By Sarah DiGregorio
- Total Time
- 6 hours and 20 minutes
- Rating
- 4(173)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Beans stewed with pork, tomato and something sweet is a traditional side dish at potlucks. This easy slow-cooker version is uncommonly kicky and bright, flavored with spiced Mexican-style chorizo, cilantro and lots of lime juice. Use cooked, smoked or cured chorizo, but don’t use dry-cured Spanish-style chorizo, which is a different kind of sausage altogether. There’s flexibility built into this recipe: If you like slightly sweet baked beans, use the larger amount of sugar. If you prefer a result that’s barely sweet, use the smaller amount. Likewise, the lime juice can be assertive or gentle, so use the larger or smaller amount to your taste. You may be tempted to add more liquid to the slow cooker, but resist the urge. The onion and sausage release liquid when cooking, so if you add more you will end up with bean soup instead of baked beans.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 1pound dried pinto beans, soaked about 8 hours and drained (see Tip)
- 12 to 14ounces cooked, smoked or cured Mexican-style chorizo links, sliced into 1½-inch chunks
- 1yellow or red onion, finely chopped
- 5large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2cups chicken broth or stock
- 1cup canned tomato purée
- ¼ to ⅓cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon paprika
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 to 3tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- ½cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
- Vinegary hot sauce, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
432 calories; 16 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 540 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the soaked beans, chorizo, onion, garlic, chicken broth, tomato purée, sugar, butter, tomato paste, onion and garlic powders, red-pepper flakes, cumin and paprika. Season with 1½ teaspoons salt (or 2½ teaspoons if using unsalted stock) and a generous amount of black pepper. Using a spatula, stir well to combine, then smooth the top of the mixture to submerge as many beans as possible. (It’s OK if some poke out of the liquid.) Cover and cook on high until the beans are very tender, about 6 hours.
Step
2
Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if desired. Serve with hot sauce.
Tips
- Dried, soaked beans work best here, but if you’d prefer to use canned or precooked beans, you will need about 6 to 6½ cups of drained beans. That’s about 4 (15.5-ounce) cans worth, after draining. Reduce the salt to ¾ teaspoon, and reduce the cook time by an hour or so.
- The beans should reach a simmer and cook until tender to be safe to eat. If your slow cooker does not reach a simmer on the low setting, increase the heat level to high, and ensure the beans cook at a simmer for at least 15 minutes at some point in the cooking process.
Ratings
4
out of 5
173
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Cooking Notes
Joe
what about raw chorizo? Should I cook it first?
Katy
I used an Instant Pot. I used the sauté setting for the sausage (I used Beyond Sausage and omitted the butter to make it vegan) and then tried to use the slow cooker function on high. At the 5hr mark, the beans were not cooked (I soaked them for 24hrs) so I pressure cooked on the bean setting and then turned it back onto slow cook until I was ready to serve. Came out DELICIOUS. In future, I would pressure cook first, then slow cook as long as time permits for beans to absorb the flavor.
Charles
I would, if only to cook off the water and drain excess fat.
Kathy
I've made this multiple times, always according to the recipe, and adjusting the sugar to taste (you can always add more toward the end). "Creamy" beans is not something I understand to be the object here, but 6 hours on high with dried pinto beans that I have soaked overnight in advance results in a tender bean with a flavorful bite that has friends asking for the recipe. I use uncooked choriza (pork or beef) available at my grocery store next to the bacon and sausage, and I lightly brown it.
Kathy
I've made this multiple times, always according to the recipe, and adjusting the sugar to taste (you can always add more toward the end). "Creamy" beans is not something I understand to be the object here, but 6 hours on high with dried pinto beans that I have soaked overnight in advance results in a tender bean with a flavorful bite that has friends asking for the recipe. I use uncooked choriza (pork or beef) available at my grocery store next to the bacon and sausage, and I lightly brown it.
tracey
Way too sweet... use brown sugar sparingly.
Steve
Pretty bad miss. Cut in half but otherwise followed exactly. Please stop with the dried bean propaganda. Got beans from the Whole Foods bulk section and soaked overnight (at least 12 hours) and cooked in the crookpot for 8 hours on high. Barely done. Same experience basically every time I've cooked from dry, though many of those recipes will suggest adding salt at the end since it keeps the beans from tenderizing. Anyway, all that work resulted in something that tasted vaguely of canned chili.
Katy
I used an Instant Pot. I used the sauté setting for the sausage (I used Beyond Sausage and omitted the butter to make it vegan) and then tried to use the slow cooker function on high. At the 5hr mark, the beans were not cooked (I soaked them for 24hrs) so I pressure cooked on the bean setting and then turned it back onto slow cook until I was ready to serve. Came out DELICIOUS. In future, I would pressure cook first, then slow cook as long as time permits for beans to absorb the flavor.
Katy
Even soaked >12 hours, 6 hours in crockpot did not achieve creamy beans—but the flavors were good.
Seth
Instapot works great. If you soak the beans, cook 15 minutes at high pressure with a 15 minute natural release. If you don’t soak them, cook 30 minutes at high pressure with 15 minute natural release. Raw chorizo works fine: cut into chunks and use the sauté function to cook, remove then sauté onions for a few minutes, garlic for a minute and add tomato paste and spices to bloom flavors. Add cooked chorizo and all other ingredients and cook as above. Terrific!
suzyk
Instant Pot directions?
Susan
Can Instant Pot be used instead of a slow cooker and if so I presume far less time to cook?
doggerelblogger
I guess it’s about the flavours but, uh… soaked beans take 90 minutes to cook on the stove, tops. 6 hours in a slow-cooker??
Kathy
It's a recipe for BAKED beans, and the slow cooker works like the oven here. Of course you can cook them on the stove top in less time, but then of course they won't taste anything like what the recipe intends, as the sugars will not have carmelized in the process.
Joe
what about raw chorizo? Should I cook it first?
Charles
I would, if only to cook off the water and drain excess fat.
Stephen
It says cooked in the recipe.
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