Charro Beans

Charro Beans are flavorful Mexican beans simmered with bacon, smoked ham, onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, and the perfect blend of spices. Savory and smokey, these beans are delicious served with cornbread or Johnny cakes.

Course dinner, main meal pork

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword charro beans recipe, how to make charro beans, what are charro beans

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2 30

Total Time 2 45

Servings servings

Calories 309kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Dried Beans

¾ lb dried pinto beans
½ yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups cold water

Charro Beans

6 slices uncooked bacon chopped
1½ cup smoked ham diced
½ yellow onion chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic minced
2-3 roma tomatoes diced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Rinse the beans and sort through them, removing any pebbles. Add the beans, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water to a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring the beans to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until tender.
Fish out and discard the onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Drain the beans in a colander, reserving all the liquid to a pot below the colander.
Wipe the Dutch oven clean, add the bacon, and cook over medium heat until it is about halfway browned, stirring frequently. Add the ham and chopped onion and continue cooking until the bacon is brown and the onion is soft.
Remove all but 1-2 teaspoons of bacon grease. Reduce the heat to low and add jalapeno pepper, garlic, tomatoes, chipotle pepper, marjoram, cumin, and smoked paprika. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
Add the cooked beans and 4 cups of the bean liquid to the pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes for the all flavors to meld together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Garnish with cilantro when ready to serve.

Notes

I do not soak the beans, but you certainly can if you want to speed up the process. The night before, you cook the charro beans, rinse the beans, and sort through them, removing any pebbles. Add the beans to a large pot, cover them by 2 inches with cold water, cover the pot with the lid, and soak overnight in the refrigerator. Drain the beans in a colander in the sink and rinse. This will reduce the amount of simmering time by at least an hour in step #1.
You can also use canned beans instead. Use 3 (15-ounce) cans of beans, drained and rinsed, and 4 cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth to replace the bean liquid. Skip to step 3, where you brown the bacon and cook the onions.
These beans are close to the consistency of soup. If you want to thicken them, add a cornstarch slurry during the boiling process. To make a cornstarch slurry for this dish, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cool water.
This recipe can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat.

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