Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros)
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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
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Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros)
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!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon, chopped (about 8 slices)
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 1 jalapeno, minced with seeds removed (optional)
- 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 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.
Notes
If making in the slow cooker, follow the same approach by cooking the bacon, onions, and garlic first in a pan, then add the remaining ingredients plus one additional cup of water and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. There is no need to soak the beans if using the slow cooker approach, but if you DO want to soak them overnight beforehand first, they will cook in 5-7 hours on low instead of 8-10.
Adapted from Five Heart Home.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260Saturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 806mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 7gSugar: 1gProtein: 13g
These would be a great side dish for taco night! I love how you can make them in the Instant Pot. Such a time saver!
Is is wrong that I just want this entire meal for lunch today lol?! I always order charro beans at my favorite Mexican restaurant so I’m so excited to learn to make them at home too.
So flavorful and so easy! Perfect for Taco Tuesday, and it looks delish.
I am loving this amazing side dish. It would pain well with so many main entrees. Your dishes are always so amazing!
Mexican food is well-known for taste, color, and perfect use of spices.Love this recipe. I would love to try charro beans.
IP is a life saver..these charro beans are beautifully done to perfection.Would be such a great side and mexican food never goes wrong.
Dried beans are my favorite way to use my pressure cookers (electric and stove top)! Well, I love to use it for stock too…
This is a brilliant post – informational and interesting. I was born and raised in southern California, spent 22 years in New Mexico, and only recently encountered charro beans when we moved to the Rio Grande Valley of FAR south Texas… This looks like an awesome recipe! Pinning.
These beans look amazing for a more exciting Mexican side dish! I just love how you work to incorporate recipes that speak to your different ancestries – what a fun way to learn more about the world and also invite interesting dinner time conversations with your girls. I will have to keep this in mind as my son gets older!
Can I make this with a side of rice as a meal?
Absolutely! I’ve eaten them that way for lunch and it’s super delicious and filling!
I actually don’t think I’ve ever had Charro beans! I love the flavors in them, and they sound like a fantastic way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. One of the things I’ve loved most about my Instant Pot is how easy it makes cooking dried beans. The pressure cooker setting must really help to infuse all of those fragrant flavors into the beans in this recipe!
This looks like a great dish to have not only on Cinco de Mayo but on “Taco Tuesdays” too! Everyone celebrates taco Tuesday, right? lol! Love that it cooks up so quickly in the instant pot!
Cooked in the instant pot did you say?? I’m there. We’re always on the hunt for new recipes to add to taco night. Saving this one!
What a great side for Taco tuesday. I love that you made them in an instant pot.
Love the history and it’s so interesting how traditions evolve, yet still at the same time continue to incorporate a sense of cultural pride for everyone to share and enjoy. AND those beans are happening soon, they look amazing!
We eat Mexican food several times a week in my house so I can’t wait to try these beans! I think they’d be perfect for summer BBQs too.
I love my InstantPot, but have yet to try beans in it. This looks like a great first recipe to try out! (Although I might disregard your ‘forget tacos’ instruction – fish tacos are my 3 year old’s favorite food!)
Haha, well, we are going to keep eating tacos too. Fish tacos are delish!
We made these yesterday. They were perfect and even better the next day. Thank you.
Yes, the leftovers are fantastic! Glad you enjoyed them!
Can I double the recipe and still do in the Instant Pot, or would that be too full?
I think it would depend on the size of instant pot you have. I have the medium 6-quart size and I don’t think I would risk it, but I’m sure you would be fine if you have the larger 8-quart size.
These were so good. We didn’t have bacon so used butter to saute the onion. I also cooked them for 35 minutes and then lightly mashed some of the beans. My whole family loved them.
Can these be frozen and stored? It makes a huge batch!
I haven’t tried it, but I would think so. They might be slightly watery after thawing, but you could warm them on the stove and cook them for a few minutes to thicken to the desired consistency.
These beans turned out perfect!
Very good but 30 minutes is not enough cook time. I will try quick soaking them first for an hr.
The beans were still really hard after following directions. Had to cook additional 30 min hp.
I agree that I like my beans a little softer, did an extra 30 minutes turn out okay?
I soaked beans overnight… do I use less liquid when cooking
No, use the same amount.
These charro beans are a big, big hit with my family. So delicious and easy!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I have made this many times! It is fantastic. I often serve on the side with Pork tacos. I see no need for another pinto bean Mexican side dish recipe. This is it!
I added 1 pound 96% extra lean ground beef and a bell pepper to make it a dinner meal and it came out perfect and tasted super amazing!!! The whole family absolutely loved it! They called me the bean queen! Lol… I will definitely be making this A LOT!! Thank you for sharing!
I’m going to have to try this variation! It sounds delicious, Bean Queen! lol
Mexican-Americans don’t celebrate 5 de Mayo. It’s mainly celebrated in actual Puebla,Mexico.
Mexican-American here, ive held small Mexican food dinners with close friends on cinco de Mayo, and I’ve certainly seen lots of people celebrating with margaritas and tacos and shots of tequila and a good cerveza, it’s kinda like saint paddy’s day in the way it’s just an excuse to hang with friends and drink, and in this case eat.
These were amazing!! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I did add a few extra ingredients such as a cinnamon stick and a couple teaspoons of cocoa powder.
If you cook the beans in the instant pot do you soak them over night?
Nope – no need to soak!
Wow, the flavors were great, the soup was delicious but way to much salt for me. My Mexian husband had no complaints. I’ll reduce the salt, increase the cook time a few minutes and off we go.
After cooking the bacon, do you chop it up into pieces before adding it back in with all the additional ingredients?
Sorry for the slow response – we’ve been away camping. I actually chop the bacon first and cook it by stirring it. It’s so much easier that way! But I see I forgot to mention that detail in the recipe so I made the change.
If I double the recipe do I need to cook for longer?
I don’t think so, but I haven’t tried doubling this recipe myself.
Wow, this looks good. Pinto beans have become a daily inclusion in my current diet, and this recipe is one I will try. I had been using my larger pressure cooker to batch cook the beans, but am now using my little 2 and 3 liter PCs with my Induction Cooktop. I just toss in a cup of beans, 2 1/2 cups of water and seasonings and spices and bring to pressure; then I set the time for 35′, and when I return 45′ later, all is done, about 2 1/2 cups. Sometimes I will add rice/quinoa (~2/3 C) + more water (1 1/3 C) and cook a few more minutes. I like to add bacon, too, or maybe chorizo, pork belly, sausage, or whatever; today I added some tripe I had cooked up. To my huge serving of all this, I add at least a cupful of pico de gallo made just like yours. I am trying to increase my potassium and magnesium intake and decrease my sodium intake. Naturally flavored beans like these are wonderful, because, if I omit the salt, they still taste great and provide all those difficult to come by mineral RDAs. I, too, go back in time to visit with my ancestors when I am preparing and eating a food they might have eaten themselves. And, as you quite know, you cannot really appreciate or share another’s thoughts or culture until you have learned his cuisine. It’s wondrous travel, no?
These are absolutely amazing. I often have to cook mine longer than the 30 minutes for them to be soft enough but that’s easy enough. The flavor and ease of the recipe is just fabulous. Its a go-to recipe for me.
Has anyone frozen their leftovers? How was the taste and texture when you thawed them?
My parents make these all the time and they freeze them in zip loc baggies and thaw when they need a bag or two. They are a little soupier when they are thawed, but the flavor is the same.
This is such a good recipe. Thank you. I’m cooking these in quarantine for Easter, so I subbed pinto bean seasoning for the spices and cooked these in my cast iron dutch oven. I soaked the beans, so they only took a couple of hours on the stove. They are delicious. We’re having them with cilantro lime chicken and tortillas.
Since my store was out of dried pinto beans, I used 3 cans and halved the other ingredients and seasoning. The only thing I did not add any of was the diced tomatoes and chilies…just a preference of mine. The beans came out with great flavor and I will definitely use your recipe again. Thanks for sharing!
I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago and got rave reviews. My family licked the plate clean. I am making it again today and it will be a permanent side dish in our home.
Family loved. Served with the Baja fish taco recipe. This is a crowd pleaser. Plan to serve extra beans for a yummy breakfast in the morning.
If I soak the beans overnight, using my IP PC what would you recommend for cooking time?
You could maybe reduce your cooking time by 3-5 minutes. I never bother to soak them, so I can’t give you an exact amount, but it should reduce the time under pressure slightly.
I love your story about cooking for ancestry. That is such a wonderful tradition to pass on to your children.
Mexican cuisine is one of the easiest cuisines to adapt to a vegan or vegetarian diet because of the creative use of spices, squash, grains, beans, etc. Growing up in California and then moving to Texas it’s fair to say I’ve been eating Mexican and Mexican-inspired/fusion cuisines since I could handle solid food!
I can’t wait to try this out, vegetarian style with a good meatless bacon substitute or even just some larger slices of carmelised onion and a dash of smoke flavoring? I’ll figure something out…this looks like a fantastic recipe and I bet it will go beautifully with a quinoa version of Mexican “rice” and some super fresh tortillas.
YUMMY! Thanks so much for sharing!
Did you end up figuring how to add flavor without bacon?
Followed the recipe and they were not done at 30 minutes added another 30min and perfect. Not sure if it was just my instapot or what. But flavor and everything else is on point.
Easy and delicious!! It was so good I forgot to take a picture. I had family visiting from out of town and they all loved it.
Would these beans be good to make refried beans with?
Absolutely!
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!
Wow! This recipe is fantastic! My kitchen smells like a genuine Covina. Really recommend this recipe serving tonight with chicken & skirt steak fajitas.
If I wanted to cut the receipt in half, would I just got the instant pot time in half? I’m new to the instant pot! Thanks!!
Made this tonight and they are AMAZING!!! You definitely need to cook them for an hour instead of the recommended 30 minutes (in the pressure cooker/instapot) and you will get the PERFECT texture. I was born and raised in south Texas with good ol’ TexMex and charro beans. This recipe is a winner for sure! I added the jalapeño and it gives the perfect spice. I’ll be making this again and again! THANK YOU!
Excellent Recipe! I had to cook mine in the Insta-pot a full hour though. The pinto beans are also white in color and not red like in this photo. Maybe the photo is of red kidney beans??? Next time, i will make it with Pinquito beans. Anyway, great flavor.
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.