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    Home » Recipes » Easy Slow Cooker Charro Beans

    Easy Slow Cooker Charro Beans

    Published: Sep 14, 2021 · Modified: Jan 31, 2022 by Sharee · This post may contain affiliate links

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    These Slow Cooker Charro Beans are super easy to make with simple easy prep. This is a healthier alternative to the canned charro beans you can find in the grocery store as we use several fresh ingredients!

    Overhead of a big bowl with Slow Cooker Charro Beans inside

    Why This Recipe Works

    The prep time and prep part of this recipe is very easy. You just have to gather your ingredients, chop up a few ingredients, put the ingredients in the slow cooker and you are pretty much done. Super easy right??

    They are restaurant quality in regards to taste and flavor with simple fresh ingredients creating a beautiful dish.

    What Goes in This Recipe

    The recipe calls for smoked meats, broth, beer, peppers, onion, garlic powder and onion
    powder creating a delicious broth. Which helps make this a well-seasoned recipe.

    Overhead of the Slow Cooker Charro Beans ingredients

    How to Make This Recipe

    1. Rinse the them with water.
    2. Remove any stone pieces or dirt pieces from the pintos.
    3. Soak the pintos in a covered dish of water in the refrigerator overnight.
    4. Drain the water off.
    5. Put all of the ingredients (except the beer and salt) into the slow cooker.
    6. Gently stir the ingredients together.
    7. Cook the pinto mixture for 7 hours in slow cooker using low heat.
    8. Then, add the beer and the ½ cup of chopped cilantro to the slow cooker.
    9. Salt the pinto mixture to taste.
    10. Cook for another hour.
    11. Garnish with the cooked pinto mixture with the remaining cilantro. Then serve.
    Overhead on beans in a pot ready for cooking
    Four cooking steps of making easy Slow Cooker Charro Beans recipe

    FAQs

    What’s the difference between borracho beans and charro beans?

    These are traditional Mexican recipes there were initially made by slow cooking them with garlic, onion, peppers, tomatoes and meat. Barracho is a variation of the traditional recipe but you use beer instead. I created this recipe with the option of adding beer to create a Borracho style recipe.

    What can I serve with these?

    We serve them as a side dish when making mini street tacos and Mexican rice.

    How can I use the leftovers?

    You can add them to your favorite burrito or taco recipes. You can even use them as your base for a homemade refried bean recipe.

    Expert Tips

    Using beer

    You can eliminate the beer and only use broth for this recipe and still achieve amazing
    results. For a less potent beer test, you can add the beer at the beginning of the cooking process.

    Healthy meat alternative

    Replace the smoked pork meat in this dish with smoked turkey wings and/or
    legs. Also use homemade chicken broth if you can for a healthier dish. It’s just as tasty!

    Cilantro garnish

    Don’t omit adding cilantro as a garnish this finished dish. Chop some additional
    cilantro to garnish each serving. It makes them that more delicious!

    Increase heat level

    I have put a whole jalapeno in this dish and this is a very mild heat level. Two
    jalapenos will give you more heat……

    How to soak pintos

    You can soak them for about 2 hours in water with a couple tablespoons of baking
    soda to speed up the process of removing the gas chemicals……

    Easy clean up

    Use slow cooker liners when cooking this recipe for easier clean up.

    Stove Top Cooking Method Option

    You can cook these on the stove top in a Dutch style oven or large pot with lid. Prepare as directed above in the recipe, add ingredients to the pot or Dutch oven, bring to a boil using medium heat, then lower heat to low, cover  the pot with lid and cook for 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours until beans are tender. When you use this cooking method you need to check the beans periodically to add more broth or water during the cooking process and then adjust seasonings to taste. The beans may also be lighter in color when using this cooking method as well. 

    Overhead of a big bowl with Slow Cooker Charro Beans inside

    Related Recipes

    • Mexican Rice
    • Spicy & Smoky Southern Black Eyed Peas
    • Easy Slow Cooker Chili Beans

    House of Yumm Yumm has a fantastic charro beans recipe, too.

    Made This Recipe?

    ♥♥♥ Did you make this recipe? If so, please rate this recipe and leave a comment below to let me know if you enjoyed it. And follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more delicious inspiration! ♥♥♥

    Overhead of a big bowl with Slow Cooker Charro Beans inside

    Easy Slow Cooker Charro Beans

    These Slow Cooker Charro Beans are super easy to make with simple easy prep. This is a healthier alternative to the canned charro beans you can find in the grocery store as we use several fresh ingredients!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 8 hours
    Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
    Servings: 8 to 10 servings
    Calories: 213kcal
    Author: Sharee

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound of dry pinto beans
    • 1 smoked ham hock or two smoked neck bones
    • 8 ounces of chorizo sausage (the type that comes in sausage form, not the ground chorizo) or smoked sausage
    • 1 to 2 jalapeños diced , (optional)
    • 1 onion quartered
    • 2 tomatoes quartered
    • 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
    • 1 whole green pepper roughly chopped
    • 1 whole red pepper roughly chopped
    • ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
    • 5 cups of chicken broth
    • 1 twelve ounce bottle of dark beer
    • 2 sprigs of cilantro chopped
    • ½ tablespoon garlic powder
    • ½ tablespoon onion powder
    • salt to taste

    Instructions

    • Rinse the pinto beans with water.
    • Remove any stone pieces or dirt pieces from the pintos.
    • Soak the pintos in a covered dish of water in the refrigerator overnight.
    • Drain the water off.
    • Put all of the ingredients (except the beer and salt) into the slow cooker.
    • Gently stir the ingredients together.
    • Cook the pinto mixture for 7 hours in slow cooker using low heat.
    • Then, add the beer and the ½ cup of chopped cilantro to the slow cooker.
    • Salt the pinto mixture to taste.
    • Cook for another hour.
    • Garnish with the cooked pinto mixture with the remaining cilantro. Then serve.

    Notes

    • Using beer – You can eliminate the beer and only use broth for this recipe and still achieve amazing results. For a less potent beer test, you can add the beer at the beginning of the cooking process.
    • Healthy meat alternative – Replace the smoked pork meat in this dish with smoked turkey wings and/or legs. Also use homemade chicken broth if you can for a healthier dish. It’s just as tasty!
    • Cilantro garnish– Don’t omit adding cilantro as a garnish this finished dish. Chop some additional cilantro to garnish each serving. It makes them that more delicious!
    • Increase heat level – I have put a whole jalapeno in this dish and this is a very mild heat level. Two jalapenos will give you more heat……
    • How to soak pintos – You can soak them for about 2 hours in water with a couple tablespoons of baking soda to speed up the process of removing the gas chemicals……
    • Easy clean up – Use slow cooker liners when cooking this recipe for easier clean up.
    • Stove Top Cooking Method Option– You can cook these on the stove top in a Dutch style oven or large pot with lid. Prepare as directed above in the recipe, add ingredients to the pot or Dutch oven, bring to a boil using medium heat, then lower heat to low, cover  the pot with lid and cook for 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours until beans are tender. When you use this cooking method you need to check the beans periodically to add more broth or water during the cooking process and then adjust seasonings to taste. The beans may also be lighter in color when using this cooking method as well. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 1000mg | Potassium: 599mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 976IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg

    Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only. It varies based on the products and brands used.

    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Follow @savoryspicerack and tag #savoryspicerack!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Siamiyah watts

      May 25, 2021 at 4:27 am

      5 stars
      No it only is it easy it’s very simple and tasty beer trick was a new experience! Thanks

      Reply
    2. Helena

      January 03, 2021 at 1:00 pm

      5 stars
      I can’t believe how easy this recipe is… Fantastic!

      Reply

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