Quick! Let’s do a short history lesson on charro beans, better known as frijoles charros. I think it is worth learning a little more about before you try out this amazingly simple recipe.
According to Wikipedia, these beans are also known as cowboy beans and were named after the traditional Mexican horsemen, or charros.
This dish uses basic ingredients such as pintos, onions, and garlic. Many people add in other ingredients like bacon, chili peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, chorizo, ham, sausage, or pork.
Now, I would love to tell you that you can leave the beans out of this recipe; however, I just don’t think it would be a hearty enough meal. So, if you don’t mind adding some good carbs to your diet for the day, then this recipe is one you certainly need to try!
I will not take credit for this recipe. All the credit goes to my amazing husband. If you remember from my first post, “In the Beginning…”, I talked about how I did not learn to cook as I probably should have as a teen. My husband loved me so much that he didn’t mind that fact at all. He actually made the statement that he could cook for the both of us. He was right! There are many times he does the cooking in our home.
In my search for recipes to bring to you, I remembered that my husband would make some amazing charro beans. I asked if he would so graciously make them this past week, and he readily agreed. Little did I know that I would be sick and need someone to take care of me.
Sinus infections are awful!
However, I did muster up enough energy after a shower to throw together some sourdough tortillas. They went along with this amazingly. Which I am currently debating sharing this week or another week. What say ye?
He made this recipe look so simple. He simply threw all of the ingredients into the crockpot and cooked on low for 8 hours. And this was the very first time that he had ever added chorizo. I enjoyed the taste!
Now, he did give me directions for making this dish on the stovetop, and he also gave me a very important note that was given to him by someone about how to keep your beans from splitting. *See recipe notes.
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If so, do me a favor and rate the recipe below!
PS: Don’t forget to let me know if you want the tortilla recipe. 😉
Charro Beans
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot Or Large Crockpot
Ingredients
- 1 pound pinto beans rinsed and presoaked
- 6 cups water more or less
- 12 ounce bacon
- 9 ounce beef or pork chorizo
- 1 medium onion yellow or sweet
- 1 whole jalapeno
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chicken bullion
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions
- Add beans, water, bacon, chorizo, garlic, chicken bullion, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper to crockpot
- Chop onion and jalapeno. Add to crockpot.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
Stovetop Instructions
- Presoak pinto beans overnight.
- The next morning, place beans in a large pot and add water. Turn on medium heat.
- Cut up bacon and cook in skillet. Once finished, remove bacon from pan and cook chorizo. Finally, once chorizo is finished, remove from pan and add chopped onion and jalapeno to the skillet. Cook until translucent.
- Add the cooked ingredients to the pot of pinto beans. Add salt and pepper.
- Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir.
- Cover and cook for 1.5 hours (if you presoaked your beans). Cook time will take approximately 3 hours if you have not presoaked beans.
- 5 minutes prior to end of cook time, add 1 bunch of chopped cilantro.
Notes
Customize your Makin’ Macon experience! Choose between receiving updates on the latest news, exclusive essential oil blend recipes, or both directly in your inbox. Tailor your content to suit your interests and stay informed with bonus tips.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Makin’ Macon. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact