Pinto Beans with Bacon and Jalapeños

Pinto beans with sautéed onions, bacon, and pan roasted jalapenos.

A family favorite meal around here is steak, salsa, and beans, often served with some warmed fresh corn tortillas on the side.

Usually the beans for this ensemble are refried beans, but this week we decided to serve the beans whole, and dress them up a bit with pan roasted jalapeños, onions, and bacon. So good! Quick and easy too. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro to serve.

Want to make your beans from scratch? Here’s how to make them on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker!

Pinto Beans with Bacon and Jalapeños Recipe

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 to 3 whole jalapeño chile peppers
  • 2 to 3 thick-cut slices of bacon
  • 2 cups of chopped onion
  • 2 medium clove of garlic, minced
  • 4 cups of cooked pinto beans (2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup, loosely packed, chopped fresh cilantro

Method

1 Cook and prep jalapeños: Heat oil in a medium skillet on high heat. Put the jalapeños in the pan and stir to coat with the oil. Let cook, turning occasionally, on all sides, until all sides are nicely browned (about 10-15 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is).

Remove from pan. Cut away and discard the stem, core, seeds, and veins. Coarsely chop the remaining jalapeño flesh.

2 Cook bacon: While the jalapeños are cooking, cook the bacon slices on medium low heat in a large skillet, until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off (do not discard down the drain!) all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.

3 Cook onion in bacon fat: Add the chopped onion to the pan with the bacon fat. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until translucent and lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more. While the onion is cooking, chop the cooked bacon.

4 Add the cooked beans, chopped bacon, and the chopped jalapeños to the pan and stir to mix. Sprinkle with salt.

Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, and steak and salsa.