Published April 9, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This tasty Peruvian Bean Recipe combines beans with thick-cut bacon and caramelized onions, cooking until creamy and delicious. It quickly became a family favorite after being served at a local Peruvian restaurant.
Our family is big on beans, especially my daughter. They are loaded with protein, and we love how we can prepare them. If you’re similar and want to try a new recipe, check out my Refried Beans or Mediterranean Bean Salad.
Peruvian Beans
Peruvian beans are a native dish of Perú. Mayocoba beans are cooked with pork, onions, and sometimes tomatoes until tender and creamy. Half the cooked beans are often blended to make the dish even creamier. These are easy to make and have a wonderful velvety texture and flavor.
These beans can be as simple as beans and onions cooked together or more extravagant with ground cumin, oregano, pork belly, or chicharrones. I prefer them to be somewhere in the middle as I don’t believe they need a lot of extra ingredients to get the delicious desired flavor and texture.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beans — The classic bean to use is canary or Mayocoba beans. Substitute with pinto or cannellini beans.
- Onion — This recipe calls for red, white, yellow, or sweet onion. You’ll also need some whole garlic cloves.
- Tomatoes — I used fresh Roma tomatoes, but any fresh tomato will work in this dish. You can also use 1 15-ounce can of drained diced tomatoes.
- Pork – I prefer to use a thick-cut bacon to incorporate some smoky flavors into the dish. However, you can also use pork belly.
- Liquid – Chicken stock gives these beans the most flavor. You can substitute it with vegetable stock, brodo, or water.
How to Make Peruvian Beans
Submerge the beans in cold water by about 4 to 5 inches in a container overnight.
Add the bacon over low to medium heat in a large Dutch oven or pot and frequently stir until the fat is rendered and the bacon lardons are browned.
Set the bacon to the side and add the onions to the pot.
Season with salt and occasionally stir for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and soft.
Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, which only takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
Add in the tomatoes and sauté over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or just until they start to break down.
Deglaze with 1 cup of water or chicken stock.
Transfer the mixture to a blender, with the center cap removed from the lid, and blend on low to medium speed until smooth.
Add the mixture back to the pot along with the crisp bacon, drained beans, and 5 cups of chicken stock.
Season with salt, and pepper, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Add on a lid, turn the heat down to low medium, and cook for 60 to 70 minutes or until the beans are tender.
Pour half of the beans and liquid into a blender and blend at low to medium speed until thick and smooth, with the center cap of the lid removed.
Stir back in the mixture with the whole beans and the remaining chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with optional cooked rice.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 day ahead of time and reheat before serving.
How to Store: Store the Peruvian beans in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. You can freeze them covered for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of beans to a saucepot with a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock and heat over low heat while stirring until warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- If you are in a hurry, pour boiling water over the beans and let them sit for 1 hour before draining and cooking them.
- You can expand the flavors of this by adding spicy peppers, dry spices, herbs, or cheese.
- You can cut the bacon smaller if you’d like.
- If you do not want to cook the beans from scratch, use drained canned beans and proceed straight to the 9th procedure.
- 1 pound of dry beans is equal to 4-5 15-ounce cans.
More Legume Recipes
Video
Peruvian Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 1- pound dried Mayocoba beans
- 6 strips thick cut bacon, cut into 1” pieces.
- 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
- 4 finely minced garlic cloves
- 5 seeded small diced Roma tomatoes, about 1 ½ cups
- 6 cups chicken stock
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Submerge the beans in cold water by about 4 to 5 inches in a container overnight.
- In a large Dutch oven or pot, add the bacon over low to medium heat and frequently stir until the fat is rendered and the bacon lardons are browned.
- Set the bacon to the side and add the onions to the pot.
- Season with salt and occasionally stir for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and soft.
- Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, which only takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Add in the tomatoes and sauté over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or just until they start to break down.
- Deglaze with 1 cup of water or chicken stock.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender, with the center cap to the lid removed, and blend on low to medium speed until smooth.
- Add the mixture back to the pot along with the crisp bacon, drained beans, and 5 cups of chicken stock.
- Season with salt, and pepper, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Add on a lid, turn the heat down to low medium, and cook for 60 to 70 minutes or until the beans are tender.
- Pour half of the beans and liquid into a blender and with the center cap of the lid removed, blend at low to medium speed until thick and smooth.
- Stir back in the mixture with the whole beans and the remaining chicken stock.
- Season with salt, and pepper.
Peruvian Beans Recipe