Why have plain ol’ pinto beans when you can have tender, smoky mexican-style pinto beans simmered in broth with rich layers flavors from bacon, tomatoes, chiles and spices! An incredible everyday side dish, this Easy Charro Beans recipe goes with so much more than just your Tex Mex favorites!
Enjoy your pinto beans with a little fiesta flair! This shortcut recipe uses drained and rinsed canned beans to cut out soaking and extra cooking time, creating a delicious homestyle pinto bean recipe you can enjoy any night of the week!
Related Recipe: Southern Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas & Ham
But do they really go with anything? They sure do. Charro beans are actually a great substitute for baked beans. Anything you might serve with your traditional recipe, spice it up with these smoky pintos instead! Grilled meats, fried chicken, burgers… mmmm, you might just have a new favorite side dish!
What are Charro Beans?
Charro Beans are Mexican-style stewed pinto beans cooked tender in savory broth with diced tomatoes, bacon, onions and peppers. They have a subtle smoky flavor from canned chipotle peppers and a little adobo sauce. They can also be made with ham, chorizo or beef.
You might also hear Charro Beans, or frijoles charro, referred to as Mexican Cowboy Beans, named after the traditional Mexican cowboy, or skilled horseman. What else would cowboys eat out on the range other than hearty beans loaded with flavor and goodness whipped up with ease from simple pantry ingredients?
Well, cornbread. They could have had Easy Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins with it. I would, wouldn’t you?
Ingredients for Easy Charro Beans
- canned pinto beans, drained & rinsed- canned beans make for a great shortcut recipe that saves hours of time, but if you want to use dried beans, see the tip below
- thick sliced bacon
- yellow onion
- jalapeno
- minced garlic
- canned diced tomatoes
- canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- chicken broth
- dried oregano
- cumin
- bay leaf
How to Make Mexican Charro Beans
Start with Bacon. In a dutch oven or large pot on the stove top, cook diced bacon just until it starts to crisp around the edges. Add diced onion, jalapeno and minced garlic to to the bacon and the bacon renderings. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
Make the Base. Add the canned diced tomatoes (with liquid). Remove one chipotle pepper from its can and dice. Add the diced pepper and 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can to the pot. Stir it into the bacon, onions and pepper and allow to simmer 3-5 minutes.
Simmer the Beans. Add the drained and rinsed pinto beans, chicken broth and all the seasonings to the pot. Give it a good stir to incorporate everything together. Then, turn the heat to low, put the lid on the pot (but cracked to let steam escape) and allow those pintos to simmer for 30 minutes or until the broth has thickened to a stewed consistency. Salt to taste.
What To Serve With Easy Mexican Charro Beans
For a little fiesta flair at home these pinto beans are the perfect partner for Green Chile Rice on the side of some your favorite Tex Mex recipes!
- Layered Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Tex Mex Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
- Ultimate Mexican Pot Roast
- Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Ultimate Shortcut Mexican Cornbread
- No Mess Chicken Nacho Foil Packets
But they are also great in the place of baked beans with your burger or steak, even chicken fried steak fingers!
Other Tex Mex Side Dishes You’ll Love
- Fresh Salsa with Cilantro & Lime
- Mexican Street Corn Foil Packets
- Easy Green Chile Rice
- Tex Mex Guacamole
- Green Chile Corn Salsa Dip
- Taco Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing
If You Make This Recipe, I Can’t Wait To Hear About It!
Leave A Comment & Rating Below Or Snap A Photo To Share.
Ingredients
- 2 (16 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium jalapeno, deveined and diced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (7 ounce) can whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- top with chopped cilantro, if desired
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or large pot on the stove top, cook diced bacon just until it starts to crisp around the edges. Add onion, jalapeno and garlic to bacon and bacon renderings and sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes (with liquid). Remove one chipotle pepper from can and dice. Add diced pepper and 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can to the pot. Stir and allow to simmer 3-5 minutes.
- Add drained and rinsed pinto beans, chicken broth and seasonings to the pot. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. Turn the heat to low, put the lid on the pot (but cracked to let steam escape) and allow beans to simmer for 30 minutes or until the broth has thickened to a stewed consistency. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Top with chopped cilantro (if desired) and serve.
If using dried pinto’s don’t I need more liquid for cooking?
Hi, Donna! Yes, you would. You would need to cook the beans to tender, then begin with this recipe.
My husband thought that I cooked these all day long He loved them my grandchildren are coming today I’m cooking a Mexican dinner and I’m gonna cook them again!
Hi, Patty! You’ve made my day! This is awesome! Thank you so much.
Do I need to add the whole 7 oz can of adobe peppers?
Hi, Kathy! The recipe only uses part of the can. See Step #2- Remove one chipotle pepper from can and dice. Add diced pepper and 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can to the pot. Stir and allow to simmer 3-5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Yumm!
Quick and easy. Had only one can pinto and one can black beans so combined. So very good, like your previous poster said they taste like they have simmered all day.
Hi, Guadalupe! Thank you so much! It made my day to read that you liked this bean recipe! It’s so nice to have a good short cut when you don’t have the time to let them simmer all day. I hope you will make them again soon (and maybe some other yummy recipes too)!
Gosh these were good. I enjoyed mine with flour tortillas. Will definitely make them again, and enjoy my leftovers during the week for lunch.
Hey, there! I am so tickled that you love these easy charro beans! Thank you! You made my day!
I made these at the last minute so I used canned beans. Everyone really like them. Next time I will try using dry beans. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi, Debra! You are so welcome! I made this recipe especially for those last minute days. We all have them! I am so glad you made these charro beans. Let me know how the dried beans turn out!
Very good! Made it 3 times in just over a week! 3rd time i added pork shoulder. To do this chop smallish pieces of pork shoulder into the dutch oven with a little oil. Let the pork release moisture and brown a little on all sides, about 20 minutes, then add the bacon to start the recipe.