Beans, beans, beans it seems people either love them or hate them. Guess which one of those is me? I love them of course. Growing up in a Mexican household, beans were just a part of everyday life, and I mean everyday. I have created one of my favorite recipes for you, vegan frijoles charros. This recipe is an adaptation of the recipe my dad uses at his restaurant. Frijoles charros, depending on what part of Mexico you are in, include chorizo, sausage or bacon. Sometimes the recipe includes a combination of all three of them. I made a big batch of my homemade vegan chorizo the other day and decided to use that instead. The result was a satisfying and warm bowl of tender smoky beans. Perfect for a cold fall day.
The holidays are creeping up on me so fast. I'm not ready. Pumpkin season is here, even in Hawaii. We went and picked out a pumpkin at Aloun Farms last week and it was so hot that day! It made us long for when we lived on the east coast and we would go pumpkin picking and playing in a corn maze in cool fall weather. However, I'm looking forward to making pumpkin marmalade and candied pumpkin with coconut whipped cream. Speaking of holiday food, my book Vegan Tamales Unwrapped is now available on Amazon in kindle format and I am really excited about it. I'm hoping this will help reach more people and spread the tamal love.
The kids have developed an obsession with Bob Ross and it's the cutest thing. The Joy of Painting is now on Netflix and it's the perfect before bed TV. The kids find it to be super calming and interesting. So much so, that they now ask to watch it every night and there has even been some tears when there's no time to watch it. There's just something about his voice that is so soothing. I am certainly glad to get a break from Mickey Mouse and Pokemon!
The Recipe: Vegan Frijoles Charros Recipe
My dad's original recipe uses bacon, but can use vegan sausage or vegan chorizo instead. When I make these beans I almost aways use them to make "refried" beans. I just strain some of the liquid out of the beans and puree them in the blender until they have the consistency of refried beans, no oil needed. Enjoy!
Vegan Frijoles Charros (Mexican Cowboy Beans)
Ingredients
- ½ lb. Pinto beans dried
- 1 Onion white, large
- 3 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 2 sprigs Cilantro
- ¼ cup Vegetable stock or water
- 6 oz. (3/4 cup) Vegan chorizo (see note)
- 2 Serrano chiles minced
- 1 Tomato, large diced
Instructions
- Soak beans in water overnight.
- The next day, strain them and place in a large pot. Pour enough water into the pot to fill ¾ of the way.
- Cut your onion in half. Place ½ the onion, cilantro sprigs, and 3 garlic cloves into the pot with the beans. Reserve the other half of the onion.
- Bring water to a simmer and let beans cook until almost tender, approximately 1 ½ hours.
- While the beans are cooking heat a large sauté pan to medium-high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until slightly browned, about 4 minutes. While the chorizo is cooking, dice the other half of the onion.
- Remove chorizo from pan and set aside. Add ¼ cup of water, diced onion, and serrano peppers to the sauté pan. Sweat onion and chiles until tender and translucent about 4 – 5 minutes. Add tomato and let cook for 7-8 minutes more, or until the tomato has broken down and released all of its juices.
- Add this mixture, and the chorizo to the pot of beans and let simmer for 20 more minutes or until beans are completely tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Before serving, remove the half onion, cilantro sprig, and garlic cloves from the beans. Season with salt and pepper
Great recipe, Dora! What interests me is cooking the tomatoes separately. I assume you are doing that to limit the exposure of the beans to the acidic tomatoes so the beans will soften. Many charro beans recipes I have seen just combine all the ingredients and the beans are a little tough. Is the separation traditional or is it based on your culinary training?
You know I never really questioned why it is cooked separately but this is a good theory. In this case the separation is traditional.
This is awesome. I totally thought this was 'ranch style beans'. Nope. Isn't this the soupy beans usually served with bacon? Well, if I'm remotely close this recipe is right on the money. The flavor is pretty darn authentic and tastes so good. I made the chorizo first and tacked this on in the same sitting. I am woefully inept in the kitchen but muddled through. My rock-star spouse swooped in at zero hour and tossed in a splash of salt, cumin and garlic powder which ever so slightly upped the flavor in my case. This recipe is rad. So glad you posted this. Tastes great and I'll be making it again for sure. Thank you!
Hi! Thank you for this recipe! I just made this last night for meal prep and it was so so so good! Which is especially good because I quadrupled the recipe and have enough to eat through the weekend!
This dish tasted like the Frijoles of all the pinatas birthday parties of my Mexican friends. Soo awesome so
Thank you SO much for providing a recipe that does NOT use cumin. Every recipe for Mexican food seems to have it yet my grandmother NEVER used it. It was not allowed in her house. Dijo que olía a sobacos!
Oh my gosh!! This!! Finally, someone who gets it
How long would you cook the Beans in the Instant Pressure Cooker After soaking overnight?
Manual pressure for 35 minutes should do the trick
Hi! I’m trying to find ways to use a ‘chorizo’ spice mix I bought at Wal-Mart. Obviously, tofu I know.. but I’m trying to use this spice in my IP with lentils. Any ideas? I’m part Hispanic and grew up eating chorizo y huevos, y papas as a kid when my Tejana mom made them. YUM. Now I’m mostly a VEGAN eater.
You can saute mushrooms and cooked mashed lentils and add the chorizo mix
Hi Dora,
I was excited to find your recipes. I’m trying your frijoles charros now but as a cooking novice wonder if you can give a little more specific guidance. It seems like the amount of liquid that the final product will contain depends on the size of the ‘large pot’ one selects! Can you estimate how many cups for example of water or broth one should use to cover the 1/2 lb of soaked pinto beans? Also is the simmering done with the pot covered or uncovered. Finally, at a few points you say salt to taste, but otherwise don’t include any guide to the amount to salt (or list it as an ingredient). Can you estimate the appropriate amount of salt for this recipe? Thank you.
Hi, you're going to need about 6 cups of water for 1/2 lb. of beans. The simmering is done with the pot uncovered. The salt is going to be a hard one to figure out. I suggest you start with 1 tbsp.of salt and taste, and if it needs more, add more.
Hi Dora--
So happy I found your site today (searching for "frijoles charros"). I'm making the cowboy beans in two phases, ha. Just cooked the pintos in my new adorable Instant Pot Mini. Tomorrow I'll finish them off. I have two Field Roast chorizo sausages in the fridge, so I'll use those this time but look forward to trying your chorizo recipe, which sounds super. I'm seeing a ton of fabulous recipes here! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and skills; as a person wanting to cook delicious vegan food at home, I very much appreciate it.
All the best, Lisa
HARD TO FIND TOFU IN MX., I LIVE IN TAXCO....THEY DO HAVE TEXTURED SOY...AND A STRONG VEGAN SCENE
Hi John, if you are looking to make the chorizo recipe you can substitute the tofu in the recipe for textured soy, you would just have to soak it in hot water for 10 minutes before mixing it with the chile mixture. Hope this helps.