I got the original recipe from a friend who got it from her sister that lives in Mexico. I love these beans! The recipe makes a lot but I was told by my friend that it is better to cook 4 cups of beans because it has more flavor. One of the great things about this recipe is that you don’t have to soak the beans overnight. There is a little bit of prep work that goes into the beans at first, but once that is done you can just let the beans cook in the crock pot for most of the day.

You want to make sure that there is about 1/2 inch of liquid covering the beans at all times. If the liquid goes below 1/2 inch, add more water to cover the beans. I like to wait until the beans have been cooking for about 4 hours before I add the bacon. I feel that the flavor is more pronounced if  I add the bacon later instead of at the beginning.

You can store any leftover beans in the fridge for about 5 days. I just recently put some of  the leftover beans in a ziplock freezer bag and stuck them in the freezer. I will let you know how they taste when I thaw them out. I will also have a few other recipes on the blog next week that I use these beans in.

These beans are definitely a crowd pleaser! My family always requests them when we have a family pot luck. They are always willing to take home any leftovers that I am willing to part with.

Crock Pot Red and Black Beans

Ingredients

3 cups of dried red beans

1 cup of dried black beans

1 (16 oz.) package of  thick smoked flavored bacon

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

2 cans of diced green chilies

2 tsp. minced garlic cloves

2 (15 oz.) cans of fire roasted tomatoes

4 cups of beef broth

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

Instructions

1. Rinse and drain the dry beans. Set the crock pot on high setting. Add the beans, fire roasted tomatoes ( including the juice), and green chilies to the crock pot . In a skillet cook the bacon. Once bacon is cooked transfer it to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

2. Drain all but 2 tbsp. of the bacon drippings. Add the bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Saute the vegetables until they are tender and translucent. Add the sauted vegetables and the beef broth to the beans. The liquid should be about 1/2 inch above the beans.

3. Cook the beans in the crock pot for 4 hours. If the liquid goes below 1/2 inch above the beans, add more liquid.  Chop the bacon and add it to the crock pot. Cook the beans for another 1 to 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Add the salt, cumin, and oregano to the beans and mix well. Serve the beans hot over rice.