beans

love these delicious Frijoles Charros!

January 7, 2025 by Becky Spoon

Frijoles Charros is my absolute favorite! It’s a complete meal with flour tortillas, cornbread, or chicharron. This traditional Mexican recipe is known for its authenticity.

Charro beans are named after the famous and traditional Mexican cowboy horsemen, called “charros”, it’s such a comforting bean soup.

Frijoles Charros. What’s in the recipe?

Pinto Beans
oil for cooking the beans
salt
onion
tomato
jalapeno
Hot dogs or frankfurters
chorizo
cilantro

I enjoy preparing my own chorizo, which is both simple and tasty. What I appreciate most about it is its reduced greasiness compared to the store-bought chorizo in Texas, which tends to be very greasy unlike the cured chorizo. To address this, I prefer making my own. Here is the recipe for my delicious homemade chorizo: Delicious Homemade Chorizo with Eggs, Hashbrowns, and Refried Beans

I also make guacamole to go with my fajitas and here is that recipe: https://the2spoons.com/1-delicious-guacamole/.

Here’s the link for my fajitas that I served the Charro beans and guacamole with: https://the2spoons.com/easy-grilled-skirt-steak-fajitas-and-shrimp/

Fajitas, guacamole, these yummy beans, homemade flour tortillas….delicious meal.

Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

Frijoles Charros

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Servings: 8 servings

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican, Texmex

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

1 lb pinto beans, rinsed and soaked
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 small white onion, diced
1 jalapeno, removing the veins and seeds, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Frankfurter's of your choice
1/2 lb chorizo
Handful of chopped cilantro

Equipment

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, or Slow Cooker

Method

In a large pot add about 6 cups of water and one pound of beans. Add 1 tablespoon salt and one tablespoon oil. Cook until the beans are tender.
While the beans are cooking, dice 1/2 of a small onion, one jalapeno and 2 roma tomatoes. Slice the bacon into small pieces and slice the 3 Frankfurters into small pieces.
Start with sauteing the bacon until it starts to brown. Add the frankfurters and cook until they have slightly browned. Drain the excess fat and add the chorizo, cooking until it has cooked through. Then add the onions and jalapenos. Mix and cook for about a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When your beans are tender, add your mixture and a handful of cilantro. Cook for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

You can use vegetable broth instead of water. You don’t want to use too much water if using an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker because it does not cook down like cooking stovetop does. If you soaked your beans overnight they will take less water.

Easy & Comforting – Greek White Bean Soup

January 9, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Fasolatha, considered to be one of Greece’s national dishes, is a creamy white bean soup consisting of creamy white beans, peppery olive oil and fresh vegetables.

I loved it when the Mediterranean Diet was named the #1 diet for 2019 because I’ve had the Mediterranean Cookbook for years and have made so many recipes from it. I love it more that this White Bean Soup is considered healthy and low in calories. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-meal-plan

I don’t like diets so the Mediterranean Cookbook has been and is my go to when I feel I haven’t been eating as well as I should. It is so healthy and has so many absolutely delicious recipes like this White Bean Soup, but I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything or starving because I’m trying to eat healthier!

White bean soup is creamy but has no cream, you puree a couple of cups of the beans and add it back in which makes it luscious, and we know how good beans are for you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Easy and Comforting – Greek White Bean Soup

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Servings: 6 Servings

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 Pound dried Great Northern Beans
2 Tbsps Extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
1 Onion, chopped
2 1/2 tsps minced fresh oregano or 3/4 tsp dried
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth, plus as needed
4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground dried Aleppo pepper You can substitute with 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp paprika
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Method

Soak the beans in 4 quarts water and 3 tablespoons salt for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, salt and pepper and cook until softened and lightly browned. Stir in oregano and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, celery and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 60 minutes.
Process 2 cups soup in blender or processor until smooth and return to pot. Heat soup gently over low heat until hot and adjust consistently with broth as needed. Stir in lemon juice, red pepper flakes, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in individual bowls drizzling with olive oil.

Notes

If you can find Cannellini beans they are preferred. I could not at my local store, so I made the soup with Great Northern Beans.

Easy Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

November 30, 2018 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

I start my refried beans with pinto beans that I cook with just a little lard, an onion, and salt, that’s it. I have friends in Mexico and they make amazing refried beans that are so, so simple, yet delicious so that’s how I make mine now. Oh, I do make them in the Instant Pot too. I try to soak them overnight, then set the timer for beans which I think is about 35 minutes. The Instant Pot makes the most delicious, creamy pinto beans, or any beans for that matter.

After the beans cook, I remove the onion if its’ in big chunks, I add a little oil to a saucepan, then add the beans, reserving the bean juice to ladle in as I mash the beans.

One thing I found that is essential for refried bean making is the bean masher. I got mine from Amazon and I love it. The texture is key in refried beans and you don’t want to put them in a food processor. I like a little texture, or don’t wan them mushy at all. https://amzn.to/30wzoeK.

This is a great tool, inexpensive, but a must have!

Easy Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

I always have refried beans in my freezer because we eat so much Mexican food. I make them, them put them in small freezer bags to use when I need them. Since I store them in small bags, I can take out just what I need for that meal.

Here are some uses for them:

as a side to any Mexican dish
nachos
tostados
burritos
tacos
Mexican pizza
layered dip

These are just to name a few. I love to make them homemade. They are so simple and so much more delicious than the canned version. The canned version seems like they just process them. I like to make mine that they are mostly mashed with the bean masher, but there may still be a little texture. So good. Wish I had some now. Here’s my Mexican Pizza that I use them in:https://the2spoons.com/simple-mexican-pizza-easy-snack/.

and, another favorite:

https://the2spoons.com/homemade-chorizo-with-eggs-hashbrowns/

Homemade Chorizo with Eggs, Hashbrowns, and Refried Beans

This is one of Allen’s favorite breakfast!

Here’s the simple recipe!

Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

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Prep Time 10

Course: easy side dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 lb dried pinto beans
1/4 cup lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 white onion, halved
water to cover the beans by 2 inches and more as needed
1 jalapeno, seeded optional

Method

Wash your beans and put in a bowl or pan to soak overnight with a pinch of salt and the onion.
If you are cooking on the stove top, add the lard and bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 2-3 hours until tender. Check for salt.
If you are cooking in the Instant Pot, cover with water by 1 inch. Add the lard to your pot. Use the bean mode and set for 35-45 minutes. Since we are using these for refried beans, we want them to be pretty soft.
When the beans are done, add a little oil to a skillet or a sturdy saucepan. Add the amount of beans you want to use, mashing with your bean masher, adding liquid as needed. Serve with your favorite Mexican food, Texmex dishes as a side dish or stuffed in a burrito with cheese. We like to add cheese to the top when we are using them as a side dish! Great for nachos too!