Forget tacos and celebrate Cinco de Mayo with some Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros) cooked in the Instant Pot and served alongside some carne asada, grilled Mexican street corn, fresh tortillas, and horchata for a delicious and culturally authentic Mexican food experience at home!
For more delicious bean recipes, be sure to try my Instant Pot Refried Beans, Instant Pot Pork and Beans, and Best Baked Beans recipes!
Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros)
I have had a major love of Mexican food ever since I was little and started requesting my mom's homemade shredded beef chimichangas every year for my birthday dinner. My first job was at a Mexican restaurant, and I cook Mexican food more often than almost any other cuisine at our house.
That's in part because both of our daughters have a fairly significant portion of their genetic make-up that is hispanic.
I've mentioned before that our family was built through adoption. A few years ago we did dna testing on all of us to find out our genetic backgrounds and the results were so fascinating that I got inspired to start exploring some of the foods of cultures that we come from as a way of building a shared family history and embracing our past.
Along those lines I have made grilled chicken shawarma wraps from the Middle East, Dublin coddle (and many other recipes) from Ireland, sauerkraut & sausages from Germany, and many other Mexican dishes.
I don't always bring it up, but chances are, when I'm attempting something and striving for authenticity in the recipe, I'm thinking of one of our heritages in the process and using food to connect us to our past.
I just love how food can help us understand and explore the world like that!
Incidentally, I highly recommend dna testing for anyone through a service like ancestry.com or 23andme.com. I'm not being sponsored or using affiliate links for those sites, it's just something that I'm super glad we did and think everybody would enjoy learning more about themselves.
So although I would like to claim that this is an authentic Mexican charro beans recipe, I acknowledge that I'm just a mom doing her best to create connections and foster a sense of identity for her daughters by attempting to cook and use flavors from a cuisine that isn't necessarily my own personal background.
Fortunately, there are lots of resources both on and offline to help me in my quest for authenticity.
Why do Americans Celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
I promise to get to the recipe but the nerd in me has questions that needed answering first! Like why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States?
Most Americans think Cinco de Mayo is celebrating Mexican Independence Day, but that is actually the 16th of September, not May 5th!
Cinco de Mayo is actually very much a true Mexican-American holiday! The real reason for Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the United States goes back to the American Civil War and a concurrent conflict in 1862 in Mexico with the French!
On May 5, 1862 in Puebla, Mexico a battle occurred between the outnumbered Mexican army and the reputedly superior French forces in a larger conflict that lasted for years.
See, Mexico had borrowed heavily from France in previous years and France had sent troops to Mexico to reclaim it, while really seeking to expand France's influence and give them a foothold in Mexico to support the Confederate Army in the U.S., which France knew would mean a weaker, divided U.S.A. and more opportunities for French control.
Had France won the Battle of Puebla, it would have had a chance to help the Confederacy in the American Civil War, which they seemed to be winning.
Instead, Mexico's victory became a turning point by holding off France, giving the Union forces a chance to make advances that ultimately saved the United States.
Cinco de Mayo was actually first celebrated by Latinos in California in 1863, the year following the battle, with parades, people dressed in Civil War uniforms and speeches about how the Battle of Puebla fit in with the larger narrative of the abolition of slavery.
But it eventually became more of a celebration of Mexican identity and we continue to celebrate it much like we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the U.S.A. - with the emphasis on food, culture, and traditions of the originating country but with very little historical knowledge of the significance of the date.
What are Charro Beans?
Charro beans, also known as frijoles charros or "cowboy beans", got their name from the Mexican cowboys who ate them.
They are a traditional Mexican side dish that seem to have originated in Northern Mexico and are made by cooking dried pinto beans long and slow until soft, but not mushy, with ingredients like onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and meat (usually bacon, but occasionally ham, sausage, and chorizo).
There is a variation on charro beans known as borrachos beans, which is essentially the same recipe, just with Mexican beer added to the charro beans (borracho means "drunk" in Spanish).
How to Make Pressure Cooker Charro Beans
While you could absolutely make this easy charro beans recipe in a slow cooker or on the stovetop by adding a little extra water and soaking the beans overnight beforehand, I really wanted to use my Instant Pot for them so I didn't have to plan ahead.
I got my Instant Pot a couple of months ago and have been experimenting with it here and there, with varying degrees of success.
But this is the first pressure cooker recipe that I feel ready to share here on the blog since cooking pinto beans in the pressure cooker is so much faster than on the stovetop or slow cooker and they turned out amazing!
It's hugely rewarding to take a recipe that would normally take at least 8-10 hours and have them ready from start to finish in about 1 hour 15 minutes of total cooking time.
To make these charro beans in the pressure cooker, begin by cooking the bacon in the bottom of the Instant Pot on the sauté setting.
When the bacon is almost crispy, add in the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes more, until the onions begin to soften.
Then, it's just a matter of adding all of the remaining ingredients and pushing a button! Once the Instant Pot pressurizes, the beans only take 30 minutes to cook, followed by about 30-45 minutes for the pressure to release on its own.
Charro beans go great with carne asada, guacamole, Mexican rice, grilled Mexican street corn, and pico de gallo.
More Mexican Recipes You'll Love
- Shredded Beef Chimichangas
- Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas
- Baja Fish Tacos Recipe
- Vegetarian Swiss Chard and Pinto Bean Burritos
- Smoky Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Grilled Pork Tacos al Pastor
- Easy Mexican Restaurant-Style Salsa
- Fresh, Authentic Pico De Gallo
- The BEST Guacamole Recipe Ever
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros)
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon chopped (about 8 slices)
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups beef broth
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 1 jalapeno minced with seeds removed (optional)
- ½ bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In the Instant Pot using the sauté setting, cook the chopped bacon until crispy. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are softened. I don't drain the bacon grease because I think it adds to the flavor of the charro beans, but if there is a lot of it, you can drain most of it before adding the onions, leaving just a little to cook the onions in.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bacon, onions, and garlic, then secure the lid and change the setting to high pressure (my Instant Pot has a button for "beans/chili" that I press and set to "Normal") for 30 minutes.
- When the time is up, allow the pressure cooker to do a complete natural release before removing the lid. It will take about 30-45 minutes.
This is my go to recipe in the summer, to go with grilled fajitas. I love that everything goes in the Instapot and then you just sit back and let it cook. My nephews say, “What’s not to like, bacon and beans.”
Just made these beans. I scooped them out of the IP w/out the liquid, into a large mixing bowl, followed by adding some of the liquid it was cooked in and them blended them into refry w/out the refry. They came out perfect!
What if you did soak the beans overnight? What would be the cook time?
You could decrease the cook time by 10 minutes and see how that goes. Honestly, I never bother to soak the beans though.
What if I wanted to make vegetarian? Should I add something else instead of bacon for flavor?
I absolutely love your style of writing. I am a professional Chef with many years of experience, and i still find your content super engaging. I do start to have great interest towards Mexican Cuisine, was wondering what you think about this.. what are the main differences between Frijoles Charros and Borrachos? Interested to know what you think. In the meantime... keep the great writing going!
I actually think they are quite similar recipes. Mainly I think the difference is that borracho beans are made with beer for the liquid, although that might be an oversimplification. I don't make borracho beans so I can't really remember without some digging to research them!
This recipe is not just good it’s great! Made to go with smoked baby back ribs! Now the friends at the party ask me to make them when ever we get together. Everyone just loves them and so easy to make!
So glad you enjoyed them, Joan!
Do you double ingredients and cooking time for 2lbs of beans in the instapot?
You double the ingredients, but you shouldn't need to double the cooking time at all. It should cook in the same amount of time.
I cook mine in the IP for an extra 30 minutes, add a tablespoon of maza flour to thicken. And yum.
I mash these for Refried beans and they are great!
The best recipe I’ve found for Charro Beans! Rave reviews every time I serve them!
I’ve made these beans too many times to count. They are the best! I always add extra green chilis. I made these for a party of 40 people and they couldn’t stop talking about how good the beans were! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!