Looking for the ultimate Mexican side dish?
These Borracho Beans (aka Drunken Beans) are a South Texas staple!
Perfect for feeding a crowd at your next BBQ or serving alongside tacos, enchiladas, and Cilantro Lime Rice!
Recently I've been thinking a lot more about pantry style cooking and Borracho Beans is the first thing that came to mind. This is one of my favorite Mexican dishes!
My simple recipe does call for some fresh vegetables (onion and cilantro) and pork or ham hock to be thrown in, but you could omit these for a true pantry meal.
This Mexican pinto beans recipe uses dry beans and is the perfect side to accompany all your favorite mains!
What Are Borracho Beans?
Many people may be familiar with refried beans, but not borracho beans.
Borracho Beans aka Frijoles Borrachos aka Drunken Beans. So called because these beans with such a great flavor are made with beer! Borracho beans are a South Texas favorite. So, you can find these at many Mexican restaurants in South Texas. By the way, they differ from charro beans, in that charro beans are the version made without beer.
I usually make a huge batch to serve at Christmas and had really been craving these lately. Now we have a huge batch for mostly Steve, Toby, and myself...it will be fun around our household over the next few days. 😊
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Borracho Beans?
So here are the simple ingredients you will need to make this delicious Mexican beans recipe:
- Dried beans - I use dry pinto beans in this dish which are so budget friendly!
- Pinto Bean Seasoning - I used Fiesta Brand Pinto Bean Seasoning
- Beer
- Diced Tomatoes
- Onion
- Pork hocks or bacon
- Fresh Cilantro
- Salt
- Black Pepper
You only need a handful of ingredients to make a most delicious pot of beans!
Pinto beans are used in this dish, and traditionally you will add a Mexican style beer. Here I used Corona Familiar Beer. I have previously used a 12 oz bottle of Lone Star beer which is what I had on hand (TX beer!) and it tasted great as well!
Oh, and the seasoning! It's got to be Fiesta Brand Pinto Bean Seasoning! Made here in San Antonio, it's my go to seasoning for whenever I make the these delicious beans. This seasoning is just the best and I absolutely love it! Click here to purchase this most delicious pinto bean seasoning on Amazon.
🔪 Instructions
Begin by rinsing and sorting the beans, and cover with enough water to soak beans overnight in a large pot.
Now we'll cook the beans. The total cooking time is approximately 2 hours.
Drain and rinse the beans, then add fresh water to cover the beans about one inch above surface of the beans. Add pork hock or chopped bacon.
Bring the beans to the boil, and skim off any scum that might rise to the top.
Lower the heat to where it will simmer (around med low or so), add 3 tablespoon of Pinto Bean Seasoning, stir, cover and simmer for 1 hr.
Add your beer! Also add the diced onion, and tomatoes at this time. Stir, and bring back to the boil, then lower again to a simmer and simmer 1 additional hour.
Taste your beans to make sure they are tender. If not, continue cooking until tender. Add chopped cilantro at the end of the cooking. Add additional salt and pepper, and/or more pinto bean seasoning to taste.
Suggestions For Serving
Don't they look absolutely scrumptious? I generally eat borracho beans accompanied by rice or sometimes with tortillas.
Stir in some Mexican sour cream, or cojita cheese for an extra bit of yumminess!
You can also serve as the perfect side dish to any Mexican main dish, or any dish for that matter! Make this easy recipe and try serving your borracho beans with delicious Chicken Tinga Tacos, or Pork Carnitas Tacos.
You'll most likely have leftovers as this recipe makes enough for about 12 people. And that's great, because I think they taste even better the next day!
I hope you might give this a try sometime!
FAQ
I haven't personally made these beans in the instant pot or crock pot, however I think borracho beans would cook beautifully in these appliances!
Here are some ideas for spicing up your borracho beans! Add some chili powder, green chilies such as jalapeno or serrano peppers. A few dashes of Cholula would also add a delicious bit of heat!
Here Are Some Other Dishes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes that you may enjoy:
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Cheers! Grace
Borracho Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb pinto beans dry
- 3 tablespoon Pinto Bean Seasoning I used Fiesta Brand! add additional seasoning at end to taste if desired
- 12 oz beer dark Mexican beer is preferred but I used Lone Star
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes canned
- 1 onion diced
- 1-2 pork hocks can substitute 4-5 strips of cut up bacon if preferred
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- ½ ts salt plus additional to taste
- ½ ts pepper plus additional to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and sort the beans, and cover with water to soak overnight in a large pot.
- Drain and rinse the beans, then add water to cover the beans about one inch above surface of the beans. Add pork hock or chopped bacon.
- Bring the beans to the boil, and skim off any scum that might rise to the top.
- Lower the heat to where it will simmer (around med low or so), add 3 tablespoon of Pinto Bean Seasoning, stir, cover and simmer for 1 hr.
- Add your beer! Also add the diced onion, and tomatoes at this time. Stir, and bring back to the boil, then lower again to a simmer and simmer 1 additional hour.
- Taste your beans to make sure they are tender. If not, continue cooking until tender. Add chopped cilantro at the end of the cooking. Add salt and pepper, and/or additional pinto bean seasoning to taste.
Video
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