There’s nothing like a big bowl of homemade Charro Beans, cooked the slow way with plenty of chiles, tomatoes, garlic, and … of course, bacon. Bacon and beans go together like nothing else. So satisfying. Sometimes I call these loaded beans. Add some more meat, like ground beef, chicken, pork – you have a full meal. Sometimes I’ll add celery.
This is a perfect dish for a family get together and always popular. It keeps for about a week in the fridge, and you can freeze the (though they’ll have a mushier texture when thawed). For a chilly fall or winter day, you can leave this in the slow cooker where everybody can just help themselves. I also like to serve this with flour tortillas or corn bread with honey butter.
Hope you enjoy this!
Charro Beans
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Anita
Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pinto beans
- kosher salt
- 12 oz bacon, diced
- 1½ cup chopped onion, about 1 medium
- 1 small jalapeno, diced (1 tbsp)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 14 oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup diced green chiles
- 3 14.5 oz cans low sodium chicken stock (5½ cups)
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water to double the depth. Add the salt and stir to dissolve. Let soak 8 to12 hours, then drain and rinse.
- Heat bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat (if using an Instant Pot or multi cooker, use the sautee function), stirring constantly, until fat is rendered and bacon is starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add onion and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook stirring, until soft, about 30 seconds.. Add tomatoes and cook, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is thick and mixture is bubbling.
- Transfer to slow cooker (if not already in Instant Pot or multi cooker), add beans, chicken stock, green chiles, bay leaves, and 2 tsp kosher salt. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Discard bay leaves, season with salt to taste. If desired, stir the beans to partially mash them and create a thick creamy sauce; you can end up with beans that have a texture as if refried beans were added, depending on how much you stir.
- Serve in a bowl or as a side dish & enjoy!
Great recipe, delicious and easy. A good approximation of a dish I recently had while traveling through New Mexico and was craving ever since. Took about two hours to simmer in a covered stock pot instead of slow cooker. I chopped the bacon coarse so I could take some of it out at the end.