic – tried many of your recipes and every one has been amazing!!
I love the blue and white pot that you have the beans in. Where could I find one like this?
Just made this today. So good. Thank you for this. The puree part is genius.
I’m thinking maybe you can add where people can log into their own account where they can store their “My Favorite Recipes”
What is the beat way to store the leftovers? Can I freeze it?
Beans can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. The beans can be frozen in small bowls for later use.
Has anyone ever tried using a pressure cooker to make these? I’m curious where it could go wrong…
I made these after making tomato paste. I had too much to fit in my jar so I used the extra in these beans instead of adding tomatoes. Muy delicioso!
Love the show and tell. It was also easy access for the recipe, not the run around
How about adding chorizo on the blend ? What do you think ? I like to cook and try new things .
Frijoles de la hoya, a staple in every Mexican home. For gatherings, somebody always took these delicious, frijoles charros. These make a meal just by themselves, don’t forget the sour cream. Mom never did. Thank you mija for this reminder.
Would’ve never thought to puree the beans, but I can imagine how silky & substantial the beans must taste after.
I’ll try this recipe with chorizo rather than bacon. Drooling just thinking about it!
One comment: My mom always taught me not to add salt to the beans until the very end. She said they’d get tough otherwise. I noticed you added salt at the beginning. Do your beans remain tender?
Esther, this might explain the salt and bean question.
Far from causing beans to stay tough, the editors at Cook’s Illustrated explain in their recent book The Science of Good Cooking that a combination of brining and salting are key to helping beans cook more quickly and more evenly. First, they suggest brining the beans overnight by adding a salt to their soaking water. Then add a little salt (emphasis on “little”) to the beans at the very beginning of cooking to keep things going. https://www.thekitchn.com/think-salt-is-the-enemy-of-perfect-beans-think-again-196470
I soaked my beans with salt once and NEVER again. I pressure cooked a total of an hour or more they never got soft
OMG, does this bring back memories of my Sis-in-law’s Charro beans, (her speciality). Thanks for reminding me of them and now I can prepare my own.