Frijoles de la Olla Recipe
A pot of freshly made Mexican frijoles or “frijoles de la olla” is my absolute favorite way to eat beans. The perfect side dish for your Mexican feast.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups dry pinto beans
- ¼ onion, optional
- Salt to taste
- Water
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 for about 3 minutes.
- This step is not necessary, but your beans will be lighter in color and “mas bonitos” as my mom says: Cover the dried beans with cold water by about 2 inches and soak for at least 1 hour or overnight before cooking. Drain and rinse afterward.
Instructions for cooking the beans in a regular pot:
- Pour the drained beans and onion, if using, into a large pot. Add enough water to reach 3 inches over the beans, about 2 liters. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender, about 3 - 4 hours, adding more hot water as the beans absorb liquid. Every pot is different and so check your beans after 2 hours. Most take 3 - 4 hours but I have a pot I love to cook my beans in because it only takes 2 hours.
- Add salt about one hour before complete. Refrigerate beans when cooled.
Instructions for Instant pot:
- Place dried soaked beans, salt, onion, and water (2 liters) in Instant Pot.
- Use “manual” setting for 30 minutes of pressure.
- Allow pressure to naturally release, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Season beans to taste.
Video
Notes
Wait to add the salt. Among the bean-loving community, there’s a hearty debate about when to salt your beans. One school of thought is to wait to add salt (and acid, for that matter) until the beans become tender. This helps ensure the beans remain whole, leaving a prettier presentation. Adding salt too early can also change the texture of the beans, making them a bit tougher. That said, if you’re going the instant pot route, add salt at the beginning—they’re likely going to have split skins anyway, and adding the salt too late means it won’t have time to penetrate the whole bean.
Simmer, don’t boil. You want to bring them to a boil at first, but don’t let the beans boil for more than 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, so the simmer is barely bubbling. This will also ensure your beans turn out “mas bonitos.”
Add HOT water. When adding more water, make sure it’s boiling hot water. Otherwise your beans may darken in color.
Soak if you can, especially if they’ve been sitting on your shelf for an undetermined amount of time. Soaking does a few big things:
- Reduces cooking time considerably, especially if you leave them overnight. Yay for faster eats and lower electric bills!
- Ensures your beans cook evenly. If your bag of pintos has been hanging in your pantry for more than a year, they’ll be drier and will cook less evenly. Nobody wants crunchy frijoles! By soaking them first, they’ll plump up beautifully. NOTE: Because of this plumping action, make sure you give them plenty of water and space to expand
- Decreases phytic acid, the *ahem* musical compound in beans. For what it’s worth, the more beans you eat, the less susceptible your tummy will be to phytic acid’s effects.
- Frijoles de la olla can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- They also freeze well for up to 6 months in these plastic containers—super handy for a last-minute dinner. Make sure you leave at least a ½ inch of headroom for the liquid to expand.
- To serve leftover Mexican pinto beans, allow them to defrost overnight in the fridge. If you’re heating up a single portion, you can zap them in the microwave. Otherwise, simmer them gently for about 10 minutes until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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