Vegan Charro Beans! Looking for an easy and flavorful cold-weather dish? This Instant Pot (or oven) recipe is sure to hit all those must haves of taste and texture.

All those comforting Southwestern flavors come together in this cozy, oil free Vegan Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros or “cowboy beans.”) Protein-packed black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans, combine with spicy jalapeño peppers, rich tomatoes, and fragrant spices, and simmer into wholesome goodness. Ladle over brown rice for a budget friendly and satisfying meal. The entire family running to the dinner table with soup spoon in hand!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Mom was all about this dish.  She is a bean lover and Mexican/Southwestern flavors are her thing. When we started researching this dish, we wanted to find a way to speed up the cooking process.

Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros) or sometimes called “cowboy beans” are traditionally made by slowly cooking dry pinto beans in a savory spiced liquid over a long period of time until tender.

Even though we used an Instant Pot to make this dish, we used canned beans to speed up the process. The Instant Pot really infuses the flavor into the beans; we loved it.

Dried Beans

This recipe was not created for dried beans. You cannot replace the beans with dried beans in this recipe as the liquid and spice ratios are not designed to handle dried beans. We plan to make this recipe in the future using only dried beans, stay tuned 😉

However, feel free to precook your dry beans separately, then add all the cooked beans to the IP. If using beans that were dry, then cooked, consider cutting back the time in the IP as using beans that are not canned, tend to be much softer than canned beans.

WFPB Nod

We took this tasty classic Mexican bean dish and made a fun Whole Food Plant Based twist. The traditional Charro Beans typically includes a meat, whether in the form of bacon, beef broth, chorizo, etc.

Our inspired version takes all the smoky, herby, and spicy goodness with plant powerhouse ingredients to create a delicious, satisfying, and hearty meal.

We also added a spin on beans. Typically Charro Beans are pinto beans, but we decided to use an assortment of beans to create variety of textures, which we absolutely love.

Waiting

If you use an Instant Pot to make this dish, you may think that there is too much liquid after the Quick Release, make sure you stir the beans really well, then wait for 15 minutes.  The broth will thicken as it starts to cool down.  It’s sooo yummy!

I’ll let Mom tell you more!

Hi!  Robin here!

I love these beans; they are incredibly comforting and flavorful!  I absolutely love that little hit of vinegar at the end to give the beans a little zippity-do-dah!   You know me, I am all about those Southwestern flavors!

Give this recipe a try!  We would love to hear from you!

If you try these flavorful beans, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Products Used:

• Instant Pot or Ceramic/Enamel Lined Dutch Oven with a tight-fitting lid

Vegan Charro Beans

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 10 Minutes
• Total Time: 25 Minutes (+Rest Time)
• Yield: 6 Servings 1x
• Category: Stew
• Method: Instant Pot/Oven
• Cuisine: Mexican
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Easy, comforting, and flavorful, this oil free Instant Pot Vegan Charro Beans is wholesome, budget friendly, and ultra-satisfying.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow onions, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, fine dice
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 – [ 14 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 cup water
• ½ teaspoon organic maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda *
• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] black beans, drained and rinsed

 Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons regular chili powder *
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• 2 bay leaves

Other Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Serving Ideas:

• Steamed rice
• Freshly chopped cilantro
• Avocado, cubed
• Red onion, fine dice

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Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaves) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
2. Add all the Base Ingredients into the Instant Pot, stir well to combine. Then add the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, then tuck the bay leaves down into the liquid. Set the Instant Pot to Manual Pressure High for 10 minutes.  When finished, press Cancel and allow to sit for 2 minutes, then do a Quick Release.  Unplug the Instant Pot.
3. Once all the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid.  Add the distilled white vinegar, stir well.  Allow to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes to let the beans cool down as the flavors to continue to develop and marry.  Discard the bay leaves.  Serve with your favorite steamed rice, topped with freshly chopped cilantro and avocadoes.

Oven Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaves) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
3. Add all the Base Ingredients into a heavy, ceramic-lined Dutch Oven, stir well to combine. Then add the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, then tuck the bay leaves down into the liquid. Cover with a tight-fitting lid.  Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.
4. After 35 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully remove the lid.  Add the distilled white vinegar, stir well.  Allow to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes to let the beans cool down as the flavors to continue to develop and marry.  Discard the bay leaves.  Serve with your favorite steamed rice, topped with freshly chopped cilantro and avocadoes.

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Notes

Tips for Success:

• Instant Pot: We used an 8-quart Instant Pot.  If using a 6-quart Instant Pot, consider shortening the time accordingly, perhaps use 8 minutes.  When making in the Instant Pot, the beans will appear watery after the Quick Release.  Stir the beans really well and allow them to sit undisturbed for at least 15 minutes.  The flavors continue to develop, and the wateriness will disappear, and the broth will thicken on its own.  The hardest part is the wait time, but it is totally worth the wait.
• Steamed Rice: This dish is spicy.  It works perfectly with steamed rice as the rice tempers the spiciness of the beans.  The cilantro and avocado really bring a freshness and creaminess to the dish.  Don’t leave them out.
• Red Onions: We did not put finely chopped red onions on our servings, but others who tested this dish did and loved the texture play between the creaminess of the dish coupled with the crunchy red onions.
• Instant Pot/Oven/Stove Top/Crock Pot:  This recipe is very versatile.  We tested this recipe with the Instant Pot and Oven.  It could be easily made on the stove top and in a crock pot as well.

Note Continued:

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Chili Powder:  We used Penzeys Regular Chili Powder.  Feel free to use your favorite chili powder.  We suggest using a mild chili powder.

*Baking Soda:  Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes.  We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the tomato paste and petite diced tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  6 (makes 12 cups of stew)

*Storage:  Refrigerate and use within 5 days, freezes well.

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