INSTANT POT CHARRO BEANS
INSTANT POT CHARRO BEANS BACK STORY:
We lived in the panhandle of Texas for a few years and loved to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Abuelos in Amarillo. They have DELICIOUS charro beans! Since we no longer live there we decided to search for a similar recipe to make at home. We customized this recipe to be made in our beloved Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) but you could definitely make them in a crock pot. So…what the heck are Charro beans? I went to Wikipedia for help in explaining. 🙂 “Frijoles charros (cowboy beans) is a traditional Mexican dish. It is named after the traditional Mexican cowboy horsemen, or charros. The dish is characterized by pinto beans stewed with onion, garlic, and bacon. Other common ingredients include chili peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, ham, sausage, pork and chorizo. It is served warm, and is usually of a soupy consistency.” Beans, onion, garlic and BACON? I’m feeling pretty good about that.
When we made this for the first time our little boy…who LOVES beans…kept saying, “Who made the beans? Thanks for the beans!” He had seconds and loved every bit. The rest of our family loves them as well. Not too spicy. You can make them hotter with more jalapeno…or more mild with less. This heat is just right for us.
INSTANT POT:
A little about the Instant Pot. My Dad has three of them! The first time I saw him use it for boiled eggs I was amazed they were perfectly cooked and so easy to peel! Because I am A SPOILED BRAT my Daddy bought me one on Amazon and shipped it to my house which was basically the best surprise gift ever! This was several years ago and I didn’t fully appreciate having an Instant Pot for a while. I tried the boiled eggs and loved that and I made rice which was awesome, but I didn’t try much else. Lately I have been using it for so many fun recipes. I will be sharing lots!
Ok. On to the good stuff.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE INSTANT POT CHARRO BEANS:
- 1 lb. dry pinto beans (2 cups)
- ½ pound bacon, chopped
- 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, chopped and seeds removed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
BACON:
I almost always buy Hormel black label bacon. Why? Because that’s what my Mom always buys. 🙂
One of the many reasons I love the Instant Pot is that I can do it all in one pot. The saute function is awesome. Press the saute button and saute ½ pound of bacon. I use my kitchen shears to snip it into small pieces which I think is way easier than cutting it with a knife. Saute until the bacon begins to brown.
Next add your diced onion, jalapeno, green pepper and garlic and saute another one or two minutes.
Add broth, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. You can totally use a can of diced tomatoes if you want to instead.
RINSE AND SORT:
Rinse beans and pick out any duds or rocks. My husband worked at a food plant and they always got complaints that people found rocks in their beans. That’s why it says on the package to sort. 🙂
CLOSE THE VENT:
Add beans to the pot and close the lid. Make sure the vent is closed! The first time I attempted anything in my Instant Pot I was ready to throw the pot at the wall because it was not working. My vent was open so it wouldn’t get up to pressure and never started the time. I figured it out and we’re good friends now.
UNDER PRESSURE:
Press the manual button and set the time for 60 minutes. Once it gets up to pressure the time will begin. When the time is up allow the beans to natural pressure release. I added my cilantro after the beans were finished but you could cook it all together if you prefer.
Give these Instant Pot Charro Beans a try and let us know what you think. Hopefully you’ll hear, “Who made the beans? Thanks for the beans!”
- 1 lb. dry pinto beans (2 cups)
- ½ pound bacon, chopped
- 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, chopped and seeds removed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Begin by rinsing and sorting your beans.
- Using the Instant Pot, press the SAUTE button and add bacon to the pot.
- Saute until bacon begins to brown.
- Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and saute for one to two more minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes, broth and beans.
- Close lid and push the Manual button (high pressure) and set the time to 60 minutes.
- When time is up natural pressure release.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
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Fantastic recipe!! One and a half hours of prep and cook time is much better than 8 hours in the crockpot and I think the beans are superior to the crockpot beans. Will definitely be making these again and again!
Great! So glad you liked them. The Instant Pot is a total time saver and the flavor infusion is so great! Thanks for stopping by!
LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it repeatedly and get so many compliments. I did do a quick soak on the beans first (rinse, cover with water, bring to a boil, turn off and let sit for an hour. Rinse and follow recipe). I love my Instant Pot. Please post more recipes.
Thanks so much Maggie. Glad you loved it as much as we did. We are huge fans of the Instant Pot as well, so we will definitely be posting more. If you haven’t tried the goulash yet, it is a go-to in our household.
https://huckleberrylife.com/instant-pot-goulash/
How many does this recipe serve?
@Carla, depends on how big you make it. But about 10 to 15 1/2 Cup bowls.
I have the instant pot mini. How do I adjust the recipe for the 3 qt pot? Do I just half the recipe?
I would definitely try halving the recipe. Let us know if you like it!
If I have an 8 quart Instant Pot can I double this recipe?
Hey Marilyn, so sorry for the super slow response. We have been in limbo/moving mode for the last 2 months! You should be able to double it in the 8 quart as long as it doesn’t go above the fill line. I will have to give that a try soon. Maybe try 1 1/2 times the recipe first?
-Mandy
Hello! I made these last night and they are SO good! My husband and 6-year-old daughter loved them, too. If I wanted to double the recipe, would I just double all the ingredients and still cook them for 60 minutes? Thank you!
Hey there! So sorry for the slow response, we have been in limbo/moving for the past 2 months! So glad you loved the recipe! You could definitely double the recipe as long as it doesn’t go above the fill line in your Instant Pot. I may try it in my 8 quart. We haven’t made these in a while so it is time!
-Mandy
Hello. Do you soak the beans overnight ? Also when you say close the vent do you mean put it to Sealing ? Thanks!
Hello! Sorry for the slow response! No need to soak the beans over night…that’s the best part. 🙂 Yes, turn it to sealing. I hope you love them like we do. -Mandy
For step #7 do you mean let the pressure release on its own (i.e. dont touch it) or move the switch to venting and release pressure that way?
Sorry for the super slow response! Natural release the pressure means to just let it release on it’s own. I would give it about 15 minutes or so then release any remaining pressure. Hope that helps!
Thank you for posting this recipe. It was so easy and my beans come out great every time!!!😀
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂 I’m so glad you like them! -Mandy
Is an hour of pressurized time right?? Every other recipe I’ve seen says 25-30 minutes for pinto beans so I just wanted to double check. Thank you!
Hi, Ali. Yes, an hour is correct. Let us know how you like them. They are seriously our favorite.
This is by far my favorite recipe ever! I have made it probably ten times. I will say I have to substitute the tomatoes. My daughter is allergic. So what I substituted was one I think it’s 28 oz of green enchilada sauce mild. And 4 cups chicken broth. This recipe is forgiving. Today I used some of my own frozen chopped tricolor peppers sweet. One can green Chili’s mild. I had frozen celery and chopped leeks and some onions. I chop everything on the weekend and then keep them in my freezer. Take out when I need them. Worked well today!
I have loved this recipe for a while. I have changed how much I use of each ingredient. I don’t like green peppers, so I leave them out. I like adding the cilantro while it cooks. My husband like a little fresh cilantro at the end. It really needs a touch of salt, but added at the end and usually for everyone individually for their own bowl. I like eating this by itself or as an and on for Pork and beans.
So good and so easy! I’ve made it several times and everyone loved it! (Abuelos is my fav!!)