Charro Beans Soup │Frijoles a la Charra o Frijoles Charros
Charro Beans Soup & Carne Asada ( frijoles Charros) will show up together most of the time at an evening outdoor party in the Northeast region of the country where I am from. I know some call them “Cowboy beans” on this side of the border, but believe me, the Mexican recipe is a little different.
Authentic Mexican Charro Beans Soup Recipe
In Mexico, a Carne Asada party just takes a couple of phone calls from relatives, friends or “compadres” to organize a plan to see who will bring in the steaks, drinks, salsas, guacamole, tortillas, onion and the charro beans soup pot.
Charro beans soup cooked with beer.
And if you add a cup or two of beer to the pot of charro beans soup they become “frijoles borrachos” (drunken beans). Steakhouse restaurants in Mexico will bring this soup to your table before your meat dish without you even asking for it. The soup by itself is a hearty dish to have on a cold winter day.
I love to make extra to store in the freezer. They taste even better when you reheat it. Plus, it’s really handy for those cold days when you don’t feel like cooking, just defrost it, and serve with warm tortillas. Charro beans soup is made with pintos beans, bacon, chorizo, ham and a rich tomato-based sauce.
Here is a basic recipe the way I prepare Frijoles Charros in my kitchen, you can add other meats to the soup, that is what most cooks do, right? Personalize and adjust to your taste. Sometimes I add pork rinds or sliced hot dogs sausages, too.
How to Make Charro Beans Soup
Notes
- Some cooks also add pork rinds in small pieces to their Charro Bean soup.
- ** Cooking the beans:
- To cook the beans place 2 cups of dry beans, 1/4 of a medium white onion, 2 peeled garlic cloves and 8 cups of water in a large pot. To cook for about 2 hours or a little bit longer until they are tender. Soaking the beans overnight will speed up this process. I usually use my pressure cooker and they are done in 30 minutes.
- You can also use canned Pinto beans
Charro Bean Soup Instructions:
- Place the beans and its broth in a large stockpot and set aside.
- Fry the bacon and chorizo in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you prefer to cook the bacon first until it gets crispy and remove the fat, then add the chorizo to cook with the bacon. I just like to cook them together. At this time add the ham or other meats like 1/2 a cup of diced hotdog sausages and 1 cup of pork cracklings, if using them.
- After 5 minutes add the onion, garlic, and pepper and fry for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the Chopped tomato and cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 8 minutes.
- Once the tomato has released its juices stir in this mixture to the pot with the beans. And simmer for about 15 minutes, to blend the flavors. Add water if necessary. The consistency shouldn’t be thick.
- Add salt — to adjust taste — and chopped cilantro right before serving.
Serve the Charro Bean soup in large bowls and warm tortillas.
HOW TO MAKE CHARRO BEANS SOUP
Ingredients
- 6 cups of already cooked pinto beans with their broth **
- ¼ onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 3 ½ oz. chorizo
- 3 ½ oz. bacon chopped
- 2 large tomatoes chopped about 2 1/2 cups
- 2 serrano peppers chopped
- 1 cup of cilantro chopped
Optional:
- 3 ½ oz. cooked ham chopped & 1 cup pork cracklings
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the beans and its broth in a large stockpot and set aside.
- Fry the bacon and chorizo in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you prefer to cook the bacon first until it gets crispy and remove the fat, then add the chorizo to cook with the bacon. I just like to cook them together. At this time add ham and other meats like one 1/2 of diced hotdog sausages and 1 cup of pork cracklings, if using them.
- After 5 minutes add the onion, garlic, and pepper and fry for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the Chopped tomato and cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 8 minutes.
- Once the tomato has released its juices stir in this mixture to the pot with the beans. Add ham and pork crackling is using at this time. And simmer for about 15 minutes, to blend the flavors. Add water if necessary. The consistency shouldn’t be thick.
- Add salt — to adjust taste — and chopped cilantro right before serving.
Serve in large bowls and warm tortillas.
Notes
Nutrition
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
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More recipes:
Mexican Steak Tartare
Steak Quesadilla
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Oh boy Mely, you are the cook of all cooks. Ayeeeee mujer, everything looks so good. I want to come over and eat. This all sounds so great and looks so good. Awesome. You are my cup of cerveza!! tee hee. Take care and be well.
This looks delicious, Mely! I want some right now!
Yummy!!! aparte de tus recetas las fotos siempre te quedan divinas, todo se me antoja! 🙂
Gracias por la idea de la carne asada dentro de casa, el frio no sera pretexto para seguir disfrutando de algo que normalmente se consume mas en verano, Ya me dio hambre.
Saludos Mely ♥
Mmmm…. Mely, a mí mi suegra me enseñó a hacerlos pero son más sencillos, hay !! se me antoja todo lo que nos presentas hoy!!
Saludos Mely y un beso!!
Mely, que maravilloso, con el frio que tengo ahora, esta sopa me vendría muuuuy bien.
Por cierto, te envie a tu correo una invitacion al blog, ya que ahora no es público.
besitos
These look fantastic, Mely! All of those meats and produce..I can almost taste them now =)
Ay pero que ricooo!!
Me remontas a esas fiestas en el rancho de mi madrina, cuando vamos a comer carnes asadas, con nopalitos y cebollas, y no falta la tía que lleva la cazuela de frijoles de la olla que nos servimos en vasos desechables y comiendo con una cucharita… yummi!
Me has hecho el día, saludos!
beauftiful, I cannot wait to make this… I love bean soups, and your Frijoles Charros is a little different than mine, much actually and I an just busting at the seams wanting to make it now (I have 3 soups already in the fridge), gonna have to wait until this weekend… thanks for your recipe… so glad to hear from you my friend
Hello Gloria and Prieta. I am glad you liked it.
HOla Mario, Gracias por pasar a visitar.
Hi, Drick, I am so glad to hear from you.
Hola Ruth,
Ya sabes uno a la mexicana improvisando.
Que tal Pily, si verdad cada quien tiene su propia version. Saludos.
Hola Gaby, si ya fui por alla. Gracias mil.
Saludos,
Mely
Mely, these are the best! Arriba Nuevo Leon. But when do you put in the cerveza? I usually split my Dos Equis between the beans and the cocinero!
Felicidades.
roberto
Hola Roberto,
La cerveza se la agregas en los ultimos 10 minutos mas o menos en la ultima parte de la coccion.
Saludos,
Mely
What a feast this is – my stomach is growling!
Hello Belinda,
It was a big feast. Nice to see you stopping by.
Mely
Que deliciosos se ven esos frijolitos charros Mely, gracias por compartirnos tu rica receta, saludos lindo fin de semana.
This looks super tasty! I'm hosting a weekly blog carnival specifically for soups, stocks and chowders, every Sunday! I would love it if you would come over and post this recipe.
Querida Mely, así merito hago mis frijoles charros.Son tan buenos, tan ricos y te sacan tanto de apuros. De verdad que es una gran comida, gracias por recordarmelos a preparlos próximamente.
Recibe un abrazote
Como se ve todo rico, como siempre por supuesto.
Esa parrilla de carne con su chile serrano y cebollita toreada me la voy a soñar toda la noche.
Qué bárbara!
Un abrazo querida Mely.
Hi Mely,
I could just eat at your house and be so happy. Carne Asada is one of my favorites and with your wonderful Charro Beans, wow that would be a perfect meal for me. Hope you are having a great week end and thanks so much for sharing.
Hola Norma,
Que gusto siempre verte pasar por aqui.
Saludos
@ Hola Carmen, y con este clima se antojan, verdad?
Hola Flavio,
No sueñes, preparalos en proximo fin de semana.
Un abrazo,
Mely
@Easy naturalfood,
Thanks for the invitation, great idea.
@ Miz Helen
Thanks as always for hosting every week.
Mely
Hi Mely, thanks for sharing your delicious looking soup with Sunday Night Soup Night! I'll be hosting weekly through fall and winter, so I'd love to see you again with your next soup/stock/chowder recipe!
This sounds sooooo good, Mely, I can't wait to try it. I am assuming the chorizo you are using is raw/uncured, correct?
Hello Chris,
You are right the chorizo is my homemade chorizo. It is raw and uncured.
I will love to see how you personalize this soup.
Mely
Mmm, Mely, these look and sound so good! I don't use my pressure cooker often enough and I never thought to use it for beans! Next time I make beans, I will use it!
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you are having a great week and enjoy your new Red Plate.
Miz Helen
Your bean soup looks amazing, wish I would have seen this before I put mine in the crock-pot this morning.
Mely! También yo voy a soñar con esta parrillada deliciosa! Uy que antojo! Quierooo
Como siempre tus fotografías maravillosas!
Besos
Mely, this charro beans soup looks absolutely divine! Thanks so much for sharing this. I hope you are doing well.
Mmmm otro platillo típico en estas fechas y para una carne asada, me encanta, sólo que nosotros le ponemos cueritos de cerdo y salchicha, quitando el chorizo…. mmm
Hi, mely, just dropping a Hi, hope you are doing well have a nice day. I’ll try to make this soup using the local ingredients.
I was looking for a good charro beans recipe. I discovered there are a few variations but finally decided on yours. I'm so glad I did because they were awesome! Thank you for sharing. This is definitely a keeper.
Hello Jewels1900,
I am so glad this help you. Thanks you for your comment.
Mely
This was great! My husband loved this and he's not a huge fan of beans. I'm not sure how I can go back to refried beans.
Glad to hear that Chris. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Mely
I am making this recipe as we speak! I was looking for an authentic charro beans recipe and this fit the bill. Will update how it comes out
I have looked for a Mexican recipe book but with no luck. I came upon your frijoles a la charra recipe and my husband loved them… He even asked if I could give him some to go so he can share with a friend! I have bookmarked your page and plan to visit it often. Thank you for making your page easy to navigate and your wide variety of dishes to choose from!!!
Hello,
I'm so glad you husband liked the frijoles a la charra. I highly recommend you to try the recipe in the following link:
https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2011/10/braised-short-ribs-in-tomatillo-sauce.html
He sure will love that! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Happy cooking!
I'm not big on spicy-hot. I wonder if it would be okay to chop up a couple of Poblano peppers instead of the serranos? I love how that soup looks and want to make it today.
Yes, You can use poblanos. Great option!
Happy cooking!
Mely,
Great recipe, it close to one I use myself but I never thought about adding the cracklings. What a great add!
When cooking the beans I add a Smoked Ham Hock to the pot.when the beans are cooked I then remove the meat from the bone and thenadd it back to the beans.
Wonderful! I usually cook beans and mash them to act like refried beans, because that’s what everyone loves, but now I have a reason to put some beans and broth aside. Love your soup!
I dont understand what u mean about the beans n broth.. Do i cook the beans n broth or water?
Hello Kelly,
You cook the beans with water. The cooking liquid/broth is after you cook them.
Hello Mely, I was wondering about the pork rinds- are these raw or the fried variety? Thank you
Hello Majella,
The already cooked ones (fried)
I’m making this now and just wondered if there is any gluten?
Hello Seb,
Sorry, I’m not familiar with the gluten content of this recipe.