This hearty Cowboy Pinto Bean Soup (Frijoles Charros) is an old family favorite. Fill the slow cooker with pinto beans, roasted chiles, tomatoes, and, wait for it…BACON. Perfect cozy dinner!
Originally published September 9, 2015.
WE BOUGHT A FREAKING HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaahhh feelings!
Isn’t it cute? We love it. It’s the perfect size for us, with an awesome backyard that the kids were forced to get to know reeeeal good on Monday when we painted baseboards for 12 hours straight. Baptism by fire baby.
Try to ignore the massive bushes hiding most of the house. That cone tree (that’s what they are officially called, I’m sure) behind the giant bush is like 100 feet tall, no joke. The first thing I thought to myself when we pulled up was, “If I buy this house that tree is the first thing to go.” And literally 30 seconds later we talked to the owner and she told us about how her father had planted that tree a million years ago and it’s Super Special. I don’t know how you could have Super Special feelings about something that ugly but there you have it.
Do you want to hear the sad part? We live in a rental house (we’re moving this weekend) and we love it. We will miss it. But it was time for out landlord to sell, so that means we are moving on too. It was bought by an investor who is going to flip it because have I told you about the carpet in my kitchen? Carpet.in.my.kitchen. I can’t wait to nose my way in on open house day when this baby goes on the market again. It’s gonna be like Ugly Betty gets a makeover. (Am I the only white girl who knows about Ugly Betty? “Soy Betty, la fea.” (Except she’s actually not ugly. Of course. Best telenovella everrrr.)
There is definitely no carpet in our new kitchen, but it does have this:
Is there something wrong with me that I hate this? We were all ready to paint it white on Labor Day, when my real estate agent/cousin/interior designer that I bum ideas off of for free came over to help us pick out paint colors for that dark green wall and told us that she is putting this EXACT fireplace into the dream home that she is building right now.
So what do you think? Should we paint this baby white? Leave it? White wash it? Leave the mantel as wood or paint the whole thing? Obviously the fabric on the built in benches is here to stay. (not)
We move on Saturday. Wish us luck getting my piano that I never play down the front steps and into the truck. It’s going to be so fun!!
How to make Cowboy Pinto Bean Soup (Frijoles Charros)
Now let’s talk Cowboy Bean Soup. This is a classic from my lovely mother-in-law Kris, who is one of the best cooks I know. She’s been making this soup for her family for over 30 years, it is a classic. Over the summer while we were visiting them up in Montana we made my sister’s Tejano Pinto Beans to go with our tacos one night, and everyone said that it reminded them of Cowboy Bean Soup. Indeed, many know it by its Spanish name, Frijoles Charros. I am all over any recipe that can turn the flavor of Laura’s beans into a full blown meal, so this soup is perfect for me. It’s got tons of flavor from the roasted chiles and the bacon, you will love it.
Kris showed me the old cookbook where she got this recipe. She said she didn’t change a thing. Well I know better. I went through every single ingredient just to make sure.
“Did you add extra beans? “No.”
Did you use fresh tomatoes like it says?” “Yes.”
“You use fresh peppers? What kind?” “Fresh peppers! I never use that! Just throw in a can of diced green chiles.”
And there you have it my friends: more soup lies from my mother-in-law. I think we can forgive her since she is being awesome enough to share the recipe with us though. Thanks Kris!
UPDATE 2020: Just for kicks, I’m adding a photo of our house the way it is now, 5 years later, without the cone tree ;) We planted a Crepe Myrtle and some shrubs in it’s place:
More great soup recipes:
- Traditional Tejano Pinto Beans (Slow Cooker): << this is the recipe that reminded my family of Cowboy Bean Soup. It is to-die-for!!
- The Best Chili Recipe I’ve Ever Made (Slow Cooker)
- Cream Cheese Chicken Chili (Slow Cooker): (this is one of the easiest meals of all time)
- Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup (Crockpot/Stovetop)
- Chicken Enchilada Soup: << uses masa in the soup to get great texture (masa=stuff corn tortillas are made from)
- Beef Barley Soup (Slow Cooker): << remains as one of the top 5 recipes of all time on The Food Charlatan!
- Drunken Beans (Frijoles Borrachos) from Gimme Some Oven
- Slow Cooker Charro Beans from Five Heart Home
- Chicken and Pinto Bean Soup with Lime and Cilantro from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
Cowboy Pinto Bean Soup (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 5-8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into eighths
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups pinto beans, dry, rinsed
- 8 cups water
- 3 Anaheim peppers, or a can of fire-roasted green chilies
- 3 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks*
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- salt and pepper , to taste
- shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados, cilantro, limes, etc. to garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until it is crisp.
- Add onion and saute until it's soft, 5 minutes or so.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute or so.
- Add rinsed beans and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer (there should be some amount of movement). Cover and simmer just until the skins begin to split on the beans, a little over 2 hours.
- Meanwhile roast the chiles. There are lots of ways to do this: you can broil them in the oven or char them over a gas stove. (Here's a resource) I grilled mine outside over medium heat. It took 12-15 minutes total, turning the chiles every 5 minutes or so. However you choose to do it, just make sure that the skins get nice and black. Afterward make sure you steam them for at least 20 minutes. You can do this by placing a bowl over a plate of hot chilies (with no escape for steam), closing them in a bag, or putting plastic over the bowl they are in.
- Once steamed, the skins should be very easy to remove. Slit the pepper open once it is skinned and remove the stem and seeds.
- Chop the peppers into bite-sized pieces.
- Once the beans have split, add the roasted chilies, chopped tomatoes, salt, and bouillon.
- Continue cooking until the beans are very tender and fully cooked (they should not taste at all chalky), about 30 minutes.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste. Happy souping!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- After adding the garlic in step 3 above, transfer to a crock pot. Add the water and beans. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- One hour before you want to eat, add the remaining ingredients.
Yay!! Congrats on the house!! So exciting!! But carpet in your current kitchen?? That’s crazy … like carpet in bathrooms – always weirds me out!! lol
And this soup sounds fantastic! :)
Love your new home, so cute! And so very exicting for you & your family!! The soup looks heavenly, so comforting and delicious – love that it’s slow cooker!!
Fireplace….paint the wall a lighter/whitish color and that fireplace will compliment it rather than stand out. Fun new covering on the benches, you’re set! Oh….and I’d buy a chainsaw…plant a new tree to commerate your new home! My 2 cents – what matters is your opinon!. Thanks for the glimpse into your beautiful home!
OMG! Congrats on the house! This soup looks delicious and warming- I love pinto beans :)
I think you should leave the fireplace the way it is. If anything, just give it a whitewash. I don’t know why you chose dark green on the wall though. Yuck. (sorry)
Can’t wait to make this soup but, it will have to wait until our temperatures drop below 95!
I’m considering doing a whitewash Joanie! The green wall was original. We painted it on Monday, it’s now a few shades darker than the wall on the right side, but we’re not sure we like it.
Ooh! That soup looks perfect! And as for the tree, buh bye I say! And with the fireplace, I’m definitely leaning whitewash the whole thing. I agree that it us just busy, and I still thing exactly dated to 1972. Not for nothing, I’m an architect ;)
Yes!! All I see is 1972 too!!! I’m so glad I’m not the only one I was beginning to think I was crazy!!
First Email I received since signing up. Love it! Good luck with your move & may you have many happy years in by our new home.
So glad to have you with us Charlene! Thanks so much, I’m sure we will make it feel like our home eventually :)
Yay! Congrats on the house! You will make so many memories in there. This soup looks so delicious and I LOVE that there is smokey bacon in it!
Congratulations on your new house! May you and your family be very happy in it!
May I make a suggestion about that fireplace. Painting may be what you need to do, BUT perhaps you shouldn’t make that decision until you have lived in the house a while.
After you have settled in and have the rest of the room like you want it, you’ll have a surer feeling about the fireplace. You can always paint it later if you want to, but you can’t UNpaint it if you decide it was a mistake.
Happy decisions and happy years in your new home!
Virginia
I’m loving all of these stew and soup recipes coming out. This one looks so delicious and comfy!
Congratulations on the house! OK so that tree is awful. But I feel like now you’re roped into keeping it. Maybe just for a year. And as for the fireplace, PAINT IT WHITE. Keep the wood mantle and the slate. Those will pop beauuutifully against the white. So much potential, my mind is just racing. Congrats!!!!!
HeLLO fal!! And congrats on the house!!!! It’s so cute!! My advice, just start by painting the mantel and changing out the fireplace cover, that can make a world of difference! Then see how you feel about the brick in a month or two, I personally love it! We had the same issue with our fireplace, I’m still going back and forth or refacing it with some fancy marble, but haven’t had the heart to do it yet!
The recipe sounds awesome. With winter coming this will be perfect.
My thoughts on the fireplace is I would paint it or white wash it. That brick is just so busy looking. Not restful at all. The wood mantle, depends if you like wood or not or have too much wood in your baseboards and door jams.
Love the house. Perfect size. When the pillars are painted and the tree & bush are gone, it will be so awesome.
I am sure whatever you decided to do will be what makes you comfortable. After all this is your home. We can all give you OUR opinions but it is your opinion that counts. Good Luck.
CONGRATS on the house! It is super cute!!! And a fireplace in the kitchen would make that my fav room in the whole house!
BTW – this delicious soup is perfect for the changing weather!
This soup sounds so good!! I am not a huge fan of painted fireplaces, and that one is gorgeous!
Congratulations on your new house! We just moved this past week–and wow, exhausting times!! But exciting too. I need this soup to comfort me after all the hard work we have been doing now too.
Dear Karen, Congratulations on your beautiful new home! Wishing you many beautiful and happy memories. Personally, I love the fireplace! I wish I had one in my house!
This soup sounds comforting and delicious…a perfect meal to enjoy and a long and busy day. All the best with your new home dear. xo, Catherine