This is a really tasty pinto beans recipe made in the slow cooker. This recipe is great to serve along with enchiladas or to take to a barbecue or potluck.

Frijoles a la Charra

dry pinto beans

garlic, chopped

salt

bacon,

onion, chopped

tomatoes,

jalapeno peppers

(12 fluid ounce) can beer

cilantro

Place pinto beans in a slow cooker, and completely cover with water. Mix in garlic and salt. Cover, and cook 1 hour on High.


Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown, but still tender. Drain about half the fat. Place onion in the skillet, and cook until tender. Mix in tomatoes and jalapenos, and cook until heated through. Transfer to the slow cooker, stirring into the beans.


Cover slow cooker, and continue cooking 4 hours on Low. Mix in the beer and cilantro about 30 minutes before the end of the cook time.


these have a good flavor, but not any better than my own recipe. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: you MUST soak beans overnight first. anyone trying to follow this recipe who does not do so is going to be pretty frustrated!

I am a born and raised Texan, married to a hispanic male, and we have tried our share of beans a la charra. This is the best yet! My husband went to the grocery store this morning to buy all of the ingrediants so that I can make it again today. I, also, doubled the recipe, except for the beer, and cut my bacon when it was frozen. I can't wait to make this for my Hispanic in-laws, and show 'em gringa's stuff. He-He

I had been looking for a recipe for "Charro" pinto beans ever since I tasted them on a trip to Austin, Tx last summer.  These are pretty close.  Only thing I changed was to use half water-half chicken broth to start cooking the beans, and I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of the fresh, as they are soooo expensive.  I will make these often as I now prefer these to refried beans.  Thank you Kim!!

What fabulous beans! I used 3 cups of dried pinto beans. I did not have any fresh tomatoes, so I did substitute diced canned tomatoes with green chiles. I still added the jalepenos and did not find the heat too much. The only other modification I made was adding 2 packets of Goya Sazon because I really find that it adds so much to the taste.  For the people who said their been took a lot longer, you most likely have old beans (even if you just bought them). There's really no way to tell, but try to shop at a Mexican grocery store if there is one in your city.  The product is turned over much faster there. I'm happy to have found this recipe to add to my bean dish collection. It is a grate side to some simple quesidillas.

This recipe is the one I've been looking for. I am a Texan, so beans a la charra are easy to come by here. Yet, this recipe is tied for first place with my cousin's who won't tell her recipe. Ha-Ha, I don't need it now. The person that gave it  one star must have done something wrong. I doubled the recipe, except for the beer (used only one can) and added crushed beef boullion (about 2 cubes).

Great recipe, although a little on the spicy side for some.  If you're a wimp about spicey stuff, I suggest going easy on the jalapeno's the first time.  Also, the southern bred husband told me you shouldn't salt beans until the end of cooking, and he suggested not adding the salt until the last half hour when you add the cilantro and beer.

Loved the recipe.  Warning:  Do not use Budweiser beer for this recipe as it is too strong.  I used it and it made the beans smell like beer.  But the beans still tasted great.  Next time, I'll use light beer.

This recipe is GREAT!!! I’ve made these beans about four times now and every time they come out superb. I do double the recipe &amp; omit the bear &amp; jalapenos so that everyone can enjoy them &amp; I put 2 tsp. of crushed beef bouillon as suggested by another reviewer. If you’re looking for a great Frijoles a la Charra recipe this is the one.

I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out horrible! The beans were hard and the beer made them smell awful.

These frijoles were awesome!  My husband and I have tried many frijoles recipes and this is the best.  We will not use the beer next time because our beans don't need to be boracho!  Thanks for a great recipe.

This recipe is great!  A few things you need to know:
Soak the beans in water overnight and throw away the water the next day.
Use 2 fresh jalapenos vs. the canned jalapenos.  Those are pickled and taste different.
Use 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken stock
Throw in 2 whole bay leaves
Add the salt and the bacon in the beginning as advised.

Great dish. Be sure to pre-soak the beans overnight. I cut the amount of jalapenos in half, and I'm glad I did - still spicy, but not over-the-top. Subbed one 14.5 oz can of Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes for the two fresh tomatoes, which worked out perfectly (it's winter - where ya gonna find good tomatoes now?). Smokey from the baon, spicy from the peppers, great with the cilantro, and used 1/2 the amount of beer - Corona - nice touch. Had to cook an extra hour but they were perfect, and even my non-bean-eating kid liked them. Check the date on your beans to make sure they're fresh. Makes a big difference in cook time and how soft they get. 

I have been making this recipe for several years.  It is my "go to" recipe when I make Mexican food of any kind.  The only change I make is that I substitute a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes instead of the fresh tomatoes.  I always have canned tomatoes on hand, and I only really like fresh tomatoes in the summer when they are in season where I live.  Also, I never soak my beans beforehand, and they always turn out great.

I really liked the earthy, smokey flavors of this dish.  The directions, however, are really more for cooking beans on the stove top in a heavy dutch oven.  If using a slow cooker: Soak your beans overnight first (which I would do for ANY dry bean recipe) and plan on cooking the bean on high for several hours before adding the rest of your ingredients.  Decilicious recipe - just don't think that it will be ready in five hours if you don't soak your beans.

Do not add salt until the final few minutes of cooking.  Salt makes the beans shell become hard and therefore do not cook well (old Mexican cook told me this secret), also do not add salty items such as bacon or salt pork (as in some recipes) until the beans are cooked nearly completely.  But when done"right" the recipe and beans are great.

My fav Mexican restaurant serves a cup of bean soup when you sit down. By soup I mean with a broth consistency.  I tried to copy a few times and while taste was ok still wasn't like they served.   Found this recipe and do a bit different but just for personal preference. Soak beans, drain, cook at simmer so they don't break.  Drain again and add ingredients, simmer for half hour.  I do swap beer for chicken stock and like to add ham if I have some hanging around.  Also use a fresh jalapeño or two instead of canned. And as usual, I skip the salt. Double up to freeze some for later.

This is an excellent recipe.  It's exactly what I was looking for and turned out even better than expected.  I altered the recipe just slightly.  I didn't use a full can of beer.  To me, it would have been too soupy.  I added a bit more salt and used Canadian bacon instead of regular bacon.  (I did this to cut down on fat.)  It added great flavor, and I'll probably always use that instead.  Finally, I added more jalapeno peppers than suggested because we really like a lot of heat.  I soaked the beans overnight and cooked them on high for 1 hour and then all day on low (about 6 or 7 hours).  I'm not sure they'd be done after only 4.

This bean soup recipe was delicious, just what I wanted.  I made quite a few changes to the recipe as follows.

Quick soak the beans according to the package instructions before putting them, garlic, and salt into the slow cooker.

Cook the beans on high for two hours before adding sauteed bacon, onion, one drained can tomatoes, one pack sazon goya, and 2 jalapenos.  

Continue to cook on high for another 2 hours.  Turn the heat down to low, add half a can of budweiser beer and the chopped cilantro to cook for an additional half hour.

Before serving, brighten the soup's flavor by adding a squeeze of lime and a few fresh cilantro leaves to each bowl.

The beans were cooked through and yummy!

I like spicy, but these were too much. I could have dealt with the heat, but the beer flavor was MUCH too strong.  I used a porter, so maybe it was too heavy a beer.

Being from Texas let me just say these beans are the real deal! I am sure the recipe is fine exactly as written. However, I made some changes only because I had to work with what I had on hand. I used a ham hock in place of the bacon, added a can of diced tomatoes instead of whole, used chicken broth instead of water and used 2 jalapenos, chopped in place of the can.  My husband said they were the best beans he has ever eaten.

I soaked the beans overnight and, knowing that adding salt to dried beans when cooking them can cause them not to soften, I ignored the instructions to add salt to the beans with the garlic.  Other than that I followed the directions to the letter.  After cooking on high for one hour, and on low for four hours, the beans were still quite hard.  After another hour on low, they were still hard.  I put the beans in a soup pot on top of the stove and simmered them for an hour; they were still hard.  I added the beer and cilantro and cooked for another hour.  They were not done but I had to go to bed so I put them in the fridge.  The next day I tasted them and did not care for the flavor so I decided to just call it quits.  I know that beans will take longer to cook depending how fresh they are, but I they should not take over 3 extra hours.  My advice to anyone choosing to make this recipe is, since so many people have had issues with the beans not getting done even after soaking them, make them a day before you plan on serving them just in case they do not soften up.

I followed this to the letter and had beans that were hard as rocks at the end of the cooking time. Not everyone knows to soak first.

I made this yesterday and it turned out pretty good. I did use fresh jalapenos, a small (7oz) bottle of Corona and a can of diced tomatoes instead. I also substituted Knorr chicken with tomato boullian for some of the water. The beans I had must have been fresh since it only took about 3 hours on High and 2 hours on Low in crock pot. I was worried about the beans after reading a lot of the reviews, that's why so long on high. This all tasted very very good but I was looking more for the Boracho (sp) beans I used to get at some restaurants in San Antonio. I'll keep looking. But I'll use this recipe again. The beans were that good!

After reading the other reviews, I was able to collaborate a few shortcuts that saved me valuable time and still ended up with a result myself &amp; my family loved! Instead of cooking the beans from scratch, I used two large cans of pinto beans (same cost; no prep). For the tomatoes, I used one regular can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos (my family thanked me for not making it 'too' spicy; the canned tomatoes had just the right amount of jalapenos). Make sure that you finely chop the onions and cilantro, this way they don't detract from the main ingredient. I also added a 1/2 tsp. cumin &amp; a 1/2 tsp. chili powder. Once all the main ingredients were mixed, I brought it to a boil, covered and then let it simmer for an hour.  Also, I ended up adding only 1/2 the beer. Other than that, I followed the recipe as close as possible. It was the perfect side dish to our grilled fish tacos. Wonderful, simple and delicious! Thank you for sharing it! 

Oh, my gosh, was this good.  I plan to make this many times in the future.  I've never cooked dry beans, but I figured this seemed pretty easy to start with.  I ended up soaking the beans for 24 hours (I wasn't in any hurry) and then cooked them overnight because I didn't want to leave the crockpot on when I was away at work.  When I got home that evening, I turned the crockpot on to heat while I fixed some rice and Mexican Grilled Chicken from the site.  I used 26 oz of beef stock instead of the beer , added 2 tsp (2 cubes) of bouillion, and a can of tomatoes with green chilies instead of the fresh tomatoes and canned jalapenos.  It was so delicious (and I'm not a bean person, take it from me :D ).  I woke up in the middle of the night and I could smell the wonderfulness coming from the kitchen.  It was perfectly salted and, because I soaked the beans for so long and then cooked it for about 9 hours on low, the beans were thick and melted like butter.  You have to try this. 

I would have given this 5 stars, but it just seemed to be lacking a bit of something.  Needs a bit more flavor.  Odd taste from the beer, not unpleasant, just odd.  Perhaps it was the type of beer we used. Added habanero to the mix as well.  Will likely use the recipe again but with some tweaking.

Recipe as-is tastes a little bland. I've made this twice now. The second trial I ended up adding Penzy's "Arizona Dreaming" plus cumin and chili powder. That did the trick for our family. Do yourself a favor and only add beer you enjoy drinking, since it really stands out in this dish.

i loved this recipe the only thing i changed was i omitted the bacon and added beef sausage cut up and cooked with beans.  Was scared to put to much jalapeno in it and didn't put enough but will diffentely make this again my husband is hispanic and loved them.  Said it was as good as his mamma's.

These took a little longer than expected.  Next time I will leave myself 6 hrs or more in order to ensure they are done in time.  BUT they turned out great!  I only had pre-minced garlic so I used 2.5 tsp instead of chopping the garlic cloves.  I will make these again to show off my skills to the family : )

this was ok. I wasn't too big on the beer favor. I would leave that out next time.

I would rate higher if I might have used the recipe as is but I made some modifications.  I used 1 lb of pinto beans in which I did NOT soak them overnight.  I used a crockpot and added my beans (after rinsing, of course), and added 2 ham hocks and covered with water and cooked on HIGH for 8 1/2 hours.  At 4 hours I added 1/2 onion and a can of tomatoes.  After 8 1/2 hours this was perfect....I added chopped cilantro on top and it made a great meal with cornbread (recipe from The Neeley's (food network) - Honey Cornbread)

Very good.  I didn't have any beer, but still tasted fabulous.  Especially the bacon.  Loved the bacon.

did not add the beer and added 1 cube of knorr beef broth....came out perfect!

I'm going to give this recipe 4+ stars, mainly for the lack of direction on prepping the dried beans.  The taste of charro beans is very personal, and it varies from region to region.  I was leery of 3.5 ounces of jalapeno peppers, so I put in a 4 ounce can of mild chopped green chilies and 1 fresh jalapeno, minced and seeded.  This is enough heat for us. Other than that, I followed the recipe ingredients, but I par-boiled my beans and prepared them on the stove top, adding the salt last, and I did not saute the chopped onions, but put them directly into the beans, saving us the extra fat calories.  I also added 1 tsp. ground cumin and a few turns of the peppermill.  I don't usually add tomatoes to my beans, so this will be a nice change.  Thanks, Kim.

I love this recipe-- it reminds me of the soup served at one of my favorite childhood restaurants.  I made some changes because of what I had on hand and the fact that I had already started a crockpot of beans with a can of rotel when I found this recipe.  So I omitted the fresh tomatoes and I used some fresh frozen jalepenos I had instead of the canned.  I left out the beer.  The fresh cilantro is a MUST, it really makes this soup stand out.  I also cooked these beans on low all day (about 8-10 hours) and they turned out fine.  I will be making this again!

These were pretty good but I wasn't a big fan of the beer smell.  The taste of the beer disappeared (good thing because I hate beer) but it did enhance the overall flavor of the dish.  I followed the recipe pretty closely, the exceptions I made were using fresh jalapeno instead of canned, salt pork instead of bacon and cooking on the stovetop rather than in a slow cooker.  I did not soak my beans and they turned out just fine after about 3 hours.  I give it 4 stars because although it was good I just wasn't wowed.  I expected a more vibrant flavor. 

I made these with rotel instead of fresh tomatoes and they were perfect! I've missed frijoles a la charra living on the east coast and these hit the spot.

Soaked the beans overnight. Still took well over six hours for the beans. After four hours I turned the heat up to high. I used 1/2 water, 1/2 chicken broth for more flavor, but these were still a little  bland. I used a fresh jalapeno instead of the can. I noticed in the reviews that alot of people only used 1/2 a beer. So that is what I did. I used 1/2 a Corona. These were a little to soupy so I mashed quite a bit of it to thicken it up.   In comparing these to the Kiki Borracho Beans(Drunken Beans, this recipe was better. I think the addition of bacon helped.

We omit the beer, and we LOVE this recipe! Freezes well, too!

These were great! My husbands grandmother wants me to make them for every potluck now.

Started this last night with the overnight soak of the beans and then made it with all the ingredients except the jalapenos...which I will definitely add next time. Came out great...and we really need it as tonight is a very cold night perfect for a hot steaming bowl of Frijoles a la Charra.

Very good beans! My husband I will definitely make them again.

This was a super simple recipe, easy to use in the slow cooker, but I boiled the beans 3 times before tossing in the cooker because I forgot to soak...still turned out great; I also added canned tomatoes and fresh serano chiles...served with tortillas and cheese. I make Mexican dishes often and this was one I will be making again.

I don't know if I did something wrong, but I followed this recipe and got bland beans. I soaked the beans for 10 hours and then boiled them for an hour before sticking it all in a crock pot and my beans still weren't done after 10 hours. I may  try this again but without the beer, we used Coors Light and the beer taste was too distinct for me (beer loving husband enjoyed it though).

This was pretty good - it would have been much better if I'd left out the beer.  I tasted it along the way, and after adding the beer, it was such a powerful taste that it was hard to overcome (I used Bud Light).  I also used the can of tomatoes with chiles in it, and definitely wasn't too spicy.  Kids and husband ate it, so all was not lost :)

i tried this recipe, because i really love frijoles a la charra, and i made them with barbacoa.  Man did the family love it, they still compliment me on my beans.  Thanks to you of course.  Great recipe!!

My abuelita uses bacon and pig skin (fat) in her beans. You can get pig skin and other uncommon meat items from a local mexican store. Like ears tongue. We made these beans last New Years and they turned out great, minus the beer. Soaking beans before cooking is a must.

I made this for dinner tonight,and it turned out GREAT! I drained half the water out,after boiling beans for an hour(in a regular pot)on top of the stove. Added beef broth instead of the beer. Added a can of ro-tel to the mix (we like it spicy) instead  of the fresh tomatoes. Served with a side salad and corn-bread! A delicious bean dinner : Great meal for snugglin'up after (wink,wink)! HA!

Very authentic tasting.  Husband and I loved it, kids didn't.  They are more accustomed to canned refried beans.  I soaked the beans overnight.  At the end of the cooking time, I had to drain ALOT of water, so I'm thinking that the overnight soak was not neccesary.  I think I'll try it w/out the soak next time.  Also, for anyone like me who might be wondering, I did not mash the beans at all.  No need.  They turned out wonderful.  As a side dish or inside of tortillas.

Well I`m not to sure how to rate this recipe, I dont know what it is suppose to taste like but here goes! I love pinto beans so I figered it would be a no brainer; almost, I added everything and even took some others advice with some chili and cumin it has a nice spicy taste (I LIKE)and the beans are cooked nicely. Definately a  south western/mexican dish, not so sure I wil make again unless I can pair them with another dish....to be continued!

Instead of bacon i used pork skins, was very good recipe :)

These were very tasty. I used fresh jalapenos instead of canned. I cooked them about an hour longer than it calls for to be comfortable with the bean tenderness.

I am not a bean lover. Growing up you couldn't pay me to eat beans. Today, they are not my first choice in a meal. My mother loved beans. I would eat this again in an instant. I wish my mother were still alive so I could make it for her.

I made this because my husband loves beans and Latin-influences. I added  hot chirozo and one can of vegetable broth. I used a handful of fresh cilantro, half a handful of fresh parsley, a can a diced tomatoes with chills, a sweet onion, the bacon and its grease, and bud light with lime. I soaked the beans overnight and still had to cook them on high for about 6 hours. I added most of the ingredients in the beginning then the beer with fresh herbs halfway through.

This is delicious and I will make again. Oh, I made Spanish rice. Pay hub mixed this with the rice, added olives, and was in love.

Please note that it took FOREVER for the beans to cook - I had to keep checking the recipe to ensure that it did not state to soak overnight - and it didn't!!!  They just weren't tasty, and they were rather bland - also, they did not look very appetizing. Unfortunately, I did not serve them at the party I had - I followed the recipe exactly - no variances.  Better luck to others!!!

These were deliciously spicy and easy to make. The only omission I made was the beer, since I didn't have any on hand. Also, I halved the recipe, used one can of pinto beans one bacon slice and a handful of real bacon crumbles.These have a definite Tex Mex flavor that makes a delicious side or simple main dish!

My whole family loved this recipe. It's different from typical baked beans. I had to substitute canned pintos (used 2 cans) for the dried beans, and then used only 1/2 a can of beer since I didn't have quite as many beans, but it was very good. My husband, father and brother-in-law raved about them.

MY FAMILY LOVED EM..I LOVED EM.  THIS WILL GO IN THE RECIPE BOX.  NO NEED TO KEEP LOOKING.

I served these at a party as a side dish, they were just okay.  No rave reviews but no complaints either.

These were great. I did only add about 3 oz. of light beer. I'm not a big beer fan though. Plan on making this one again and again.

I, personally, don't RATE unless I follow the exact recipe but I based my frijoles on this recipe, so i'll give it a 3 until I follow it to the T.  

I didn't add the beer since I didn't have any.  But I added everything else &amp; it was my best frijoles a la charra yet.  I didn't need to soak &amp; the time it took to cook through was right on.  They were great.  Thanks for a great recipe!

My husband liked them, but didn't love them.  I'm not worried though, he only gives 5 star rates to his mommy. :)

I left out the beer and I used rotel canned tomatoes/green chiles instead of the tomatoes &amp; peppers, and I soaked the beans first. I had to cook the beans several hours longer than called for to get them done. By that time the tomatoes had pretty much disintegrated. The finished product tasted good but not much different than my ham and beans recipe, not really like a mexican side dish.

I have made this atleast 5 times in the last 2 months. HUGE hit every time!

I make this recipe all the time. I take it to work and everyone loves it. One of my favorite recipes on All Recipes!!! Thanks.

The flavors in this dish are pretty good.  We omitted the jalapenos to make it more kid friendly and it still came out well.  The problem is that the beans just don't have enough time to cook.  I would suggest cooking for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high after the first hour on high.

I was expecting this to be similar to refried beans and it definitely is not. I followed the recipe exactly and it was ok but I won't make it again.

Really good and the flavors are perfect. I did the quick-soak method (bring the beans to a boil and then let sit for 1 hr) the day I cooked the beans and they turned out great. 

This was good but I will leave out the beer next time. It was overpowering.

I have been looking for a recipe on here just like this!! Thought I was going to have to write my own. Was not looking forward to that:(  Thank you Kim! ! My MIL thought me how to make these beans. She does add chorizo and ham, but everything else is the same.  I don't use the CP, usually use the stove or Low oven, which is basically a CP. These ROCK!! Always get rave reviews from my crew.

Sorry for the low rating, I just don't know how everyone else rated it so high? I soaked them overnight and followed the directions but they were still hard, so I had to cook them longer. And mine lacked flavor...perhaps it is my fault and I cooked it wrong?

Will make this again. Absolutely delicious!

I love these beans which taste almost identical to the beans served on the border in

Made this recipe for 2 separate Cinco de Mayo parties.  Rave reviews.  Everyone loved them.  I soaked the beans over night instead of the high for 1 hour.  Everything else I followed exactly.

Yum! We really liked this one. I doubled the recipe and the next day we made bean burritos out of the leftovers. I did not add the beer. I also substituted a can of rotel for the tomatoes and jalapenos. I also followed another reviewer’s advice and used two cubes of beef bouillon. I did not have to soak my beans before putting them in the slow cooker. They cooked about 8 hour’s total. Thank you for the recipe. 


Try using a smoked turkey leg (or 2 depending on size) Remove skin, cook until meat is ready to fall off. Remove, cool, pull off the meat and return the meat to the beans. Tastes and looks like big chunks of ham with so much less fat.

As recommended on the package, I soaked the beans for several (5) hours.  I cooked in half chicken broth and half water. Also added 1/2 tsp of cumin and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Otherwise, followed the recipe and it turned out well - not wow, but it was just beans.

This recipe is great because you don't have to soak the beans. However, the beer just didn't do it for me or my family. So I omitted the beer, added 1 1/2 tsp. chilli powder and 1 tsp. cumin. I used garlic powder instead of regular garlic and I agree if you make this in a slow cooker try 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high after the initial 1 hour on high. I might try adding some salt pork next time too. The first time I ever had this it was made by a true "old school" Mexican grandmother and she used pork as well and it added so much more flavor. That's the recipe that hooked me. But anyways this recipe is a great base, you just need to make it to your taste. Thanks!!

Cooked exactly as written.  Beans were still hard.
Next time, I will boil for first two hours.
Tasted very good.  Topped off with chopped green onions and cornbread.

I made zero changes and they were fantastic! Wait, I take that back. I didn't use pinto beans because we didn't have any on hand. I used a mix of some other dried beans we had in the cupboard. Excellent excellent excellent. Definitely saving this one.

I grew up in south Texas where good beans are a daily staple. This beans nailed it! I had to tweek the recipe a bit because I didn't have beer or fresh tomatoes. I subbed two cans of rotel, and chicken broth. These were delish!

Please don’t make the mistake of using canned jalapeño, instead use 4-6 fresh. The flavor mellows as they cook. I’ve lived in Mexico and this is fairly authentic, except for the chile.  I make mine on the stove but if your a crock potter go for it!

This was okay, but not as great as the reviews indicate,  in my opinion.

Sorry, I didn't think this tasted very good, even though I followed the recipe exactly. There wasn't a lot of flavor to it, and it just tasted like bland beans.

I didn't have beer, but it didn't seem to matter. I think these are the best I've ever had. As for the soaking, used the quick soak method and they were perfect. Thanks for the recipe!

The best pinto beans recipe ever.  Love the flavor the beer gives at the end.  Used homemade smoked pork belly as the bacon component.

I have recieved many accolades over this recipe.

Tried this recipe instead of my usual refried beans as a side dish to enchiladas; FANTASTIC!!!

Well, I started out preparing these beans in the crock pot as stated. Although I knew I should have soaked the beans overnight first, I  thought that maybe there was a reason the directions did not state to do so. After reading more of the reviews, I realized that I should have done just that. Since I  didn't, and I wanted the beans to be served this evening (not tomorrow), I decided to move the whole process to the stovetop. After about four hours, they were perfect - and delicious.

I used this recipe because it looked like all the really great frijoles I've had in South Texas. I didn't read it, tho, until almost time to serve, I had to use canned pintos, but the rest was according to the recipe. I cooked only for about 2 hours, but this was delicious. Our guests loved this with some Spanish rice and fajitas cooked outside. Made for a great way to "socially distance" when getting together. Thanks for this recipe, I can't wait to cook it in the slow cooker. Delicious

I make recipe as written and we love this pot of beans. Makes a great meal on its own, or as a side dish to a Mexican meal.

This is a great recipe! I omit the beer; I think it makes the beans too bitter. Also, I don't include the bacon; don't think it needs it.

I reaaly enjoyed this bean receipe. The only thing i did differnt was i didn't add any beer and I added a little cumin and chili powder.  It was even better the next day!

I've been making this recipe for year's. Always a fave at the office potlucks! I follow the exact recipe and add a few secrets in. The key is that you have to keep it old school and add all of the bacon grease to the pot. I kick it up a few notches by adding chicken broth, cumin and lime juice. I don't soak my beans because I leave the crockpot on low overnight. Perfect every time.

This is my favorite bean soup recipe. I have made it NUMEROUS times. I only have two suggestions: First is to use a light beer, or there will be an overpowering beer taste.

My first attempt was a failure, the beans didn't get soft after hours of cooking. Turns out this happens if you add acidic (tomatoes) things before the beans soften, according to some websites, this can also happen if you add the salt too early. So make sure the beans have softened to your liking before adding the bacon/tomato/chili mixture. My second attempt was on the stovetop rather than crockpot. I used black instead of pinto, because that's what I had on hand, and soaked them overnight. Simmered on the stovetop with garlic only for about 90min,  then added the bacon mixture with 12oz bacon and three tomatoes. Also used Anaheim Instead of jalapeños because I was serving to kids and didn't want it too spicy. Also added the beer at this point, and only a cup because of the other comments. Simmered it with the lid off to thicken the liquid for another hour and stirred in the cilantro.  Perfection!

I used canned beans instead of dry beans to cut down on time. It was really good, but I would suggest using even less of the bacon grease to saute the onions- it was a little greasy

frijoles a la charra

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total: 5 hours, 15 minutes

Servings: 8

Author : KIM93306

Ingredients

Instructions

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Traditional Frijoles

Frijoles Charros

Frijoles Colombianos

Frijoles rancheros

Frijoles Negros

Frijoles De La Olla (Mexican Pinto ...

Pollo a la Brasa – A Golden Passion...

Frijoles de la Olla [NO SOAK| Stove...

Penne A La Siciliana

Ravioli a la Betsy

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

Turkey A La King

Turkey A La King