Chorizo Pinto Beans
Smoky, sweet, and hot beans rebuilt around dried chorizo and instant refried flakes.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 550 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant refried pinto bean flakes | 3/4 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Dried Spanish chorizo | 2 oz | the cured salami kind, not the raw tube |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Brown sugar | 1 tbsp | |
| Tomato powder | 1 tbsp | stands in for tomato paste |
| Molasses | 1 tsp | optional, in a dropper bottle |
| Dried jalapeno flakes | 1 tsp | or a pinch of cayenne |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Apple cider vinegar powder | 1 tsp | lime powder works too |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tsp |
Method
- Slice the chorizo thin at home. In camp, drop it in the dry pot over low heat for two minutes so the fat renders out.
- Add 550 ml of water and bring it to a boil. The rendered fat goes into the broth, which is the point.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Stir in the spice and sugar premix and let it sit thirty seconds.
- Add the bean flakes a third at a time, stirring between additions. Stop when it holds a spoon upright.
- Cover and wait two minutes. Stir in the vinegar powder and cilantro last, off heat.
The original is a dutch-oven dish with fresh peppers, canned tomato paste, and raw chorizo that cooks down into paste. None of that travels. Cured Spanish chorizo does the same job dry: it renders real fat into the pot and carries the smoke and chile on its own. Instant refried bean flakes replace hours of simmering pintos, and they thicken on contact, so the whole thing is one boil.
The sweet-sour-smoke balance is what makes baked beans read as baked beans. Brown sugar and a little molasses on one side, vinegar powder on the other, smoked paprika bridging them. Add the acid off heat or it flattens out. Skip the sugar and you have spiced beans, which is a different and lesser dinner.
Packing
Everything dry except the chorizo goes in one bag: bean flakes, spices, sugar, tomato powder, vinegar powder, cilantro. Chorizo rides in its own bag because it sweats fat in the heat. The molasses dropper is optional weight.
Variations
- Soy chorizo dried at home keeps it vegan, though you lose the rendered fat.
- A packet of olive oil adds 120 calories and makes up for lean chorizo.
- Scoop it with fritos instead of eating it with a spoon.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/mexican-baked-beans-chorizo